MEDFORD 58, ANTIGO 14 - Wet weather no problem for Raiders in blowout win at Antigo

MEDFORD 58, ANTIGO 14

Whatever momentum the Medford Raiders may have lost in their Great Northern Conference championship clash with Mosinee was regained Friday with 408 rushing yards, 36 first-half points and a lot of fun in a rain-soaked 58-14 win at Antigo.

While the Red Robins stumbled with three turnovers and pretty much no ability to run against Medford’s front seven in the first three quarters, the Raiders looked right at home, navigating the slippery grass with relative ease and not coming close to turning the ball over when it mattered.

“You just have to keep two hands on the football and just try to stay warm,” said senior running back Carson Carbaugh, who ran for 72 yards on 11 carries and scored twice.

Paxton Rothmeier had another big night with 211 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries as he easily clinched his spot as the GNC’s top rusher for 2023. Medford’s rushing totals got a boost in the second half from junior Gage Losiewicz, who had just two carries but they went for touchdowns of 56 and 49 yards.

Rothmeier’s first touchdown was a 68yard run on the second play of the game and gave Medford an 8-0 lead just 31 seconds in. Carbaugh had a 31-yard run on Medford’s second drive to help set up his own 13-yard scoring run to the right pylon that put Medford up by 14 halfway through the opening period.

“I thought the kids could’ve had a slight hangover from losing to Mosinee and not necessarily playing the best,” Medford head coach Ted Wilson said. “It was not only losing but not necessarily playing that well against them. But I thought they came out and did what they had to do, especially early. It was good to see the first two runs, Carbs went for 15 and then Paxton went for a 68-yard touchdown. Then we were able to just keep rolling, put it away early and go home.”

“We came out hot,” Carbaugh said. “Our blocking was good. The first drive only took two plays so that was quite a way to get us going.”

Medford’s ability to handle the ball flawlessly in the rain was no small deal. Junior Joe Jascor got his first start at center, filling in for Colton Dassow, but there were no exchange or snap issues and there were no problems with handoffs either. Wilson said preparation may have helped as the Raiders practiced Thursday with wet footballs.

“We were preparing for there to be quite a bit of water,” Wilson said. “The two footballs we used Thursday were soaking wet. They were constantly in a bucket and we were rotating a ball in every play coming directly out of a drenched bucket. We didn’t give the kids any towels or anything trying to simulate that we were going to have a wet ball. I think that helped the kids understand sometimes you have to slow down a bit and make sure we have things under control and do it right. I thought they did well.

“Joe Jascor did a very commendable job,” Wilson added. “He played really well at center. First varsity start ever, really his first game action this year. I thought Joe did a very good job. We still long snapped like we like to do and I thought he did really well.”

Medford failed to score on a goal-to-go situation late in the first quarter, but that was about the last thing that didn’t go the Raiders’ way in the first three quarters.

A Max Dietzman sack ended Antigo’s lone foray into Medford territory, then Medford overcame a holding penalty and scored on the ensuing drive on a 2-yard run by Rothmeier to go up 20-0 with 6:00 to go in the first half. Cory Lindahl recovered a fumble by Antigo quarterback Jake Verhasselt on the next offensive snap, giving Medford possession at the 21. The Raiders needed just three plays to score on Carbaugh’s 3-yard run to open up a 28-0 lead. Raider Evan Wilkins ended Antigo’s next possession with an interception of a Colton Thomae pass, undercutting the throw toward the sideline and making a juggling, sliding catch at the 36-yard line.

“He broke on it, juggled it and for him to come down with it and keep a foot in bounds was a very athletic, very impressive interception,” Wilson said.

A 22-yard pass from Hank Crass to Charlie Gierl set up a 1-yard scoring run by Wilkins with 32 seconds left in the half that gave Medford a 36-0 lead and put the running clock into effect for the entire second half.

Medford got a quick stop and scored again to start it with Rothmeier breaking out for a 34-yard score. Then it was Losiewicz’s turn. On his 56-yard run, he found a hole straight up the middle, split two would-be tacklers at the second level and just outran the defensive backs to the goal line.

Then, after Antigo’s Alec Knapkavage scored on runs of 68 and 40 yards against Medford’s twos, Losiewicz ended the scoring with a 49-yard run with 1:05 left, running basically the same play but this time breaking through two tackles and then winning the foot race.

“My team just opened the holes I just had to make one guy miss. That’s all it was,” Losiewicz said. “(On the second one) I just remember running hard, seeing one guy and trying to get around him. I was going, I felt a guy wrapped around me, but I said just keep going, keep driving the feet.”

“It’s awesome,” Wilson said. “He has three touchdowns on the year, two rushes for over 100 yards in this game is a pretty special night for a kid like that who hasn’t had a ton of opportunities offensively this year. Very neat to see that. It makes you very excited for next year and what’s to come in his future. It’s pretty cool to watch the twos score.”

Antigo’s 123 rushing yards in the final box don’t tell the whole story as the Red Robins had virtually nothing before Knapkavage broke the two late ones. He finished with 137 yards. Antigo’s quarterbacks combined for -42 yards.

“I think our front seven is very good at stopping the run and plays really well sideline to sideline,” Wilson said. “All of those guys have really settled in to how we’re going to play and have really started to learn that there’s a time and a place for trying to get upfield and try to pass rush and there’s time and a place for playing against the run and assuming that the run is coming. Those two skills are important because you have to distinguish between those two things to be successful defensively. They played well. Other than a couple of passes in the first quarter, defensively we played very well.”

“We just wanted to stop their run game, just communicate on everything and that’s what we did,” Carbaugh said.

With the win, Medford finished the regular season at 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the GNC. They are the two-seed in their WIAA Division 3 playoff bracket, guaranteed two home games if they win their opener and in a spot where they can make a run.

“We’re confident,” Carbaugh said. “We’re ready to knock off some top teams and make a run. We get better every week. We come to practice, just work hard and get better.”

Gage Losiewicz

Joe Jascor