Big game in Big East

One trophy was secured again on Friday night for the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School football team, but the Rockets have their eyes on another.

In order to repeat as outright Big East Conference champions, they’ll have to beat fellow undefeated league member Reedsville, followed by a trip to undefeated Hilbert/Stockbridge next week.

Regardless, the Rockets qualified for the playoffs again and have held on to the Golden Spike for the eighth straight year, the traveling trophy between them and their biggest rival, Oostburg, with a 34-0 demolition last Friday.

Running back Alex Acevedo had 113 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 26 carries, and fullback Chris Jentges had 101 yards and a touchdown on 17 runs. Quarterback Michael Navis had 84 yards and a score on 12 carries.

“All three of them ran great,” coach Dan Schreurs said. “Oostburg was able to close on them quickly. Most runs capped at five or six yards.”

Acevedo scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter and Jentges ran in from six yards out in the second.

But Schreurs said his team was uncharacteristically sloppy.

“Offensively, it could have been a little bit cleaner,” he said, referencing penalties and Oostburg’s “kamikaze-style defense” that he thought the team figured out last week but “didn’t execute Friday night like we did in practice.”

Runs that broke 10 yards were often negated by penalties, including a few breakaways by Navis. The Rockets’ coaches eventually were puzzled by the trend.

Navis only threw five times and completed two passes for 11 yards. Schreurs said he didn’t want to call passes going into a stiff wind.

Defensively, the Rockets held the Flying Dutchmen to 91 yards -- 46 passing and 45 rushing. Oostburg completed four of eight passes and were held to 1.4 yards per carry.

Inside linebacker Ben Anzia again stood out with a team-high 12 tackles, and defensive end Chris Daniels made the play of the night.

In the third quarter, Daniels blew past a running back carrying the ball on his way to his assignment, the quarterback. But he forced a fumble along the way, scooped up the ball and took off.

Sixty yards later, he was celebrating in the end zone.

“I haven’t seen him ever that happy,” Schreurs said. “Even on a bum knee, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him run that fast.”

Schreurs credited Tyler Kowalkowski for maintaining a block “for 30 yards solid” that allowed Daniels to score.

The Flying Dutchmen threatened to score once on a slant across the middle, but A.J. Schaefer caught them on the 10-yard line. After stuffing two runs, Kowalkowski forced a fumble and the Rockets recovered.

Daniels ended with seven tackles, and Schaefer had six. Kowalkowski made four.

Schreurs knows it won’t be that easy this week.

“I’m pretty sure the guys know what happened Friday night and we’ll address some of the issues. We’ll put it behind us,” Schreurs said.

After watching film on Reedsville, Schreurs noticed its size.

“They’re big up front. We’ll be outsized, but we’re pretty used to that,” he said.

“They’re decent. They can run and throw. It should be interesting. It should be fun.”

The Panthers come in with leading rusher Brandon Stelzer, who has 689 yards and eight touchdowns, followed by quarterback Carson Schanilec with 407 and 10 scores. Shanilec has completed 26 of 42 passes for 513 yards and seven scores with three interceptions. Their leading receiver is Braiden Dvoracheck, who has 14 catches for 332 yards and three touchdowns.

For the Rockets, Acevedo comes in with 497 yards rushing and seven scores. Navis has 472 yards and six scores, and Jentges has 393 and six touchdowns. Navis has completed 18 of 40 passes for 290 yards and five scores with three interceptions. Max Ford has caught seven balls for 118 yards and three touchdowns.