Photos by Bob Mainhardt

The football playoffs began Friday with a two game maximum for all teams, in four-team pods. Win your first game and you play again on Thursday. The Hodags’ four-team pod included the Lakeland T-Birds, Wausau West and Mosinee. Wausau West forfeited their game to Mosinee for health reasons so the winner of the Hodag, T-Bird contest will next play Mosinee.

Friday night was also the game for the Axe that the Hodags won back last year and wanted to keep. The T-Birds scored first but did not score the point after and led 0-6. The Hodags came back to tie the score as the point after kick was blocked. Lakeland would score two more touchdowns and make good on one two-point conversion as the Hodags would score with 14 seconds left in the half and miss the two-point try to end the half down 12-20.

The second half scoring was all Rhinelander as the Hodags scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, a two-point conversion on  a pass to Jackson Labs after the first to make the score 20-20. The second touchdown was followed by the extra point kick with 1:59 left in the game.

The defense would hold after the kickoff from the Lakeland 30 yard line due to two 15-yard penalties after the Hodag extra point kick. Quinn Lamers squib kicked the ball and Lakeland recovered the ball at their own 11 yard line.

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Quinn Lamers' extra point attempt was good after Lamers scored a rushing touchdown with 1:59 left in the game. The score was 27-20 at that point. The defense would hold Lakeland to a turnover on downs after the kickoff and hold the ball for the last 1:06 for the win, to keep the Axe and give the team their first ever playoff win.