By Jed Buelow

Tomahawk Leader Co-Editor, Sports, Nature Editor

Rhinelander had a big horse in the back field and Tomahawk didn’t have an answer as the Hodags came into Hatchet Field and scored a non-conference win to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The loss dropped Tomahawk to 0-2 on the year as the Hatchets continue to try to find the offense and work to shut down the run as they fell to the up-river rivals by a score 48-6 in the home opener.

The Hodags got the scoring started early and often as they opened the game with three unanswered touchdowns in the first. They would add two more in the second quarter as Rhinelander running back Drake Martin started to heat up to build a 35-0 lead heading into the half. Martin would finish the game with 165 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 16 carries.

Rhinelander would show no let up coming out of the locker room as they continued to add to their lead. Up 48-0 in quarter four, Tomahawk would get on the scoreboard as Cody Scholz made a nice 11-yard run to pay dirt to get the Hatchets on the board. Scholz would finish the game as Tomahawk’s top rusher finishing with 72 yards out of the backfield and a touchdown on 17 carries. The team finished with 121 yards on the ground and 127 yards combined yards of offense on the night.

Tomahawk Hatchet head coach Sam Hernandez said following the tough loss that he was pleased with the fight he saw from his team despite falling behind big early on.

“After struggling to move the ball last week it was really nice to see our run game gain a bit of traction throughout the game,” Hernandez stated. “Our offensive line is continuing to improve and that will help us as the season progresses.”

The coach said he was also impressed with the way C. Scholz ran the ball in leading the Hatchet’s ground game.

“Cody Scholz is a very good football player and showed flashes of the type of running back we are looking for. He ran hard and I’m excited to watch him continue to get better.”

Up next for Tomahawk they hit the road to open play in the Marawood as they travel to Stratford to take on the Tigers Friday, Sept. 6. Stratford is coming off a 41-0 shutout win over Spencer/Columbus to open the season.