Pigskin preview Week 1: Rhinelander at Tomahawk

Both Rhinelander and Tomahawk suffered through injury-plagued 2022 seasons, and both have plenty of new elements around them to start 2023. 

The two future Great Northern Conference football rivals will look to start 2023 right when they face each other tonight in Tomahawk.

For the Hodags, tonight could help to revise the narrative after a rocky 2022 season that saw them go 1-8 and miss the WIAA playoffs for the first time since 2018. Head coach Aaron Kraemer stated that the team’s goal is to make it back to the postseason this year. Tonight and next Friday’s home opener against Wausau East could go a long way to setting the tone for the start of the GNC season.

“We want to be fundamentally sound and disciplined,” Kraemer said. “If we can come out of these two games healthy and we get two weeks of practice in both the offense and defense and have a shot at winning both of those games, we feel the momentum will go a little bit further.”

Tomahawk beat Rhinelander 27-13 in last year’s season opener and got off to a 3-0 start that included a win over Lakeland before key injuries derailed their season as they entered the Heart of Northwoods Conference play. The Hatchets finished 4-6, with the only other win a forfeit victory over Menominee Indian.

New head coach Dewey Reilly is trying to get the Hatchets to bounce back, but the team does not return any All-Northwoods Conference selections from last year and graduated a number of its skill players. 

Neither team is getting much respect around the state. Rhinelander was picked to finish seventh in the GNC by WisSports.net, and Tomahawk was slated last among the six Northwoods teams that will field a full varsity schedule this year. 

Still both teams showed some positives in their respective scrimmages last Friday and hope to carry that momentum into Week 1. 

“We had a good scrimmage last week against two completely different teams in Shawano and Crandon. We feel like we’re prepared and ready to go against Tomahawk,” Kraemer said.

Here are five storylines entering tonight’s game.

    Rhinelander quarterback Truman Lamers takes a snap during a football scrimmage against Shawano at Mike Webster Stadium Friday, Aug. 11. Lamers, a junior, will make his first varsity start at quarterback tonight after throwing for 169 yards in last week’s scrimmage. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

On offense

Tonight will be the first official test under the lights for the Hodags’ new-look pistol wing offense. So far, in two preseason public displays, the offense has hit some big plays and has only turned the football over once. 

It will also mark the first start for junior Truman Lamers at quarterback. Kraemer said his signal caller is ready for the moment. 

“As far as the lights are concerned, I’m not worried about him. He’s a guy that’s going to thrive under that and a guy that understands the offense,” Kraemer said. “That’s exactly what we want. When you have players asking questions or I make the wrong call and he puts us in the right position, you know that’s a coach on the field. That’s what you want to have. He’s a versatile athlete. He’s quick. He’s smart with his brain and he’s not unwilling to take the risk.”

They’ll be facing a Tomahawk squad that showed a 4-4 look in last Friday’s scrimmage and have a number of returning players in the box, including their two top returning tacklers from last year in senior Brett Marheine and junior Jack Amelse. 

“Offensively, we know where they’re strong and that’s up front,” Kraemer said. “We’re going to have to find ways to stretch them a little bit. We’re going to have to find ways to get the matchups we like up front so we can dominate up front and then win in the passing game. That’s got to be the rule every week. We’ve go to win up front and then set up our deep passing game because we have dynamic athletes that can get out in space and make plays.” 

On defense

Quarterback Tyler Jablonski burned Rhinelander on the ground to the tune of 170 yards and two touchdowns last year. Luckily for the Hodags, he’s gone along with a number of the skill position players from last year. 

Junior Brayden Larson appears to be in line for the Week 1 start, based on scrimmage film, and the two top returning rushers for the team from last year are senior Caleb Dickens and sophomore Logan Norman.

“We know they have a pretty good backfield tandem. They have a pretty experienced offensive line,” Kraemer said. “Last year the beat us on the midline and veer. That was their quarterback that was doing that to us. We’re excited about what we see on film and what we’ll be able to do defensively.” 

The work of Dickens

If Dickens’ name sounds familiar, that’s because he tormented the Hodags from the defensive end position in last year’s meeting. He was credited with eight tackles, including two for loss, and was habitually in the Hodags’ backfield.

Kraemer said he expects Dickens to feature prominently in the game plan for Tomahawk on both sides of the ball tonight. 

“He’s a tough kid. He reminds me a lot of Drake Martin, the way that he plays — just physically strong down low and can take on the brunt on the defensive end,” he said, referencing the standout former Hodag running back who’s entering his junior year at UW-Whitewater. “When you’ve got a guy that can do that, you can two-gap a little bit, can play him on the edge and you know you’re going to win. Us, we have to figure out ways to neutralize him — whether that’s reading him, whether that’s double teaming him, whether that’s running away from him — because he’s a good player.” 

Future rivals

Tonight marks the third straight year Rhinelander and Tomahawk have opened the season against one another, and the sixth time in the last seven years they’ve met in non-conference play. 

Next year the teams will meet later in the season as Tomahawk moves into the GNC. Tomahawk holds a 4-2 edge since the series resumed in 2017, but Kraemer is 2-1 against the Hatchets, with the only loss coming last year. 

Because the teams see each other during the summer in 7-on-7, and because Tomahawk is a GNC member in a number of other sports, Kraemer said there is a natural rivalry between the schools.

“For Tomahawk, they’re 15 minutes down the road, so this is almost a rivalry game for us and I’m sure — as we get into the GNC and start playing more — it will become a rivalry game for us. You always want to win those games that are close to you,” he said. “They give you bragging rights, and even more for the kids right now with social media. They know each other more than ever. The kids want bragging rights. They want to win.” 

Sweat it out

Heat and cramping may be a potential issue for both teams tonight, with a forecasted kickoff temperature in the lower 70s. Rhinelander did have a few cramping episodes during last Friday’s scrimmage but Kraemer said he’s hoping those issues will be mitigated by the team’s depth and ability to rotate players in and out of the lineup. 

“I think our depth is a little bit more than Tomahawk’s so we’ll be better,” he said. “But, at the same time, you always work about guys on our team that sweat a lot, just like me. Of course I’m worried about that but we feel that our depth at different positions, we can move guys in and out.” 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].