On target: Arrowood earns high honor

Cedar Grove-Belgium High School football coach Dan Schreurs often boasted about his junior quarterback Logan Arrowood, comparing him to former Rocket Josh Weiss, who broke single-season passing records in 2016.
Arrowoo

played well enough to earn those accolades and was chosen as the Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year on a team that finished 5-2.

In five games, Arrowood went 58-for-85 passing for 1,130 yards with 19 touchdowns and three interceptions. He ran 41 times for 162 yards and three scores.

Despite missing three games — one due to contact tracing, one to an opponent forfeiting and another because games against two possible opponents fell through due to Covid-19 — Arrowood led the league in passing yards and touchdowns.

In most of the games Arrowood played, he was taken out in the second half because the Rockets had such big leads.

“I think we truly only saw the tip of the iceberg of what he’s able to do,” Schreurs said.

In the Rockets’ playoff game against Brookfield Academy, Arrowood put on a clinic, going 14-for-19 passing for 272 yards and four touchdowns, and running 14 times for 83 yards and two scores.

“He’s just a pure athlete at that quarterback spot,” Schreurs said.

Arrowood headed a list of seven Rockets who made the Big East first team and a total of 17 selections.

Junior wideout Sam Peiffer was Arrowood’s favorite target. He made the league’s first team and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association’s All-Region Team with 33 catches for 623 yards and 15 touchdowns in five games. He played quarterback when Arrowood was out for contact tracing.

“I’m proud of him for being able to step out of Michael Navis’s shadow from last year,” Schreurs said. Navis was a first team wideout and quarterback.

“He put a lot of time in the weight room and he’s definitely deserving of it,” Schreurs said of Peiffer, adding he looks forward to him taking a leadership role next season.

Up front, junior Caleb Ledbeter helped pass block and open holes for runners. A starter from last season, Ledbeter worked hard in the weight room in the offseason.

“He’s not the biggest but he’s strong and he’s aggressive. He fits into our trapping scheme perfectly,” Schreurs said.

On defense, Peiffer made the first team at defensive back. He had 28 tackles, an interception returned for a touchdown, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

Schreurs said Peiffer showed versatility in being able to come up and stop the run as well as defend passes.

Senior inside linebacker Jordan Sells made the first team with a team-high 60 tackles — four for losses — and a sack.

Sells is a beacon of the football program in resilience and perseverance, Schreurs said. Sells was injured as a sophomore and played through pain as a junior before having double hip surgery in the offseason.

“He and I talked with the Broncos (youth football) program about perseverance and overcoming injuries,” Schreurs said. “He was the type of athlete that played through pain and set his goal to play football again, and he did that.”

Sells provided one of the Rockets’ defensive highlights of the season, bursting through the line and knocking over the Howards Grove quarterback and running back at the same time.

Senior outside linebacker Jonah Morales also made the first team with 32 tackles — six for losses — and three sacks.

Morales replaced first-teamer Ty Kowalkowski, and Schreurs said “we knew if we took the leash off of him like we did Ty, he could excel, and he did.

“He’s probably the best edge rusher at outside linebacker the conference had.”

Senior defensive end Markus Ramirez rounded out the Rockets’ first team selections after making the first team last season at defensive tackle. He had 27 tackles — four for losses — and a sack.

“Marcus was just reliable. He doesn’t do things that stand out. He just does things right. That is definitely a good asset to have,” Schreurs said.

Five Rockets made the second team.

Senior wideout Cole Augustiniak had 22 catches for 292 yards and two scores. He grew a couple of inches in the offseason and hit the weight room. He also played a little tight end.

“I think he probably had the second surest hands on the team. He rarely dropped any footballs,” Schreurs said.

Junior Connor Schmit played offensive line.

“He’s a very quiet, very low-key type of player but has just something about him that you like. He does everything you ask him to do,” Schreurs said, adding Schmit took sophomore lineman Diego Morales under his wing and helped him along the way.

Sophomore offensive lineman Matthew Navis joined Schmit on the second team. He grew over summer to 6 feet, 1 inch and 180 pounds and was bigger by the end of the season.

“With the young offensive line we had, they really teamed up together. They knew what we needed to accomplish and they did that for us,” Schreurs said.

Senior Jacob Hoevker made second team at defensive tackle. He had 18 tackles, including one for a loss. Seeing him as a freshman, Schreurs said, one would think he would never play football.

“He stuck it out, committed to getting better. He knew he could hold that position this year,” he said.

Matt Peterson made second team as punter. With a high-powered offense, he only punted four times but had a league-high average of 39.8 yards per boot.

Peterson played football full time this year after splitting time with soccer last season. Schreurs said he was a good asset, especially on the scout team.

As a kicker, Peterson was one of five Rockets to earn honorable mention. He was 13-for-20 on extra points and never attempted a field goal. The kicking game struggled a little this season but Peterson had the most extra points, Schreurs said.

Augustiniak was recognized at defensive back. He had 32 tackles and an interception

Schreurs said Augustiniak could play the pass and run.

“He flew up to the football very well to make tackles. He was third or fourth on the team in tackles on some nights. A lot of that was at the line of scrimmage,” he said.

Senior running back Cayden Fisher earned honorable mention after making the second team last season. He had 374 yards and four touchdowns on 81 carries for an average of 4.6 yards per run.

Schreurs said running backs weren’t utilized as much in this year’s offense, but Fisher ran strong and “hit holes hard.”

Junior inside linebacker Justin Anzia was second on the team with 52 tackles — two for losses — and had a sack.

“He reads his keys and linemen very well to know where stuff is going,” Schreurs said, adding the next step is to add muscle to his 6-2 frame.

Sophomore outside linebacker Deven Soerens joined Anzia in earning honorable mention. He had 34 tackles — one for a loss — a sack and a fumble recovery

Schreurs said Soerens is following a line of strong pass rushers at the position.

Ozaukee lands four on first team

For Ozaukee, junior running back Jack Genzmer was among four first-team selections for the Warriors.

Genzmer had 1,102 yards rushing on 172 carries, averaging 6.4 yards per run, and nine touchdowns in eight games. He also made the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association’s All-Region Team.

“I don’t think it’s a stretch to say teams’ defensive plans were eight or nine guys on Jack,” coach Michael Schatz said.

“He’s one of the best-kept secrets in scouting circles. Whoever ends up getting him is going to get more than what they paid for.”

Schatz, in his first year as Ozaukee head coach, said he could tell what kind of player Genzmer was from seeing his stats last season.

“But once you meet the kid you realize he’s a great person. Sometimes you see a kid and wow, that one might be a little different,” he said.

Up front, Trevor Decker helped open holes for Genzmer and handled a position switch that opened opportunities. Decker moved from center to guard early in the season and made the first team.

“That just helped his confidence immensely,” Schatz said. “He was able to absorb changes in philosophy on offense and execute them on a high level.”

Decker worked hard over summer to become a different player than Schatz met in spring.

“He’s a kid who just changed himself. He’s one of the top five linemen in a conference that has an amazing group of linemen across the board,” he said.

On the other side of the ball, outside linebacker Cael Large made the first team, racking up 63 tackles — seven for losses — and three interceptions.

“I don’t even know how to fully describe him. He’s got that aggressive mentality. You feel like he’s excited when he gets an interception but he looks disappointed that he didn’t get to hit anyone,” Schatz said.

Large was chosen by his teammates to be a captain and Schatz said he could see why when he watched Large during film, lifting and practice sessions.

“He is the absolute heart of our defense,” he said.

Defensive lineman Braxton Gahan made the first team with 53 tackles — eight for losses — three sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble. He led the Warriors in hurries and disrupted opponents’ offenses in the team’s new scheme focusing on more penetration.

“He is the without a doubt the best run-defending lineman in the entire conference. He is unbelievable in diagnosing, shedding the block and getting there,” Schatz said

Gahan made the Big East second team as a tight end. He caught nine passes for 110 yards and didn’t draw a penalty when blocking. Standing 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing 235 pounds, he was the Warriors’ top receiving threat and regularly drew two to three defenders.

If Gahan was a lineman, Schatz said, his blocking would have earned him a spot on the first or second team.

Offensive lineman Zach Bell also made the second team. He had zero penalties and opened holes for Genzmer.

“He moved around to a couple of different spots on the line out of necessity. We knew he could handle it physically and mentally and we knew running behind him we were getting four to six yards regardless of what happened anywhere else,” Schatz said.

Bell also made the second team as a defensive lineman. He made 30 tackles, including 3.5 for losses and had 1.5 sacks. Schatz said switching to a one-gap penetrating system let Bell succeed.

While it didn’t show on the stat sheet, Bell’s push up the middle “made a lot of things happen across the entire defense,” Schatz said.

Genzmer made the second team at defensive end. He had 40 tackles, including 7.5 for losses, 10 sacks and two fumbles.

He played free safety in the first game before Schatz moved him to defensive end “just telling him to wreak havoc.”

“It turns out that’s a very successful thing to do with the most physically dominant player on your team,” he said.

Inside linebacker Brandon Harbison made the second team with 91 tackles — 9.5 for losses — 2.5 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries.

“Brandon is the soul and brains behind (the defense),” Schatz said.

Sometimes, Harbison would respond to his coaches’ signals about what to call, and Schatz would listen since he thinks his players see situations on the field better than he does from the sideline.

“All of a sudden, it’s a pick, tackle for loss, sack or fumble. He’s just got that outstanding football mind,” he said.

Harbison also helped show freshman Bret Hamm the ins and outs of the defense. Schatz said he could be a great coach someday.

Defensive back Phil McLarty received honorable mention with 47 tackles, three interceptions and three pass break-ups.

McLarty wasn’t a starter until the second week of the season.

“Going into next year with a full season of Phil in the right spot, I have no clue how good he’s going to be,” Schatz said.