Playing for more than pride?
With playoff fate out of its hands, Hodag football looks for win in regular season finale
The Rhinelander High School football team looks to play the role of playoff spoiler tonight and — if all the stars align — perhaps still sneak in to the postseason itself.
PHOTOS: Packers pluck Cardinals, move to 4-2
The Green Bay Packers scored 24 unanswered points in the first half and cruised to a 34-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, Oct. 13 at Lambeau Field.
Hodag boys first, girls second at Hatchet Invite
RHS boys win third straight ahead of conference
The Hodags won their final tune-up Saturday, placing four runners in the top 10 as they took the Hatchet Invite at Tomahawk High School. It marked Rhinelander’s third-straight meet win on the boys’ side and second straight with Lakeland in the field.
Hodags swimmers rout Mosinee, move to 6-0 in GNC
Rhinelander went 1-2 in all 11 events as it defeated Mosinee 139-19 at the Heck Family Community Pool. Eight different Hodags scored at least one victory on Thursday and Rhinelander finished one point away from a perfect dual meet score of 140 points.
Medford rolls over Hodags 43-13
Raiders clinch GNC share, all but end Hodags’ playoff hopes
The Hodags had no answer for Paxton Rothmeier and Medford’s run game. The Raiders racked up 448 yards of offense — all on the ground — and defeated the Hodags 43-13 at Raider Field.
Hokens scores twice as Hodag soccer snaps skid
Hart Hokens scored twice, including what proved to be the game-winner with just over five minutes to play, as the Hodags defeated Mosinee 2-1 at Edgewood Park.
Sawyer and Patrick finish fourth at sectionals
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis season came to an end Wednesday as the team’s No. 2 doubles team of Evelyn Sawyer and Maya Patrick finished fourth in a WIAA Division 1 sectional tournament in Eau Claire.
RHS No. 2 doubles team advances to sectionals
The No. 2 doubles squad of Evelyn Sawyer and Maya Patrick dug in after dropping the second set to Medford’s Lily Holmes and Hayley Metz to prevail in a match tiebreaker 10-6 and advance to sectionals during Monday’s WIAA Division 1 subsectional tournament at the RHS tennis courts.
Cross country: Hodag boys take Pines Invite
Rhinelander placed five runners in the top 20 and edged Lakeland by eight points for the team title in the Northland Pines Invite in Eagle River. Tuesday’s field featured five of the seven GNC schools, with Lakeland and Rhinelander figuring to be the front runners when all of the GNC returns to the Northland Pines High School campus next Saturday for the conference meet.
RHS to face tall task Thursday vs. Raiders
Mathematically, the Rhinelander High School football team still has a chance to make the WIAA playoffs, but it will take a Herculean effort to get there.
Hodag boys claim Medford XC Invite
Depth ruled the afternoon Thursday for the Rhinelander High School boys’ cross country team as it captured its first meet victory of the season. The Hodags placed five runners in the top 12 as it won the five-team Medford Invite around the campus of Medford High School.
Hodag soccer stunned by Antigo 1-0
Johnny Wissbroecker scored in the fourth minute and that held up as the Red Robins defeated the Hodags 1-0 in Antigo. It marked Antigo’s first win over Rhinelander since prior to 2003, as far back as Wisconsin Valley Conference records are available.
Mosinee too much for Hodags on homecoming
Mosinee’s passing attack overwhelmed the Rhinelander High School football team Friday night, leaving the Hodags’ playoff chances on life support. Treve Stoffel threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another, as the Indians defeated the Hodags 26-6 on homecoming night at Mike Webster Stadium.
Hodag volleyball swept out of playoffs by Merrill
The seventh-seeded Bluejays swept the 10th-seeded Hodags out of the playoffs 25-20, 25-20, 25-16 in Merrill. Rhinelander (12-27) held leads in all three sets, but the Bluejays always had the answer at key moments and the Hodags ran out of time to respond.
RHS volleyball downs Pines again
Hodags complete GNC sweep of Eagles
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team hit another milestone Tuesday night as it tries to rebuild following several down seasons. For the first time since 2017, the Hodags have recorded multiple wins in Great Northern Conference play.
Hodag tennis drops regular season finale to Rapids
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team lost Tuesday in its final match of the regular season, dropping a non-conference dual at Wisconsin Rapids 5-2.
Volleyball: Hodags 4th in Phillips Invite
For the most part, the Rhinelander High School volleyball team beat the teams it was supposed to and sparred with some stronger lower-division opponents Saturday in the Phillips Invite. The end result was a 2-3 record and a fourth-place finish on the day as Rhinelander fell to Prentice and Florence in the championship bracket after taking second place in its pool.
Swimming: Hodags cruise past Lakeland 119-50
The Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team may not have been feeling its best Thursday night, but it still had more than enough in the tank to get past Lakeland in Great Northern Conference dual meet play.
Hodag harriers runners-up at Three Lakes Invite
Rhinelander came home second in both divisions of Thursday’s Three Lakes Invite at Big Stone Golf Club. In each instance, the Hodags were beaten by defending GNC champion and the team who figures to be the favorite heading to conference later this month in Eagle River.
RHS tennis takes 5th at GNC meet
The end result was that Rhinelander finished as a middle of the pack team in the GNC, placing fifth in the conference meet Thursday hosted by Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua. Rhinelander finished fifth overall in the eight-team league as well after sitting in fifth through the dual meet portion of the conference season.
Woes continue for Hodag soccer in 5-1 loss to Waupaca
The Hodags continued a grueling stretch of play Monday by conceding four second-half goals in a 5-1 loss to Waupaca in a non-conference match at Mike Webster Stadium.
Hodag netters fall to Medford 5-2
The Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team entered yesterday’s Great Northern Conference tournament in danger of finishing outside the top half of the conference standings for the first time as a member of the GNC.
Hodag swimmers rout Medford, take 7th in Waukesha
The Hodags won all 11 events Thursday as they downed last year’s GNC runner-up Medford 125-45 in a conference dual meet at the Heck Family Community Pool. Rhinelander followed that up by coming home as the high-placing Division 2 program Saturday as it finished seventh overall in the Blackshirt Invite at Waukesha South High School.
Cross country: Gremban, Barr score top 20s at Smiley
In the largest regular season race for the Rhinelander High School cross country team this season, two of the Hodags’ top runners showed strong form as they gear up for a late-season push. Senior Greyson Gremban took 10th overall and sophomore Avrom Barr finished 18th in a field of 148 runners in the Division 1 race at the 68th annual Bill Smiley Invitational in Wausau on Saturday.
Hodag volleyball splits matches in GNC meet
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team overcame a sluggish start to its day Saturday to pick up its first Great Northern Conference win of the season during the first leg of the GNC tournament in Minocqua.
Hodag tennis downs Columbus, looks to position itself for GNC meet
The Hodags swept singles and took two of three doubles matches in a 6-1 victory over Marshfield Columbus in the Hodag Dome. That win temporarily vaulted Rhinelander to third in the GNC standings, two points ahead of Medford and Wausau Newman.
RHS soccer can’t keep up with Pines in 6-1 loss
Still not at 100% on the health front, the Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team was unable to keep with Northland Pines in GNC play Thursday night.
Hatchet haymaker
Tomahawk stuns Hodags 21-14 on last-second fake field goal
Senior Brayden Larson almost single-handedly willed the Hatchets to victory with three big plays in the final minute Friday night and found Landyn Seymour wide open for a back-breaking 31-yard score with three seconds remaining as Tomahawk stunned Rhinelander 21-14 at Hatchet Field.
Lakeland volleyball sweeps Rhinelander
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team could not keep up with Lakeland Tuesday night, falling to the T-Birds in straight sets during Great Northern Conference play in Minocqua.
Hodag tennis falls to Newman 5-2
Rhinelander’s chances to finish in the top half of the Great Northern Conference took another hit on Tuesday. Wausau Newman swept doubles and the teams split singles play as the Hodags lost to the Cardinals 5-2 in Wausau.
Wausau East downs Hodag soccer 6-0
The Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team had a hard time keeping up with Wausau East Tuesday in non-conference play. Lucien Nkoranyi and Gio Gomez each scored twice for the Lumberjacks as they raced past the Hodags 6-0 in Wausau.
Pigskin preview Week 5: Rhinelander at Tomahawk
Hodag football to continue pivotal stretch against hungry Hatchets
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.
RHS swimmers down Ladysmith, win Hodag Relays
Swimming at home for the first time this season, the Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team continued its winning ways in a pair of meets late last week.
RHS soccer drops GNC showdown at Lakeland
Lakeland’s Dominic Gironella scored twice and had an assist, while the Hodags lost starting goalkeeper Barak Rappley to a facial injury as Rhinelander fell 3-0 to the T-Birds. That was part of an up and down end to last week for the Hodags, who returned home Saturday and split a pair of games in a home invite, beating Black River Falls 3-0 before losing to Shawano by the same margin.
Hodag tennis gets back on track with Phillips, Wausau Invite wins
The Hodags dispatched Phillips 7-0 at home Thursday and then won four of their five matches Friday and Saturday in the Wausau West Invite.
Hodag harriers tested at SPASH Invite
Between the field, the course and the conditions, the Rhinelander High School cross country team had its work cut out for itself Saturday in the Stevens Point Invite.
Rhinelander soccer scores early, late to down Mosinee
Scores from Hart Hokens and Michael Schiek lifted the Rhinelander offense while keeper Barak Rappley made six saves as the Hodags defeated Mosinee 2-0 in Great Northern Conference play at Mike Webster Stadium.
Hodag harriers score top five finishes in Marshfield
The Rhinelander High School cross country team scored a pair of top-five finishes Tuesday afternoon in Marshfield. The Hodag girls came home fourth while the Hodag boys secured a fifth-place finish in the Marshfield Invite at Wildwood Park.
Hodag spikers fall to Antigo in four sets
The Hodags stole a set from Antigo, but ran out of steam down the stretch as they fell 25-17, 24-26, 25-9, 25-18 in a GNC match at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Lakeland tennis sweeps Rhinelander
The T-Birds took six matches in straight sets and put the cherry on top with a match tiebreaker win at No. 4 singles as they rolled to a 7-0 sweep at the RHS tennis courts.
Pigskin Preview Week 4: Wausau East at Rhinelander
With Lamers poised to return, Hodags look to get back on track vs. ‘Jacks
Following a 12-8 loss to the Lakeland last Friday night, the Hodags look to get back on track this evening as they host Wausau East at Mike Webster Stadium.
Hodag volleyball takes set from Tomahawk, splits Ashland matches
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team put itself in position in a number of close sets late last week, ultimately going 2-3 in the matches that it played.
Hodag soccer gets first win, beats Antigo 3-1
The Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team finally found the back of the net, and the win column, Thursday night. Hart Hokens had a goal, assisted on another, and the Hodags defeated the Antigo Red Robins 3-1 at Mike Webster Stadium.
Hodag swimmers cruise past Antigo in GNC opener
Despite a juggled lineup, a balky timing system and an atypical pool, the Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team had little difficulty Thursday as it began it Great Northern Conference title defense.
Cross country: Hodag girls win Mosinee Invite
RHS boys take third
The Hodag girls bested most of the GNC on Tuesday and placed four runners in the top 20 as they won the Mosinee Invite at Nine Mile Forest in Wausau.
Rhinelander tennis falls at Pacelli 4-3
Loss follows 1-4 trip to Wausau
A stacked singles lineup was too much for the Rhinelander High School girls’ tennis team to overcome Tuesday. Pacelli swept all four singles matches, which proved to be the difference in a 4-3 win for the Cardinals in Great Northern Conference play in Stevens Point.
RHS volleyball 16th in Friendship Tourney
The Rhinelander High School volleyball team won only one match last weekend but that was good enough for the Hodags to finish 16th in the 24-team Friendship Tournament in Wisconsin Dells.
Shoutouts & Callouts
NFL picks: Is this really the Packers’ year?
Am I ready to get hurt again? Am I ready to go all-in on the Packers and believe they have what it takes to make a deep run in the NFL playoffs and perhaps bring the Vince Lombardi Trophy back home this season? I don’t want to be, but I just might have to be.
Pigskin Preview Week 3: Rhinelander at Lakeland
Resilient Hodags look to find a way against T-Birds in Axe Game
It’s a dinged up Hodag team that travels to Minocqua tonight for the 10th playing of the Northwoods Axe Game against the Lakeland Thunderbirds. It’s also an undefeated team that heads to IncredibleBank Field trying to win back the Axe for the first time since 2021.
Hodag volleyball goes 1-3 in Wyss’s debut
Jayme Wyss scored a victory in her first match as Rhinelander High School volleyball head coach on Tuesday. The Hodags opened with a straight-set win over Berlin before dropping their final three matches of the day to finish sixth in the nine-team SPASH Invite at Stevens Point.