A chance for redemption

If a 26-14 loss to arch-rival Antigo in the Bell Game was not the low point for the Rhinelander High School football team last season, it was the moment where the Hodags began their precipitous fall to rock bottom. 

The Hodags were not competitive in a game the rest of the season and limped home with a 1-8 record. 

However, that game may have also served as the catalyst for the rebound season the Hodags have enjoyed this year. 

With tailback Payton Campbell being a late scratch from last year’s game and, ultimately, the remainder of the season, it underscored the need for the Hodags to be more diversified on offense. That led to a change in philosophy this year that, through four games, has seen eight different players score touchdowns. 

Last year’s game, and the team’s response from it over the final month, also led to a bit of soul-searching for the program, which has bounced back with a resilient attitude that has already resulted in two come-from-behind wins this year. 

“That did lead us to a downward spiral. I think that hurt, mentally and physically, to our guys,” Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said this week. “The season last year lead to a lot of soul-searching for me and a lot of hard conversations with a lot of different people about how things were going to go this year. That had to do with personnel, that had to do with our coaching staff and putting guys in the right seats on the bus and moving in the right direction.” 

Just how far Rhinelander has come exactly one year after a troubling Bell Game defeat will be measured tonight as the Hodags host the Red Robins in a quest to take back the Bell for the fourth time in the last five years.

“All of that has kind of led to this moment,” Kraemer said. “If you asked me if we’d be 4-0 at the beginning of the year, I would have told you yes because I believe in this group and believe in what we’re doing, but it’s taken a lot of hard work from a lot of different people to get to this moment.” 

The Hodags have shown plenty of promise this year. Their 3-0 start moved them to No. 10 in the WisSports.net Division 3 coaches poll last week. Rhinelander had to fight hard last Friday night to retain that ranking, fending off a strong Hayward defense in a 13-7 victory at Mike Webster Stadium. 

With a number of key players back from last year’s game, the Robins come in with confidence after playing by far their best game of the season, holding Merrill to 83 yards of offense in a 28-0 shutout win on the road last week. 

Kraemer said he knows Antigo will be hungry too as it seeks to reestablish the dominance that saw the Robins win 15 of 16 in the series between 2003 and 2018.

“We’re expecting that they’re going to throw the kitchen sink at us and they’re going to make this the biggest game of their year. And we are too. We want to win this one because it matters a lot for us,” Kraemer said. “We know they’re going to do everything they can in their ability to beat us and our job is to make sure we play our brand of football and, at the end of the day, one point more than them is enough.

Here are five storylines going into the 89th playing of the Bell Game.

    In this Sept. 15, 2022 file photo, Antigo’s Alec Knapkavage runs for a touchdown during the second quarter of the 88th Bell Game in Antigo Thursday, Sept. 15. Knapkavage, Antigo’s leading rusher this season, rushed for 143 yards and two scores in last year’s game. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Air Antigo?

While Antigo still employs a T-based offense, it has shown a propensity to air it out much more in years past. Antigo has displayed a willingness to operate out of the shotgun at times and has also flexed its ends and wings out wide, creating two, three and even four-receiver looks. 

Just like last week’s opponent, Hayward, the Robins are doing it with a pair of different quarterbacks. 

Senior Jake Verhasselt has seen the majority of the snaps this year going 21 of 45 through the air for 350 yards and two touchdowns, but he has also thrown six picks and has at least one interception in every game so far this season. Junior Colton Thomae has also seen time under center, going 12 of 22 for 167 yards with a touchdown and an interception. 

Verhasselt threw for 90 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s game — both of the jump ball variety to 6-6 target Mason Gray. Gray has since graduated and wingback Javon Bussey has turned into the team’s leading target with 11 grabs for 220 yards and a score.

“They’re still running their base plays, their belly and their criss-cross counter, but it just gives them the opportunity to throw it and if they feel they have the athletes to utilize in those positions then why not do that,” Kraemer said. “If you can still run your base offense but also spread it out, then why not? It’s the same reason we’re in pistol.”

While Antigo can throw, the Robins went back to their bread-and-butter power running game in last week’s win over the Bluejays. The Robins rushed for 229 yards — which was more than they had in the previous three weeks put together. 

Senior wingback Alec Knapkavage rushed for 119 yards and two scores in the game. That was his best rushing effort since last year’s Bell Game, when he torched the Hodags for rushing touchdowns of 67 and 48 yards as part of a 16-carry, 143-yard night. 

Tailback Alex Schlieve (37 car-141 yards-2 TD) has been the counterpunch to Knapkavage in the ground game and Bussey ran for a 43-yard score in last week’s game.

“Bussey and Knapkavage and Schlieve all three of those guys present a challenge to us that is different from one another,” Kraemer. “One has speed (Bussey), one has power (Schlieve) and the other guy has kind of both (Knapkavage). We’re going to have to make sure that we shut those guys down and they’re equal talents this week.” 

Physical defense

Expect an eight-man front out of Antigo tonight with its traditional 5-2 Monster defense. The Robins were physical up front last week, holding Merrill to just 75 yards on the ground and have a disruptive defensive line led by Jayson Arrowood and Grant Praslowicz, who have combined for seven sacks on the season. 

Kraemer said it will be key to focus on the monster linebacker, Mitchell Hotchkiss. He leads the team with 28 tackles and also has a team-best four breakups in the passing game.

“Their monster, Hotchkiss, is a really good player and he’s been playing against us for several years,” Kraemer said. “I remember him all the way back as a sophomore playing against us in that game that we played at home, and being a very hard hitter and somebody that’s flows to the football. We’ve got to know where he is, because he’s their extra guy in the defense. He’s the guy that’s going to set up where they’re unbalanced too. We just have to know where he is and be aware of that.” 

Refining the small stuff

The Hodags will look to get back on track offensively after the Hurricanes held them to a season-low 13 points and 218 yards last week. 

Kraemer said as the newness and unfamiliarity with the Hodags’ offense wears off from opposing defenses, executing all the details becomes even more important. That’s especially true tonight against a team that’s well-versed in the T-based attack.

“Now we’re getting to the part where nuance is important,” Kraemer said. “Teams have seen us on film for six weeks and they know what to expect and what to stop, so we have to execute other things. I think maybe, last week, we clouded our heads with a little bit too much of that nuance and weren’t proficient at the things we’ve been doing all year long. That’s what we need to do offensively, make sure that we’re proficient at the things we’ve been doing and make sure that this week we just clean some things up and finish to the whistle.” 

Don’t stop Bell-eving

The Hodags certainly come in with a chip on their shoulder considering how last year’s game went down. 

Kraemer said he expects a close game, especially considering how the last five games in the series have played out. Three of those games were either tied or one-score contests at the break. Even in 2021, when the Hodags led 21-0 at halftime, that came on the strength of a pair of defensive touchdowns.

If it’s close entering the second half, Kraemer said it may boil down to which team believes in itself more, something he has been trying to emphasize this week at practice.

“If they truly believe in themselves and they just tell themselves they can do it, and their brain speaks to them positively throughout the night, I think we can accomplish a lot — not just winning the Bell this week, but a lot more in the future,” he said.

For whom the Bell tolls

The Hodags are trying to win the Bell for the fourth time in five years. The last time that happened came all the way back in 2002 when, like the current trend, the Hodags won three straight from 1998-2000, dropped the 2001 game 15-14 and then bounced back with a 14-0 shutout in 2002.

Rhinelander is also looking to go 6-0 in trophy games played at home under Kraemer. The Hodags won three straight home Axe Games against Lakeland from 2019-2021 and beat Antigo for the Bell at home in 2019 and 2021. 

The 2021 Bell Game, won by the Hodags 42-0, marked the most points scored and largest margin of victory for Rhinelander in the nine-decade history of the series. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].