September 23, 2021 at 2:44 p.m.
A ring toward the ring
Retaining the Bell next step in bigger goals for Hodag football
A ring toward the ring
In many seasons, tonight's game would be the highlight on both team's calendars. To be sure, winning the Bell three straight years for the first time since 1998-2000 is important for the Hodags. However, following last week's monumental 28-14 win at Medford, it would also serve as another mile marker toward the team's ultimate goal - a Great Northern Conference title.
If the Hodags get through tonight's test, it will likely set up another matchup between GNC unbeatens next week at Mosinee. Win that game and the Hodags will still have to take care of Merrill and Ashland to run the table.
"All of these teams that we match up with in the last four weeks present a different challenge," Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. "Antigo presents a challenge where they're ground and pound. They have some strong athletes, bigger linemen and, obviously, it's a rivalry game. When you have a rivalry game, the level is always picked up by your opponent regardless of where they stand in the league.
"The biggest challenge for the next four weeks is taking it one moment at a time and realizing what every single milestone will bring us, what every single win will bring us, what every single play will bring us."
It starts tonight it what will be the 100th overall meeting between the two Northwoods rivals. According to WisSports.net, it will be just the 15th rivalry in the state to reach its centennial playing. That alone is insurance enough for Rhinelander, which debuted this week at No. 6 in the WSN D3 coaches' poll, to focus on the task at hand, and not look past an Antigo team that has lost the only two times it has hit the field this fall.
"To be the 100th meeting overall and to have our opportunity to win three straight, I'm not sure how may times that's happened historically, but I'm excited about the opportunity for that and chance to have the Bell here for one more year," Kraemer said.
Furthermore, a win tonight would clinch a WIAA playoff berth for a third straight year and only the fourth time in program history.
Here are five storylines going into tonight's contest.
COVID concerns
The Red Robins enter tonight in the midst of a disjointed season. Three of the team's first five games have been nixed due to COVID-19 concerns. Antigo canceled a non-conference Week 1 game against Amherst and has not played since a 15-12 loss to Merrill Sept. 3.
The Robins received a forfeit win in Week 4 when Ashland postponed, then eventually canceled, due to its own COVID protocols. Antigo was forced to cancel and take a forfeit loss last week when it did not have enough healthy bodies to take on Lakeland.
Exacerbating the problem is that Antigo is short on players to begin with this season. The Robins' varsity roster lists only 31 players - including just nine seniors and six juniors.
"To not be able to play on Friday, that's got to be heartbreaking. I think it might even give them a little extra attitude, extra motivation to go out and win," Kraemer said. "It would hurt me, I know that and I feel for coach (Tom) Schofield and I'm hoping that they can remain healthy the rest of the way, because they are a good team. They're still a good team and they can give teams some challenges the rest of the way."
The number of games statewide canceled due to COVID concerns has steadily climbed throughout the season, going from 1.7% (3 of 180) in Week 1 to 9.1% (19 of 209) last week.
While a deeper roster insulates Rhinelander somewhat from that possibility, Kraemer said the specter of losing a key player or players to COVID protocol is not lost on he or his team.
"We are aware of it and we're working as hard as we can to remember some of the things we put in place last year," Kraemer said. "That's one thing that's good about having last season. We remember those protocols. We remember what it meant to go through some of those steps in order to play, so some of them never really left. We do separate during practice. We're not together very often as far as full group is concerned. We remember some of those things, and I think it's helped us.
"Our guys are committed to trying to stay as healthy as they can. They know what it means to the rest of us that we get to play, especially considering we're in the position that we're in."
Two-way standout
Much has been written about Hodag tailback Cayden Neri, who officially rushed for 137 yards in last week's win at Medford to get to 1,006 yards on the ground through only five games this season.
Not as much has been mentioned about Neri's impact defensively, though he came up with two of the biggest defensive plays in last week's win. Not only did Neri have a fumble return for a touchdown, his strip sack of Medford's Ty Metz with just under three minutes to play snuffed out the Raiders' last gasp at a comeback.
Neri sits sixth on the team with 14 total tackles, but leads the team with three sacks and his four overall tackles for loss are tied for second on the team, behind only senior inside linebacker Chad Hunt (9).
"What's impressive about Cayden for me is he's able to take so many snaps offensively, but then play quality defensive snaps too," Kraemer said. "He's not a guy that plays both ways all the time. We've got guys who come in for him who help and play similarly to him, but he adds another dimension defensively for us."
Wing it
Much of what Rhinelander will see from the Robins tonight has been a staple of Antigo football for decades.
Offensively, that means a Wing-T running attack led by senior running back Connor Kolz and a big offensive line that averages 251 pounds. That line does not get much smaller once tight ends Ty Kohler and Theoden Reetz - who check in a 260 and 200 pounds, respectively - are factored into the equation.
"What you can guarantee about Antigo, and this is why I love their program, is that they're going to have tough-nosed offensive linemen and they're going to try to beat you at the point of attack," Kraemer said. "They're going to try to find out where you're weak and that's where they're going to try to continue to pick on you until you make a change."
That said, Antigo has mixed in the pass more this season than in years past with senior signal caller Zach Zupon, who is 16 of 33 passing for 266 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Kolz has been the leading target out of the backfield, catching six passes for 100 yards.
Monster mash
Antigo's defense is not much of a surprise either, running a 5-2 formation. The key is what it does with its hybrid "monster" positions, Alex Schlieve and Mitchell Hotchkiss. They have been seen at times this season playing as either defensive ends, outside linebackers or even strong safeties in some looks.
"They do a nice job at that, moving the monster around and taking away they places that we're strong," Kraemer said. "We have a plan for that and how we can attack that monster and our goal is to continue to run the football and get our guys touches because we feel they're good athletes. So if we can keep giving them the touches they need, against any defense, they'll make the spaces they need."
Bigger than us
In addition to the Bell Game, it's also homecoming night at Mike Webster Stadium. So while the game plays a key role in Rhinelander's quest for the conference title, Kraemer said the significance of the week is not lost the team.
"Any time you play for a trophy, any time it's a rivalry game, there's much more at stake than just the win. It's pride and, as far as this (game) is concerned, community pride. A lot of people have played for this. There's a lot of people this means a lot to," he said. "We're playing for everybody in the community this week. That's why we have to continue to do the little things we've talked about. Those little things matter. That's what's going to get us over the top against this team, doing the little things right all week and then being just able to relax and play our homecoming game and do the best we can every single play."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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