September 30, 2021 at 8:07 a.m.
GNC supremacy on the line tonight
Pigskin Preview Week 7: Rhinelander at Mosinee
GNC supremacy on the line tonight
The winner of tonight's matchup will move to 5-0 in the GNC and control its own destiny over the final two weeks of the regular season - needing to win only once more to secure at least share of the conference title.
If that is not enough to ensure the Hodags will not let down following last week's big 42-0 victory over Antigo in the 87th Bell Game, nothing will.
"Our kids are fired up for this game, and rightfully so," Kraemer said. "We know what the stakes are and, basically, if we're able to take this opportunity to win this game, we have an opportunity to win a conference championship at home next week against Merrill. We're really excited about those opportunities."
The Hodags are in the position many expected them to be heading into the season, ranked fifth in the WisSports.net D3 coaches poll and leading the GNC. Mosinee flew under the radar a bit this season, picked to finish third in the GNC by both WSN and the conference media, but finds itself right in the title fight.
"You wouldn't have it any other way," Kraemer said. "They have been a heavyweight of our conference for quite sometime, them and Medford. I'll just say that for us, it's their homecoming. They're 5-1. Their fans expect them to win. For us, we need to just go in there and focus on one foot in front of the other and play our game, and do the best we can."
Here are five storylines going into tonight's game.
Best vs. best
Statistically, this game will be a battle of the GNC's two top teams in a number of statistical categories.
Mosinee leads the league, averaging 386.3 yards and 40.6 points per game in its three contested conference games. Rhinelander is close behind at 379.5 yards and 35.8 points per game.
Defensively, Mosinee has allowed 111.7 yards per game, just ahead of Rhinelander's 122.8, though the Hodags have the edge in scoring defense at 5.3 points per game, compared to 6.3 for Mosinee.
Rhinelander has the top-ranked rushing offense. Mosinee is No. 1 at stopping the run.
Mosinee's Trevor Garski is the league's top-rated passer. Rhinelander's Jacksen Smith is second.
The one big difference comes in who each team has played. Rhinelander has already faced a strong opponent against Medford. Mosinee's conference wins came against teams that have only two earned wins between them. And what looked to be Mosinee's toughest conference test to date - a home game against Ashland in Week 4 - turned into a walkover when Ashland had to forfeit due to COVID-19 protocols.
Kraemer said he's hoping that plays into the Hodags' hands tonight.
"We've been in this battle-tested mode where we've played against some difficult teams already," he said. "I think their toughest test is us, and we can use that to our advantage moving into this game."
Disrupt the timing
Mosinee senior Trevor Garski made his quarterbacking debut last year when he stepped in for Michal Dul and threw for 238 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 28-21 loss at Rhinelander in Week 2. Now he is putting up big numbers as the starter.
Garski ranks in the top three statewide, having passed for 1,499 yards and 18 touchdowns so far this season in the Indians' air-raid offense. He's thrown only one interception, which came last week against Lakeland.
Garski's top target has been sophomore Keagan Jirschele, who transferred in from Wausau West over the summer. He ranks in the top 12 in both receptions (38) and receiving yards, to go along with nine touchdowns. He comes in off 10-catch, 143-yard performance last week against Lakeland.
Mosinee has shown both the ability to take deep shots in the passing game, and also hit the underneath routes and methodically move the ball downfield. Senior Davin Stoffel is Mosinee's second option in the passing game, with 29 catches, for 442 yards and four touchdowns.
"Jirschele is great in space, much like (Drayton) Lehman was (in 2020) and they have a big target in Stoffel that likes to get over the middle, likes to body, likes to play big. It's challenging for our guys, our outside linebackers to put hits on them," Kraemer said.
Kraemer added disrupting the timing of Mosinee's offense is Rhinelander's top priority this week.
"They're better when they're on schedule," he said. "They're better when they're on time and they're better when they don't get moved off the spot. Those are challenges we're going to have to match this week against their offense, which is high-flying.
"They want to come to the line, survey, see what space is open or what player is open. We have to kind of confuse and mix those things up, mix our coverage, so Garski doesn't get comfortable, and then get hits on the quarterback. That's No. 1, getting a guy off his spot."
Barnes Bunkelman leads Mosinee in rushing, averaging 8.3 yards per carry.
Familiar defense
Mosinee, statistically, may be the best defense the Hodags face during the regular season. It also the defense that most closely resembles Rhinelander's.
Like Rhinelander, Mosinee plays a 3-4 front that features speed to rally to the football. Like Rhinelander, much of its starts with its middle linebackers, including senior Nolan Harris, who has a team-high 55 tackles.
"I key Nolan Harris as their best player," Kraemer said. "You can say what you want about Garski. You can say what you want about their talent outside. I key those two guys in the middle on defense as their best players. Nolan Harris has a lot of respect from me, from last year, when guys are coming to the sideline saying, 'Hey, don't iso that guy anymore, I'm tired of hitting him. I'm tired of letting him hit me.' That says something about him. He makes great plays defensively and we have to know where he is at all times and try to neutralize him."
Rhinelander is also looking to bounce back offensively, after being held to its lowest rushing output of the season last week against Antigo. Kraemer said Antigo focused on stopping the Cayden Neri from getting to the edge in the toss game, something he expects Mosinee will try to mimic this week, based on last year's meetings.
"We're going to have to do things to disguise that, to work off of that," Kraemer said.
Close calls
Kraemer and Mosinee head coach Craig Martens have established quite the rivalry over the last two years.
On the football field, the last three meetings between the teams have been decided by a total of nine points. Rhinelander suffered a 21-20 loss at Mosinee in 2019, while the Hodags beat the Indians 28-21 and 27-26 last year.
The two also serve the their school's head track coach. Rhinelander surprised everyone to win the GNC boys' title in 2020 while Martens' Mosinee squad stacked its sprint events to edge Rhinelander by five points for the title this past spring.
"Coach Martens is a really good friend of mine. He knows I'm pissed that they took the conference championship from us in track," Kraemer said after last week's win over Antigo. "For me, I want a little bit of revenge, but he's a helluva coach and I can't wait to square off against him and his group."
Back to grass
Tonight is Rhinelander's seventh game of the season and, surprisingly, it's the first time all year that the team will play on a natural grass surface.
The Hodags have practiced this week on the grass field adjacent to the Hodag Dome to get acclimated to the surface tonight at Veterans Memorial Park.
"We're just excited for something new," Kraemer said. "You have all these road trips and a lot of the stadiums are starting to look very, very similar. Medford's stadium is similar to ours. If you play Ashland and they're at Northland College, it's similar to ours. We're excited to be able to play on the grass, a new challenge for us and, this week in practice, it just gives us a new perspective too."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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