CG-Belgium football shut out

It wasn’t exactly Mayville 2.0. The score just looked that way.

Untimely mistakes led Cedar Grove-Belgium’s football team to its second shutout of the season, this time at defending Big East Conference champ Manitowoc Lutheran, 19-0, last Thursday.

It was a better performance than the opening week’s 23-0 loss at Mayville.

“We were able to move the ball. We just didn’t make plays when we needed to,” coach Dan Schreurs said.

On fourth and one inside the Lancers’ 20-yard line, a defender slipped off a block and got national champion weight-lifter Alex Geib down in the backfield.

On second and three, Evan Halleman rolled out with a receiver wide open in the end zone but a defender dove and tripped Halleman up.

Still, the Rockets were only behind by two scores with less than 90 seconds left. The Lancers recovered a fumble in the end zone late in the game.

The Lancers’ other two scores came on big plays.

“We held them in check,” Schreurs said. “We moved the ball. I felt pretty confident. We were moving four yards per carry.”

Halleman ran 19 times for 63 yards. Grriffin Knight ran six times for 38 yards. Austin Knapp ran 11 times for 38 yards and Alex Geib ran six times for 27 yards. The Rockets’ averaged 3.9 yards per carry.

Halleman went 3-for-6 passing for 40 yards with an interception.

Inside linebacker Josh Anzia had 12 tackles, and his cousin, linebacker Nolan Anzia, “had a really great hit. He stuffed a kid in the backfield,” Schreurs said. “I’m pretty sure I could hear the air go out of his body when he hit him.”

Defensive lineman Noah Teunissen anchored one side of the field with nine tackles, and the Lancers avoided defensive back Noah Peterson, not throwing to his side all night long.

The Lancers came in having scored 45 and 21 points in their first two games.

“To hold them to 12 is special,” Schreurs said. “The offense is right where they left off last year. They’re pretty good.”

The Lancers have 72 players in the program to the Rockets’ 45.

Despite losing some starters to graduation, “In a Division 6 school with that many players, there’s a good chance to find athletes to replace them,” Schreurs said.

This completes the Rockets’ gauntlet in the first three weeks against two state champions and a state semifinalist. Those teams went 40-1 last year.

The Rockets, 1-2, return to Friday football on Sept. 11, by hosting 2-1 Hilbert and senior running back Jack Pakala, who has 39 carries for 385 yards and six touchdowns this season. He had 1,314 yards and 17 touchdowns last season and named to the Big East first team.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” Schreurs said.