RHS Sports recap: Friday, Sept. 8

Football: Rhinelander 13, Hayward 7

Owen Kurtz rushed for two touchdowns and the Rhinelander defense held Hayward to 89 yards of offense Friday night as the Hodags fended off the Hurricanes 13-7 at Mike Webster Stadium in a battle of 3-0 teams.

The Hodags took advantage of a short field for the go-ahead score in the third quarter. Taking over from the Hayward 18 following a botched snap on a punt, Kurtz scored from eight yards out five plays later to put Rhinelander ahead 13-7 midway through the third. 

The defense dominated from there as the Hodags held the Hurricanes to no first downs and minus-17 yards of net offense in the second half. 

Cade Schlapper put Hayward up 7-0 on a 34-yard touchdown grab from Alex Depew midway through the second quarter. After driving three times into Hurricane territory in the first half and coming away empty, the Hodags finally got on the board with 44 seconds before the half on a 1-yard run by Kurtz.

The Hodags finished with 218 yards of offense on the night. Payton Campbell had 83 yards on one carries, while Landon Bates added 48 yards rushing and another 20 receiving. Truman Lamers was 3 of 8 passing for 46 yards and an interception. 

Rhinelander (4-0, 2-0 Great Northern) hosts Antigo in the 89th playing of the Bell Game next Friday night.

Girls’ tennis: Menomonie 5, Rhinelander 2

The Hodag girls’ tennis team fell to Menomonie 5-2 Friday as part of a two-day invite in Wausau. 

Dawsyn Barkus picked up a win by default at No. 2 singles while Shayla Coppenger won in straight sets at No. 3 singles. The Hodags dropped a match tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles with the team of Brooke Sisel and Evelyn Sawyer.

The Hodags were scheduled to play one more match in Wausau on Friday, but those results had not been provided as of the time of this post.

Rhinelander (10-12, 3-1 Great Northn) is slated to play three more matches in Wausau on Saturday.

Full reports will be published in Tuesday’s River News.