Pigskin Preview Week 8: Rhinelander at Merrill
Hodags gear up for potential playoff push
The last three weeks have not been good for the Rhinelander High School football team. The Hodags have been outscored 106-8 in that stretch and have gone from 4-0 to 4-3 and fighting for their playoff lives.
Winnicki captures 500 freestyle record, Hodags perfect against Mosinee
RHS follows with Fondy Invite win
The Hodags took down two pool records, the longest-standing varsity record and defeated Mosinee 140-23 Thursday in a Great Northern Conference dual meet at the Heck Family Community Pool.
Hodag offense erupts in win over Antigo
The Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team has struggled to put the ball in the back of the net this season. The team tallied a total of six goals in its first six conference games but that changed in a big way Thursday night. Matthew King scored twice and the Hodags more than doubled their conference goal total as they routed Antigo 8-0 at Mike Webster Stadium.
Hodag volleyball goes 1-3 in home invite
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team picked up a win in its opening match on Saturday but did not have much else go right as it took fourth place in its home five-team invitational at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Medford churns past Hodags 40-8
A powerful Medford ground game was too much for the Rhinelander High School football team to overcome Friday night. Paxton Rothmeier rushed for 153 yards and three scores and the Raiders ran by the Hodags 40-8 at Mike Webster Stadium.
With finale rained out, Hodag tennis looks ahead to subsectionals
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team was supposed to have its last regular season match of the season on Tuesday. It turned out that Mother Nature had different ideas, but the Hodags didn’t seem to mind.
Hodag volleyball takes fifth in Phillips
The Hodags won their final three matches Saturday and took fifth place in the Phillips Invite. After losing to Ashland and Lakeland, the Hodags defeated Elcho to end pool play and then beat Chequamegon and Elcho again to take the consolation bracket of the eight-team meet.
Lady harriers claim Three Lakes Invite
RHS boys take third
The Hodags placed five runners in the top 15 as they edged out Tomahawk and Marathon for the top spot in the Three Lakes Invite at Big Stone Golf Course.
Hodag tennis finishes third in GNC
Rhinelander wound up third on the day at the GNC tournament and finished the conference season in third place overall.
Mosinee shuts out Hodags 42-0
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.
Pigskin Preview Week 6: Rhinelander at Mosinee
Hodags’ mettle to be tested in tough stretch
Rhinelander Hodags are trying to pick themselves off the canvas following a 24-0 loss to Antigo last week in the 89th Bell Game. But rebound games don’t come much tougher than this as the Hodags travel tonight to face defending GNC-champion Mosinee in its Homecoming game.
RHS tennis falls to Lakeland, enters GNC tourney in 3rd
Barring a miracle, the Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team’s run of dominance in the Great Northern Conference was set to come to an end Thursday.
The streak is over
Hodag volleyball sweeps Northland Pines, picks up first conference win since 2017
The RHS volleyball team's 62-match GNC losing streak finally came to an end Tuesday night as the Hodags out-dueled Northland Pines 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
King’s late header gives Hodags 1-0 win at Pines
Matthew King’s header goal in the 76th minute saved the Hodags from their fourth straight draw and propelled Rhinelander to a 1-0 victory over Northland Pines in Great Northern Conference play Thursday in Eagle River.
Hodag netters keep pace in GNC, down Antigo 6-1
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team kept within shouting distance of another Great Northern Conference title entering the final week of the regular season but the Hodags will need a strong effort to lock up their 12th conference title in 14 years.
RHS volleyball swept at GNC meet
The Hodags dropped two more matches as they were swept by both Medford at Tomahawk during the first GNC tournament of the season Saturday at Sheldon Fieldhouse in Antigo.
Bell Game blues
Antigo bullies Hodags, wins rivalry game 24-0
In the eyes of the Rhinelander faithful, the 89th Bell Game was not supposed to go like this — not with the momentum the Hodag football team had built in a 4-0 start and not against an Antigo team that was dominated by Hayward two weeks earlier.
Rhinelander ties Mosinee, falls in PKs
The Hodags suffered the first blemish on their conference record as a pair of late goals off free kicks canceled each other out and Rhinelander settled for a 1-1 draw with Mosinee at Mike Webster Stadium. Mosinee won the subsequent penalty kick shootout, 5-4, for an extra conference point.
Hodag volleyball swept by Mosinee
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team fell to Great Northern Conference-leading Mosinee in straight sets on Tuesday night.
A chance for redemption
Hodags seek to underscore turnaround season, reclaim the Bell tonight vs. Antigo
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.
RHS swimmers dominate Medford, home relays
The Hodags’ tour de force continued Thursday and Saturday with a pair of clean sweeps. Rhinelander finished 1-2 in all 11 events Thursday as it knocked off Medford 134-36 in a Great Northern Conference dual. The Hodags then came home for the first time in competition on Saturday and won all 10 events, setting four meet records in the process, as they waltzed to victory in the Hodag Relays at the Heck Family Community Pool.
Hodag boys’ harriers 2nd, girls 4th at Colby Invite
Despite racing at less than 100%, the Rhinelander High School boys’ cross country team turned in a strong performance Saturday on a course that will determine its state-qualifying fate six weeks down the road.
Close losses costs Hodag tennis in GNC race
Rhinelander falls to Newman 4-3, goes 3-2 in Wausau Invite
A battle between two of the top teams in the Great Northern Conference was ultimately decided by a trio of three-set matches Thursday.
Hodag volleyball falls to Lakeland, goes 1-3 at Ashland
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team could not stop the big run Thursday night as its GNC losing streak reached 59 matches.
Raising ‘Cane
Hodags outlast Hayward in slugfest, move to 4-0
Owen Kurtz scored a pair of touchdowns and the Hodags defense put the clamps on Hayward’s spread attack in a 13-7 win over the Hurricanes at Mike Webster Stadium. Kurtz’s 8-yard score midway through the third quarter proved to be the game winner as the Hodags moved to 4-0 on the year and handed the Hurricanes their first lost of 2023.
Hodag harriers battle the heat in Marshfield
The Hodags finished third overall in the boys’ division and fourth in the girls’ division of the Marshfield Tiger Invite at Wildwood Park. Though Rhinelander finished as the top large school on the boys’ side, the weather dominated the storyline on Tuesday.
Soccer: Hodag offense shaky in win at Antigo
ANTIGO — The Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team got three more points and remained unbeaten in Great Northern Conference play on Thursday, but the Hodags were not in a mood to celebrate as they left Listle Field.
Hodag swimmers set four pool records, rout Ladysmith in GNC opener
The Hodags set four pool records and won all 11 events at the rolled to a 134-36 victory at Ladysmith to open the Great Northern Conference dual meet season.
Shoutouts & Callouts
Packers fans have reason to R-E-L-A-X this fall
I don’t know about you, but I’m less worked up about the start of a Green Bay Packers’ season than I’ve been in quite some time — and that’s a good thing.
Hodags dominate Ashland 32-7, move to 3-0
Truman Lamers threw for 176 yards and three touchdowns, the Hodag defense held Ashland under 200 yards and Rhinelander wore down the Oredockers in a 32-7 win at Weikal Field.
Pigskin Preview Week 3: Rhinelander at Ashland
Hodags’ quest for playoff eligibility begins tonight at Ashland
Rhinelander’s quest to get back to the playoffs begins tonight as the Hodags hit the road to take on the Ashland Oredockers in the Great Northern Conference opener.
Hodag tennis edges Pacelli in conference opener
The Hodags swept doubles and scored a pair of three-set victories as they knocked off Pacelli 5-2 at the RHS tennis courts. The Cardinals (1-2 GNC), who finished in third, eight points behind the GNC champion Hodags in last year’s conference standings, took the top two singles flights kept it close until the end.
Cross country: RHS boys 2nd, girls 4th at Mosinee
The Rhinelander High School cross country team again found itself in the top half of the field on Tuesday. The Hodags hope that will still be the case in a month in a half when they return to Wausau’s Nine Mile Forest for the Great Northern Conference meet.
Hodag volleyball wins five matches, takes 13th in Dells
The Hodags went 5-2 over the weekend and took 13th in the 18-team Friendship Tournament at JustAGame Fieldhouse. After splitting its first four matches on Friday, the Hodags were placed in the Bronze bracket for Saturday’s play. Rhinelander won all three matches Saturday, including a straight set win over Clintonville in the 13th-place match, to leave the Dells with some hardware.
Hodag tennis goes 2-3 in Wausau
The Hodags took part in their final non-conference matches before the GNC season Friday and Saturday, going 2-3 in another invite at Wausau West High School. That puts the Hodags at 7-10 overall on the fall prior to finally opening the conference slate at home against Pacelli this afternoon.
Hodags sweep top three spots at Colby Pentathlon
The Hodags swept the top three spots, had six swimmers in the top 10 overall and won the six-team meet in a landslide. Rhinelander finished the day with 546 points —more than double the rest of the field combined. Rice Lake was the runner-up with 73 points.
RHS soccer blanked by East in home opener
A couple of first-half defensive breakdowns were too much for the Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team to overcome as it fell to Wausau East 2-0 in a non-conference contest Thursday night at Mike Webster Stadium.
Hodag football dominates Wausau East, improve to 2-0
James Heck rushed for 84 yards and two scores as the Hodags racked up nearly 400 yards of offenses and cruised to a 34-15 victory over Wausau East in the home opener at Mike Webster Stadium.
Pigskin Preview Week 2: Wausau East at Rhinelander
Hodags look to build on late rally tonight vs. Wausau East
Cleaning up the mistakes has been the primary point of emphasis this week for the Hodags as they get set to welcome Wausau East tonight for the home opener and non-conference finale at Mike Webster Stadium.
Quinn nets hat trick, Hodag soccer takes opener
Will Quinn scored three times, Will Gretzinger added a goal and the Hodags took care of New London 4-0 on the road in a non-conference contest on Tuesday.
Hodag tennis goes 2-4 in Wausau
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team rebounded from a winless day on Monday, taking two of its final three matches to finish 2-4 overall in the Wausau West Invite that concluded Tuesday.
Team preview: RHS cross country
Hodag harriers look to surprise with mix of experience, underclassmen
With a mix of returning athletes and a solid freshman class, however, RHS cross country coach M.J. Laggis said he wants the Hodags to be a team that turns heads at season’s end like they did two years ago when they emerged from the pack to win the GNC boys’ title.
Rising above adversity
Hodags erase 21-0 deficit, stun Tomahawk on late field goal
Landon Bates kicked a 19-yard field goal with three seconds remaining as Rhinelander rallied from down 21-0 late in the first half to defeat the Tomahawk Hatchets 22-21 at Hatchet Field in Tomahawk.
Hodag swimmers dominate at Merrill Relays
RHS wins 7 of 9 events to claim 12-team meet
Rhinelander figures to have a very strong girls’ swim team this season. Thursday’s season opener provided a glimpse into just how imposing the Hodags could be.
Team preview: RHS boys’ soccer
Hodags look to maintain success with new cast
New head coach John Weigel admitted last Monday when practice began that he and the rest of the Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team have some pretty big shoes to fill following last season.
Hodag tennis wins all three matches at home quad
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team picked up its first three wins of the season on Friday, easily cruising past Ironwood, Mich., Merrill and Ashland to win its home quadrangular meet at the RHS tennis courts.
Team preview: RHS volleyball
Hodag spikers ready to get back into GNC win column
There’s one number that coach Dan Wolter and the Hodag volleyball team are tired of seeing — 57. That’s the number of consecutive matches Rhinelander has lost in the GNC dating back to 2017. It’s a streak that spans three different head coaches and one the Hodags want to put an end to this year.
Mosinee unanimous No. 1 in GNC Media Poll
Hodags picked to finish 5th
Mosinee was a unanimous No. 1 pick to win a third straight conference title in the GNC Football Media Poll — a joint effort of the Northwoods River News and The Lakeland Times that canvasses those who follow the conference on a regular basis.
Notebook: Volleyball starts in the dome
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team will be temporarily displaced for the first couple of weeks of the season.
Hodag tennis drops three matches at Bay Port Invite
Rhinelander dropped all three of its matches in the Bay Port Invite. The Hodags were swept 7-0 by Altoona and Mukwonago and fell 6-1 to Appleton North.