Obbink’s passing, Giles’ rushing carry CG-Belgium past Random Lake for impressive league-opening win

Who says the Cedar Grove-Belgium football team has an aversion to passing?CEDAR GROVE-BELGIUM’S Alex Giles fought for yardage as he broke through the line during Friday’s win over Random Lake. Giles rushed for 202 yards in the 44-6 victory. Photo by Sam Arendt

The high-flying Rockets laid that myth to rest last Friday when they handled Random Lake through the air — as well as on the ground — and opened their Central Lakeshore Conference schedule with a 44-6 road win.

In flexing its muscles as the league title favorite, Cedar Grove-Belgium charged ahead early and remained in control through the night.

After overcoming slow starts in two nonconference victories to open the season, the Rockets broke to a 21-0 lead against Random Lake and held a 28-6 edge at intermission.

By that time, Cedar Grove-Belgium had scored two touchdowns rushing and two passing, the latter on quarterback T.J. Obbink’s strikes of 37 yards to tailback Alex Giles and 58 yards to tight end Jon Herzog.

“The kids executed very well. It was a very balanced offense for us,” Rockets coach Chris Zablocki said.

“Random Lake had a nice game plan and came out with a defense we didn’t expect. They slowed our running game down, but that opened up some pass plays for us.”

Obbink, who found Giles open out of the backfield for the game’s first score, finished the game 5-of-6 for 138 yards.

Obbink then put the Rockets up, 14-0, when he scored on a 10-yard keeper.

But the biggest offensive star of the night was Giles, a 170-pound junior who rushed for 202 yards on 22 carries. Giles’ 68-yard touchdown burst in the third quarter gave Cedar Grove-Belgium a 34-6 lead and effectively ended any thought of a Random Lake comeback.

The Rockets dominated play by controlling the trenches, Zablocki noted. The offensive front opened holes for a rushing attack that collected 267 yards, and the defensive line limited the Rams to just 11 yards on 19 attempts.

Quarterback Brady Schmidt gave Random Lake some offensive life by completing 10 of 22 passes for 159 yards.

“It’s a credit to our defensive players and coaches. They did a tremendous job and controlled the line of scrimmage,” Zablocki said.

“We’re fortunate because we don’t have a lot of two-way starters on the line, and we can keep fresh players in there.”

The Rockets’ only breakdown defensively came in the second period when Schmidt found Tim Grimes open for a 41-yard touchdown pass. Grimes finished the night with four catches for 71 yards.

But Cedar Grove-Belgium more than made amends by outscoring the Rams, 23-0, the rest of the way.

The Rockets (3-0 overall) are expected to face a tougher test in a key early season showdown this Friday. They  will host defending CLC champion Oostburg (2-1) at 7 p.m.

“It’s a huge game,” Zablocki said.

“Oostburg has a very disciplined offense, so you have to be disciplined defensively or they will  hurt you. They also play very tough defense.

“We’ll have to come ready to play.”

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