Pigskin Preview Week 2: Wausau East at Rhinelander

Last Friday’s dramatic come-from-behind victory at Tomahawk can be looked at a couple of different ways. 

On one hand, the Hodags showed plenty of mettle, not blinking in the face of a 21-0 first half deficit as they rallied to win 22-21 on a Landon Bates field goal with three seconds remaining. 

“The boys never stopped believing that they could do it,” Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. “We talked about at halftime that we were in control of the game, that we needed to make a defensive adjustment and finish with the ball on offense. We got contributions everywhere … Everything needed to happen just right to make the comeback.”

On the other hand, the hole was one the Hodags primarily dug themselves with offensive miscues and missed assignments on defense. 

Cleaning up the mistakes has been the primary point of emphasis this week for the Hodags as they get set to welcome Wausau East tonight for the home opener and non-conference finale at Mike Webster Stadium.

“We need to have a focused week of practice, and win with fundamentals,” Kraemer said. “Get rid of the fumbled snaps, procedure, turnovers offensively, and take away big plays and force them to work for their points. We are very excited to be back at home this week.”

Wausau East is excited to play varsity football anywhere. The Lumberjacks had not done so since 2020 — and that season was nixed after only two games due to COVID-19 concerns. In the face of low numbers and tough competition in the Valley Football Association, East instead opted to play 8-man and JV games the last two seasons before returning to 11-man varsity this year. 

The Lumberjacks were successful in their return last week, scoring 23 unanswered points to defeat Lakeland 23-7 in Minocqua. That was the team’s first varsity win since week 3 of the 2019 season.

Despite playing Wausau East at the JV level last fall, Kraemer said, the Lumberjacks provide a bit of an unknown entering tonight’s game. 

“One thing you know about Wausau East is they’re fast,” he said. “We see them in track a lot. We know they’ll be fast and they’ll be big, but what kind of discipline do they have, what kind of offense do they run, what kind of defense to they run, that’s what we’re going to have the figure out.” 

Here are five storylines entering tonight’s game.

    Tomahawk’s Brayden Larson races past Rhinelander’s Andrew Eckrich for a 58-yard touchdown during the second quarter of a non-conference football game at Tomahawk Friday, Aug. 18. The Hodags are looking to shore up a pass defense that gave up two long touchdowns in the first half of last week’s game against a Wausau East offense that threw for 215 yards against Lakeland in Week 1. (Casey Mayo for the River News)
  

Pace-y offense

Wausau East spread Lakeland out last week, using multiple three-plus receiver sets. Senior quarterback Pacey Weber had a big game for the Lumberjacks. He passed for 215 yards and a touchdown and was also the team’s leading rusher with 121 yards and two scores.

That makes it doubly important for the Hodags to shore up a pass defense that gave up touchdowns of 58 and 88 yards to Tomahawk’s Brayden Larson the first half of last week’s game.

“Pacey is a good ball player,” Kraemer said. “He is fast, athletic, and throws a great ball. It’s clear to me that everything offensively runs through him. Considering the way we struggled in the first half, they will be licking their chops. We have to cover until the whistle and get after him with the pass rush to win this week.”

Bringing the heat

Defensively, East stifled a Lakeland offense that was trying to find its identity after graduating its top three playmakers from last season. 

The Lumberjacks held the T-Birds to 126 yards of offense and shut out Lakeland from the second quarter on. 

Expect pressure from Wausau East, which showed a 3-4/5-2 look with hybrid defensive end/outside linebackers standing up on the edge at the line of scrimmage. The Lumberjacks also showed a willingness to walk an inside linebacker up to the line pre-snap, making reads more difficult. 

Kraemer said he’s hopeful that the Hodags can use East’s aggressiveness to its advantage this week with the team’s misdirection attack.

“They want to take away the middle up front and confuse your line with movement,” he said. “Against this offense, that can be just what we are looking for. The movement might help our angles, give us a chance for big plays for our wings and tailback.” 

Clean it up

Look for the Hodags to try to limit the myriad of mistakes they made in last Friday night’s game. The Hodags lost the turnover battle by two off a pair of Truman Lamers interceptions and put the ball on the ground three times, though they did not lose any of those fumbles. 

Rhinelander also won last week in spite of committing 13 penalties in the game. The Hodags overcame three procedure penalties on the final drive alone before kicking the game-winning field goal.

Stay in the present

After last year’s struggles and last Friday’s success, Kraemer said it would be easy for the Hodags to get caught looking back or looking ahead. This week in practice, the team has been breaking down on “humble” in an effort to stay focused on the task at hand.

“A few years back, Giannis Antentekuompo talked about humility vs. ego and pride,” Kraemer said. “We are trying to encourage our guys not to think about the past or the future, but live in the moment. It is the moment that makes this sport special.”

Recent history

The last meeting between these teams was a 31-13 victory for Rhinelander during week 4 of the 2019 season — which came on the heels of 3-0 starts for both teams. 

This year’s seniors were eighth graders then, so very little from that contest is applicable. Kraemer said last year’s JV game does not apply much either, especially considering the Hodags’ new offense. 

Wausau East will join the GNC beginning next year for at least one season. The future of the series beyond 2024 is uncertain as the Wausau School District has put plans in motion to combine East and West into one high school by as early as 2025.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].