Pigskin preview Week 5: Rhinelander at Tomahawk

After opening Great Northern Conference play on the road with a loss to Lakeland, the Rhinelander High School football team knew that many of their goals — from qualifying for the playoffs again to perhaps still contending for a GNC title — hinged on the four-week stretch that started last Friday.

The Hodags passed the first test with flying colors, racking up more than 420 yards of offense in a 28-7 win over Wausau East at Mike Webster Stadium. The second hurdle comes tonight as Rhinelander hits the road again to face Tomahawk.

The Hodags still need two more wins to become playoff eligible and three more wins to guarantee a postseason berth. With back-to-back games against perennial conference powers Mosinee and Medford looming Oct. 4 and Oct. 10, tonight’s contest and next week’s Bell Game at Antigo are key as the Hodags attempt to position themselves for a playoff push.

“The next three weeks are pivotal to our season, our aspirations,” Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. “Obviously, we’re going to play three very, very tough teams … Both of the teams we’re going to play the next two weeks are close rivals.”

From a geographical standpoint, Tomahawk is Rhinelander’s closest rival, even though this is the Hatchets’ first year back in the GNC for football since 2009. With the exception of the COVID year in 2020, the Hodags have faced Tomahawk every year dating back to 2017, with Tomahawk holding a 4-3 edge since the series resumed. Rhinelander has won three of the last four meetings, however, including last year’s thriller in which the Hodags erased a 21-0 late first-half deficit to win 22-21 on a Landon Bates 19-yard field goal with three seconds remaining.  

“Tomahawk’s going to feel like they had us last year,” Kraemer said. “They’re going to want revenge for the late-game heroics against them.”

As if the Hatchets didn’t have a big enough chip on their shoulder based on last year, at 0-2 in the GNC Tomahawk may be fighting for its playoff life tonight. With Mosinee and Medford looming on its schedule in the next two weeks, the Hatchets have little room for error. The Hatchets let their first two conference games slip away, committing seven turnovers in a 27-11 loss at Wausau East followed by a 27-21 overtime loss at home to Antigo last Friday night. The Hatchets gave up the game-tying touchdown with less than four minutes to play in the fourth quarter and missed a game-winning 37-yard field goal attempt as time expired in regulation.  

“They’re a strong team and they’re coached by a strong coach,” Kraemer said. “It’s simple that we have to go into Tomahawk, we have to hold our heads together and we have to execute at a higher level than we executed this week and last week, especially offensively, and shut them down defensively.” 

Here are five storylines going into the contest.

The ‘Rex’ factor

For perhaps the first time all season, Rhinelander enters a game as the team with fewer question marks on the injury front. That’s because there is plenty of uncertainty as to if Tomahawk’s top player, junior Rex Reilly, will see the field this week.

Reilly left in the third quarter of last week’s loss to Antigo with an apparent shoulder injury after making a diving attempt to tackle Red Robin quarterback Colton Thomae. He did not return to the contest and could be seen on film with his right shoulder taped as he stood on the sideline. 

Reilly’s impact has been substantial for the Hatchets. He started the season and quarterback but has seen more reps as a running back over recent weeks. He leads the team with 406 yards on the ground and six touchdowns. He scored two rushing touchdowns last week against Antigo and had a season-high 228 yards on the ground the week before against Wausau East. 

Defensively, Reilly is Tomahawk leading tackler, with 48 stops from his weak side linebacker spot. 

Kraemer said Monday, until shown otherwise, he’s operating under the assumption that Reilly will play this week and will be a player the Hodags absolutely need to account for on both sides of the ball if he does.

“It’s very clear that they have a special, talented player in Rex Reilly and we’ve got to do the best we can to neutralize his threat running the ball, throwing it,” he said. “As a defensive player, he’s a really good scraper and he reads really, really well. We’ve got to get bodies on him. 

“When I look at him, I look at him as an old I-formation running back. He’s a guy that can run outside the tackles. He’s fast, but he’s a guy that is certainly physical enough to handle the inside game. He’s certainly the guy that we’re worried about and the guy we want to try to neutralize.” 

Tomahawk offense

Reilly is also the team’s leading passer, completing 56% of his passes for 130 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions. However the passing game last week, even prior to Reilly’s injury, rested on the shoulder of freshman Cash Olsen. He went 3 of 8 for 31 yards and an interception last week and could be called upon handle more of the offense this week. 

    In this Aug. 18, 2023 file photo, Tomahawk’s Brayden Larson races for a 58-yard touchdown during the second quarter of a non-conference football game at Tomahawk. Larson caught three passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns against the Hodags last year. (River News file photo)
  

In addition to Reilly, the Hatchets have a dynamic playmaker in senior Brayden Larson, who has seen time both at receiver and running back so far this year. Larson is Tomahawk’s second-leading rusher with 308 yards and three scores as well as the Hatchets’ leading receiver with six catches for 64 yards. What’s more, it was Larson who victimized the Hodags in the passing game in last year’s opener, catching three passes for 166 yards — including scores of 58 and 88 yards that helped Tomahawk build a three-score lead. 

“It’s something we’ll look to take care of right away,” Kraemer said of the making sure Larson doesn’t run free in the secondary like he did last year. “They did a really nice job mixing up the run and they pass, did a really nice job of running between the tackles. We’ve got to be physical this week against them, force them to pass a little bit. If you’ve watch the first few games of the season, we’ve done a really good job taking the football away when the ball’s in the air.” 

Tomahawk defense

The Hatchets come into tonight’s contest having allowed 21.5 points and 294.8 yards per game in their first four contests. Tomahawk has had a respectable run defense, allowing 172 yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry.

While Reilly has been the leading tackler in Tomahawk’s 4-4 look, Larson is close behind in second with 46 stops and the Hatchets have a disruptive defense end in senior Jack Amelse, who already has four sacks and a forced fumble on the year.

“They’ve got No. 75 (Amelse) on the outside edge,” Kraemer said. “They put a lot of responsibility on him to take on that weak side edge and then on the strong side, it’s a matter of how do they move and how do they roll the secondary to put guys in certain positions to make plays. I think that’s what we need to do, is kind of figure that out early.” 

Starting faster

The Hodags have been a second-half team this season, outscoring their opponents 50-0 over the final two quarters in the first four games. While Kraemer said he’s proud of his team’s resiliency, ability to make adjustments and finish games strong, he admitted he’s looking for ways to get off to a faster start this week.

The Hodags had just 11 yards of offense in the first quarter against Wausau East and have been outscored 26-13 in the first half over the last three contests.

“Is it something that’s happening in practice where we’re starting slow in practice and therefore, we’re kind of taking that over to the game? Is there some way or reason that comes with the way that we warm up or prepare on game day? Maybe not enough time on the field,” he hypothesized. “I don’t know what the answer is, but we’re going to try to changing a few things this week to get us moving a little bit quicker and make sure that we’re getting off to a faster start.” 

Don’t look ahead

The close connection with Tomahawk may help Rhinelander from falling into the trap of looking ahead to next week’s Bell Game at Antigo. As cliché as it sounds, Kraemer said it has been critical to take things one practice at a time this week and will be critical to not look past the Hatchets tonight.

“We’re not looking forward. We’re looking directly at today in practice, the Friday night game at Tomahawk. We’re not looking any further forward than that,” he said. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].

WEEK 5 AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Rhinelander at Tomahawk

WHEN: 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 20

WHERE: Hatchet Field, Tomahawk High School

WEATHER: Partly cloudy, 70 degrees, winds light & variable

RECORDS: Rhinelander 3-1, 1-1 Great Northern. Tomahawk 1-3, 0-2 Great Northern.

LAST WEEK: Rhinelander def. Wausau East, 28-7. Tomahawk lost to Antigo, 27-21 (OT).

LAST MEETING: Rhinelander 22, Tomahawk 21 — Aug. 18, 2023

BROADCAST: Audio — 101.3 FM/1240 AM/Thegamenorthwoods.com. Video — NFHS Network (subscription required)