Raiders, Hawks hit the road; Gilman hosts Cornell

WEEK 4 FOOTBALL

The Medford Raiders and Gilman Pirates aim to keep rolling this Friday night, while the Rib Lake-Prentice Hawks see an opportunity that can be seized as we’ve already reached the fourth weekend of high school football.

  After lopsided wins over Amherst and Merrill, Medford looks to make it three in a row Friday when it visits the Lakeland Thunderbirds for a 7 p.m. Great Northern Conference.

In week four last year, Medford outscored Lakeland 45-20 behind a school-record 352 rushing yards from Aiden Gardner and 463 team rushing yards.

So far this year, Lakeland (0-1, 0-3) still hasn’t had much luck stopping teams, allowing 38 points and about 300 yards per game in its three losses, two of which reached running clock (Edgar 35-7 and Mosinee 40-7). The T-Birds lost a backand-forth battle with Tomahawk in week two 36-29, giving up the decisive touchdown in the last minute.

Offensively, the T-Birds have some pieces to be aware of. Quarterback Brayden Wiczek is a three-year starter at quarterback and threw for 157 yards in last year’s game. Senior Rocky Wagoner was thought to be one of the top returning running backs in the GNC this fall and receiver Max Masayesva was a second- team All-GNC performer last year. “They have some nice athletes with Masayesva, Rocky Wagner and their quarterback, plus they have some size up front,” Medford head coach Ted Wilson said. “They’ve changed their scheme a little. They’re trying to run the ball a bit more than they have in the past. So we’ll have to be assignment sure and fundamentally sound.” Medford has won 10 of its last 11 meetings with Lakeland, not including the 2020 Covid forfeit the Raiders got over the T-Birds. The Raiders have run for 354 and 259 yards in their last two wins over Amherst and Merrill. If they can eliminate some of the penalty issues and bobbles they’ve had on offense in those wins, the Thunderbirds will have their hands full.

  The Gilman Pirates haven’t been challenged in two weeks of eight-player football and they’ll be heavily favored again Friday when they host Cornell in a 7 p.m. Central Wisconsin crossover game.

While Gilman outscored Lake Holcombe and Bruce by a combined 98-0 in the first two weeks, Cornell has lost 54-22 to Athens and 44-28 to Alma Center Lincoln in the crossovers.

The offense has been solid, led by running back Dylan Bowe, who rushed for 197 yards and three touchdowns at Athens and 178 yards and a score against Lincoln. He has stepped after Cornell lost its top back, Avery Turany to injury early in the opener against Athens. Quarterback Daniel Person also had a big game against Lincoln, scoring three times.

The problem early on for Cornell has been big early deficits. The Chiefs, who are in their second eight-man season, were down 30-8 at the half last week and 40-6 at the half at Athens.

Gilman has had the opposite results so far, leading 37-0 at the half at Lake Holcombe and 42-0 at the half against Bruce.

“They’re going to run the ball. That’s their thing,” Gilman head coach Robin Rosemeyer said. “They use a lot of offbalance formations and a lot of cutbacks, so we’ll have to keep our discipline on defense to not allow those cutbacks. We still have to defend the point of attack but be ready for those cutbacks.” The neighboring school districts have not met in football since the 2009 WIAA Division 7 playoff opener, a game won by the Pirates 32-7.

  The Rib Lake-Prentice Hawks take the first of two straight long western road trips this week when they meet the Webster Tigers in a matchup of 0-3 teams.

This will be Webster’s first conference game. The Tigers fell 20-0 in non-conference play last week to Kingdom Prep Lutheran, a team the Hawks will also see later in the seasson. They’ve also lost 39-0 to Turtle Lake and 36-7 to Clear Lake.

“They’ve lost some of their quarterback play from last year,” Hawks’ cohead coach Jonah Campbell said. “They threw quite a bit last year, but it looks like offense is hit and miss with things that they’re running. They’re still trying to find their groove and what their best plays are. It’s similar to us where one time the play works and the next time it doesn’t. We’re trying to figure out why that is and things like that.”

Offensively both teams have just one touchdown in three games, though the Hawks’ game with Unity Friday lasted just one quarter due to weather. Webster’s rushing game has been led so far by Brandon Emerson, a senior who’s gained 135 yards on 40 attempts and scored the team’s lone touchdown. Ashton Erickson, another senior, has completed 12 of 23 passes but only for 109 yards as he steps into the starting quarterback role.

A positive going into the game for the Hawks is they’re hopeful to finally have their starting line healthy and on the field. Senior Ryan Griebel returned for the Unity game and the team hopes to get senior Jacob DiFrances back after he missed most of the last two games.

“Between DiFrances, Griebel and (Michael) Butler, those are three guys with experience, but we haven’t been able to have all three on the field,” Campbell said. “It’s been tough to even get two on the field.”