August 11, 2022 at 10:54 a.m.
Team preview: RHS football
Young Hodags must come together to match recent success
Team preview: RHS football
This year's Hodags will be much younger than last year's, yet coach Aaron Kraemer said he is optimistic that the team can keep its recent run of success going if the talent comes together and gels into a cohesive unit by season's end.
"We've had a lot of talented teams over the last few years. This one ranks right up there with talent, but at the same time I'm asking are we going to grow together in the family dynamic," he said. "If that is the case, we'll be right where we've been and, possibly, even more successful."
Not only will the team have to come together, last year's star-studded class left a lot of big shoes to fill.
Offensively, the rebuild starts with trying to replace the two-headed backfield monster of Cayden Neri and Caleb Olcikas, who averaged 294.5 yards from scrimmage per game between them last year. They accounted for more than 86% of the total offensive yards. One of the two backs handled the ball on 73.4% of the plays.
Replacing that production will take a multi-faceted approach and a more balanced offense than a season ago. The team has reverted from an under-center I-style concept to the pistol and will likely implement more three- and four-receiver sets with new offensive coordinator Luke Roberts.
"It's kind of run and gun. We're going to be strong running the football, but I think we handcuffed ourselves late in the season last year not being able to throw the football," Kraemer said. "That's not going to be a mistake we make again this year."
Who will be barking out the signals is yet to be determined, with tonight's scrimmage at Lakeland being one final audition for two underclassmen - junior James Heck and sophomore Truman Lamers - who are looking to replace graduated quarterback Jacksen Smith.
"James throws a little bit tighter ball and is understanding the offense, while Truman, he's one of those guys that's dynamic with the ball in his hands. He can roll out. He can throw. He can run. He's got athletic skills," Kraemer said. "You want to make sure that your quarterback can take care of the football, but also make plays when you need him to. I think both of those guys have the ability to do that, but we want to make sure that the person who's going to be in that huddle understands the offense, understands how to motivate their teammates and, in general, will make the right plays."
Senior Kaleb Winter is the top returning rusher for the Hodags, amassing 69 yards on just nine carries in late-game situations last year. But Winter is also a returning all-conference safety and figures to be a key piece of the Hodags' defense this year, so how much he will be utilized on offense remains to be seen. Junior Payton Campbell, senior Carter Krueger and sophomore Tyler Chariton have seen the majority of the running back reps so far in camp.
"Those guys have some skill, some vision and they have to continue to hone their fundamentals," Kraemer said. "But, at the same time, they're eye-catching when you watch them. We were a few missed holes on Green and White Day away from some bigger plays."
Senior Brenden Eckrich qualifies as the Hodags' top returning receiver, but caught only two passes for 49 yards last year. Yet, he figures to be a leader on a receiving corps that includes fellow seniors Jayden Fourt, Jackson Freese and Trayton Brzycki, juniors Owen Ives, Kyrle Vanney and Kaden Vanney and sophomore Zach Germain.
Overall, Kraemer said the biggest strength of the offense going into the season is the offensive line, which returns a pair of all-conference second-teamers in center Conner Jensen and guard Owen Kurtz. Senior guard Tyler Morrison is the third returning starter on the offensive line, while two juniors - Kaeden Pillar and Sam Balge - have taken most of the No. 1 reps at the tackle positions so far.
"The strength of our offense is our offensive line, which is always good," Kraemer said. "Protect your quarterback and run the football and you can win a lot of games. We're excited about that. Our core three in the middle are back and we have to replace two seniors on the edges, and we feel like we're doing a pretty good job of that with Kaeden Pillar and Sam Balge. The three guys in the middle are unbelievably talented and they communicate really, really well. I'm really excited about what they bring to the table as veterans."
Defensively, the Hodags have massive holes to fill at linebacker. Chad Hunt, Cole Lehman, Joe Fugle and Cayden Neri all earned all-conference recognition for a defense that allowed only 8.8 points and 155.2 yards per game last year.
Campbell has some experience at one of the inside linebacker spots. He started in the playoff loss last October at Baraboo as Hunt sat the first quarter for what the team described as a "personal situation." But Kraemer said a number of players - the majority of whom are underclassmen - are vying for the inside backer positions.
"There are six guys, even seven or eight, who could make it count in the middle linebacker spot for Week 1," Kraemer said. "We kind of don't know who it is yet. We've had a couple of guys step forward, but we're going to play the hot hand. If it's a junior and a junior, OK. If it's a sophomore and a junior, OK. Whatever it may be. We're excited that they're young kids and they can start learning those reads. But we also have to make sure that we understand that they are sophomores and juniors, so we've got to take it slow and make sure we get them ready."
Kraemer, who is calling the defensive plays this year after longtime defensive coordinator Gary Zarda stepped down at the end of last season, said he figures the defense's strength lies in the secondary - particularly with Winter returning with a full year of starting at safety under his belt. Winter was forced into that role last year when Joe Schneider went down with a season-ending knee injury during the preseason scrimmage. His 30 tackles last season are tops among returning players.
"He's cerebral. He understands what's going on. He asks questions. He helps his teammates and he knows where the strengths and weaknesses of our defense are," Kraemer said.
Krueger and fellow senior Finn Tulowitzky figure to provide some depth and experience at the outside linebacker positions for the Hodags' 3-4 scheme.
"When you think about our defensive umbrella, the guys that are going to force the play, run the alley and make most of the tackles, they're your outside backers and your safeties and we have veteran guys," Kraemer said.
Kurtz also received honorable mention as a defensive lineman but, like Winter on offense, how much time he sees on defense remains to be seen as Kraemer said the priority will be to keep his starting offensive line fresh for offense. Seniors Domanic Thorstenson and David Fielhauer and sophomores Bo Stott and Reid Schultz could then figure to see the bulk of the snaps on the defensive line.
On special teams, Kraemer noted that some positions remain to be filled, but Winter could reprise his role as the team's punt returner. Junior Landon Bates, who saw limited varsity work behind Neri last year, will likely take over the kickoff and place kicking duties.
Non-conference tests
Because of the projected youth on this year's squad, the team's non-conference tuneups will be even more important ahead of Ashland's Sept. 2 visit for the GNC opener.
Rhinelander opens at home against Tomahawk, a playoff qualifier out of the Northwoods Conference last year, a week from tonight. Rhinelander's longest road trip of the year will come in Week 2 as the team head to North Eastern Conference runner-up Denmark.
"We're going to learn a lot about ourselves in those first couple of weeks," Kraemer said. "If they're two wins, then they set us up with confidence for the next couple of weeks. If we get a loss in there, then it's just a way to learn, something to learn from."
Early Bell
The biggest quirk in the Hodags' 2022 schedule is that the Bell Game will not be played on a Friday night. It will instead be played on Thursday, Sept. 15 at Schofield Stadium in Antigo. That is one of two games the GNC had to move to Thursday in Week 5 (Ashland at Medford being the other) due to the availability of officials.
"This will kind of be strange, a Thursday night game," Kraemer said. "It kind of stinks for the fans too, and for the guys who are going to go play a Thursday night game at 7 p.m. We're not going to be home until 10 and they they've got to go to school the next day. At the same time, we're excited for it. We'll play them wherever, whenever. You want to play at Sarocka, you want at Lambeau, wherever. The Bell Game's the Bell Game and we're excited to play those guys."
Rhinelander is shooting for its fourth straight win in the Bell Game series against Antigo, after dropping 12 straight from 2007-2018.
Conference outlook
Rhinelander will play perennial conference contenders Mosinee and Medford in back-to-back weeks after the Bell Game.
While those two remain favorites, both have question marks. Mosinee graduated GNC offensive player of the year Trevor Garski, defensive player of the year Nolan Harris and has a new head coach after Craig Martens left to take the athletic director position at Stratford.
Medford had a down year last year, by its standards, but still finished third in the GNC and could have a more dynamic offense this year with quarterback Logan Baumgartner returning after missing his junior year due to a knee injury.
Lakeland figures to be better with a senior-heavy squad and, overall, Kraemer said the gap between the teams in the eight-team conference is perhaps as tight as it has ever been.
"We're still a good team, Mosinee's still a good team, Medford's still a good team but I would say things have squeezed up from the bottom. The teams that were at the bottom, they've gotten better and they've improved," he said. "I think everyone kind of squeezes to the middle and it's going to be kind of a last week, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9 kind of thing."
Scrimmage ahead
Rhinelander scrimmages Lakeland and Northland Pines tonight in Minocqua and Kraemer, said he's not entirely sure what to expect out of either side.
He said Lakeland showed some more pro-style concepts in the Northwoods 7-on-7 Passing League this summer after being a spread, air raid style offense for the past several years under head coach Dan Barutha. Steve Graf is the new head coach at Northland Pines as the Eagles return to full strength this year after cancelling their varsity campaign after only a few weeks last year due to low numbers.
More important than the results, Kraemer said he wants to get some good film from tonight's scrimmage and to leave IncredibleBank Field with a healthy squad.
"We want to make sure everyone gets out healthy," he said. "That's what we're preparing to do. Obviously, we want to have a good showing too, give our fans something to be excited about and something to be confident in but, at the same time, it's lining up correctly, it's getting in the right stance, getting in our key reads and playing."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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