RHS Sports recap: Friday, Aug. 25

Football: Rhinelander 34, Wausau East 15

The Rhinelander High School football team jumped out to a big lead and held on Friday night to defeat Wausau East 34-15 in a non-conference game at Mike Webster Stadium.

The Hodags led 27-2 in the third quarter before the Lumberjacks scored 13 unanswered to make things interesting midway through the fourth, but James Heck scored his second touchdown of the night from 22 yards out with 3:19 remaining to seal it. 

The Hodags racked up 399 yards of offense on the night, led by Heck with 84 yards and two touchdowns on 11 caries. Logan Schwinger had 81 yards and Landon Bates added 76, while Owen Kurtz and Payton Campbell each had touchdown runs. 

Truman Lamers was 9 of 15 passing for 117 yards and a touchdown, as he hit Sam Schoppe from 12 yards out in the second quarter to convert on fourth and goal.

Wausau East’s Pacey Weber was limited to 85 yards on 5 of 11 passing with an interception and had only 23 yards on 14 carries. Weber scored once, as did Caden Werth, who scored on an 89-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Rhinelander (2-0, 0-0 Great Northern) opens conference play at Ashland on Friday.

Volleyball: Rhinelander 2-2, Wis. Dells Invite

The Rhinelander High School volleyball team split its four matches in Friday’s play at the Friendship Tournament in Wisconsin Dells. 

The Hodags swept Bruce 25-4, 25-7 and edged Oshkosh North 18-25, 25-21, 15-7 to win their initial pool, but were then swept by Wisconsin Dells 18-25, 11-25 and fell to Sheboygan North 21-25, 27-25, 9-15 in a crossover pool.

Kelsi Beran had 12 kills on the day to lead Rhinelander, Lucy Lindner recorded 28 assists and Tori Stella had nine digs. 

Rhinelander (4-3, 0-0 Great Northern) ended up in the Bronze bracket as a result of pool play, will play three more matches on Saturday.

Girls’ Tennis: Rhinelander 1-2, Wausau Invite

The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team won one of its three matches in an invite at Wausau on Friday. 

The Hodags beat Wausau East 6-1, but lost to Marshfield 5-2 and Ashwaubenon 6-1. 

Shayla Coppenger was a winner in all three of her matches on Friday. She won twice at No. 3 singles and partnered with Evelyn Sawyer at No. 2 doubles to pickup the Hodags’ lone win against Ashwaubenon. Tori Riopel (No. 1 singles) and Sawyer both collected two wins on the day. 

Rhinelander (6-9, 0-0 Great Northern) will conclude the two-day invite in Wausau this morning.

Full reports will be published in Tuesday’s River News