Mosinee shuts out Hodags 42-0

MOSINEE — The Rhinelander High School football team could not keep with Mosinee’s big play attack on Friday night.

Keagan Jirschele scored three touchdowns, Wyatt Harris rushed for two more and the defending GNC champions shut out the Hodags 42-0 in Mosinee. 

The loss marked Rhinelander’s second straight shutout loss following a 4-0 start. The Hodags are in the midst of a tough stretch of the schedule but need one more win  to become playoff eligible and two more wins to guarantee a spot in the postseason. 

Coach Aaron Kraemer said he was still optimistic the his team can find a way to get out of the doldrums in time to make the playoffs.

“We’re in the dark forest right now, this is tough and we’re trying to search and figure out some things to finish the season strong, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I see it, and that’s why I’m not upset right now,” he said. “I don’t like losing but, at the same time, I told them we’re going to learn a lot about ourselves and we’re going to fix the problems before we go against Merrill, before we go against Lakeland.”

Jirschele got Mosinee started with a 21-yard score after Mosinee picked up a fourth-and-12 on a 20-yard screen pass to Harris. Then, after the Hodags went three-and-out, Jirschele displayed his elusiveness, getting free on the sideline for a 64-yard punt return that put Mosinee up 14-0 with 6:05 left in the opening quarter. 

Kraemer said the Hodag defense gave Mosinee’s speed too much respect early on in the contest.

“We kind of knew what their speed was but we kind of consigned to that speed a little bit,” he said. “We allowed them to push us back, make short throws and easy throws and I think we just didn’t trust in our own speed, our own athleticism. As soon as they figured it out, I think they started to play better.”

After a Hodag fumble, Mosinee cashed in on a six-play drive with Harris punching it in from six yards out to put Mosinee up 21-0 with 1:15 left in the first. Harris scored a gain from three yards out with 1:40 left in the first half after Elliot Yirkovsky picked off Truman Lamers on a screen pass in Hodag territory.

Jirschele added a 15-yard catch and run for a score in the third quarter and Yirkovsky carried it in eight yards off an option pitch later in the quarter. 

Jirschele finished the night with four catches for 50 yards, but added another 92 yards on special teams. Harris had 122 yards rushing on 16 carries and quarterback Gavin Obremski was 9 of 17 passing for 116 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

The Hodags meanwhile, struggled for the second straight game on offense, amassing only 74 total yards. Landon Bates led the Hodags with 21 yards rushing on five carries. James Heck had four catches for 12 yards and Lamers was 6 of 14 passing for 42 yards and two interceptions.

    Rhinelander’s Truman Lamers attempts to field a wide snap during the second quarter of a GNC football game at Mosinee Friday, Sept. 22. The Hodags were held to 74 yards of offense and committed four turnovers in the loss. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Oh, snap

Rhinelander was without tailback Owen Kurtz (ankle) for the contest, but the bigger loss appeared to be that of center Kaeden Piller, who missed the game due to illness. 

Ben Lyon and Landon Webster split time replacing Piller at the position, but there were a number of off-target snaps for the Hodags out of their pistol formation. The Hodags were credited officially with four fumbles in the game, though there were several snaps that were either low or juggled.

“It’s tough when you lose your center,” Kraemer said. “We’re trying to figure out a guy that can get it done. Both of those guys, they played hard, but the battery was tough tonight and getting the snap was tough tonight. When you can’t used the motion and you don’t have the timing, it’s tough to run an offense.” 

Mosinee meltdown

Obremski was disqualified from the contest following a bizarre sequence late in the first half in which Mosinee picked up three personal fouls on the same play. 

Trying to get the lead to 35 points at halftime to trigger the running clock rule, Obremski was intercepted in the Hodag end zone by Zach Germain. Germain attempted to return the interception and was tackled at his own 2. But Obremski was flagged for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the sequence — leading to his ejection — and Mosinee picked up another personal foul near the spot of the interception. Rhinelander took over from its own 47 after 45 yards of penalties were assessed. 

The Hodags picked up a personal foul of their own moments later after Payton Campbell was hit hard following a 22-yard completion. 

Mosinee was penalized 12 times for 125 yards — including six personal fouls — in the contest. The Hodags were penalized four times for 30 yards.

“I’m not going to comment the things that were happening on the field,” Kraemer said. “I told our guys to just shut their mouths and play football. They did. We had a personal foul penalty. I was upset at that one and told (the refs) we’re just trying to protect our guys.”

Treve Stoffel replaced Obremski in the second half, throwing a touchdown pass to Jirschele.

Bullet dodged

The Hodags tried to get aggressive after the slew of late first half penalties, and it nearly cost them dearly. Lamers was shaken up after getting drilled by Mosinee’s Andrew Nievinski on a Hail Mary attempt to end the first half. Footage of the play showed Nievinski hitting Lamers in the torso, leading with the crown of his helmet.

Lamers was down on the field for a couple of minutes, but only had the wind knocked out of him. He returned to the game for the start of the second half. 

It was part of another long night for Lamers, who was sacked five times for the second straight game.

“I know it’s tough as a quarterback when you’re getting hit,” Kraemer said. “I told him before the game just continue to be tough, pop up from those hits and keep going. He’s doing OK but at the end of the game I was just concerned for him because, obviously, we need him the remainder of the way.” 

Takeaways

Rhinelander’s four turnovers were the most for the team this season. It came against a team that has been adept at taking the football away. Mosinee’s defense has forced 18 turnovers in six games.

Mosinee parlayed all four takeaways into touchdowns.

Up next

Rhinelander (4-2, 2-2 Great Northern) faces another tough test this Friday as Medford comes to town. The Raiders (5-1, 4-0 Great Northern) are riding a five-game winning streak after defeating Hayward 36-7 on Friday.

The Raiders feature the top rushing offense in the league, led by Paxton Rothmeier, who has already scored 11 touchdowns in four conference games.

“They’re tough and they always are,” Kraemer said. “Obviously, Rothmeier’s one of the best running backs in the conference and they always have a good passing attack off of that run. The suck you in and then they get a big one. We’re just going to try to play a physical game against a physical football team.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].