Survival of the fittest, or most hydrated

It took rehydrating two stars and a strong fourth quarter on offense for Cedar Grove-Belgium High School’s football team to pull out a win over bigger and stronger Mayville at home on Friday night.

Quarterback Logan Arrowood and wide receiver Sam Peiffer missed the third quarter due to cramping but came back to seal a 38-20 victory in the season opener.

“It was definitely a roller coaster of a game to put it lightly,” Coach Dan Schreurs said.

“There wasn’t a coach I talked to that didn’t have some form of cramping. It really wasn’t that hot but it was thick out there.”

The Cardinals outscored the Rockets, 14-0, in the third quarter to tie the game at 20. When Arrowood and Peiffer returned, the Rockets kicked it back in gear in the final 12 minutes.

Arrowood hit Gabe Eagh for scores of 11 and 37 yards, then tossed forward to Peiffer behind the line of scrimmage on essentially a run that gets scored as a pass for a 49-yard touchdown.

Arrowood, the Big East Offensive Conference Player of the Year last season, went 15-for-29 for 275 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.

Egan had five catches for 133 yards and three scores out of the backfield, finding success on screens, and Peiffer caught eight balls for 113 yards and a touchdown. A wet, slippery ball from the humid conditions slid out of his hands on what would have been a big gain.

The Rockets were forced to move the ball through the air.

“We ran to keep them honest but we knew we couldn’t run on them,” Schreurs said. “They were just too big and too strong.”

But the team still clicked offensively. Players were reading the defense and coming to the sideline calling for certain plays. Two of the three times Schreurs took their advice, plays worked.

“I had flashbacks to 2016,” Schreurs said in reference to the state runner-up team that had single-season passing record breaker Josh Weiss.

There was another similarity to the electric playoff run from five years ago. Mayville coach Scott Hilber was the coach of Columbus, which lost, 35-28, at home to the Rockets in level 3 of the playoffs.

On defense, Peiffer had a 62-yard fumble return for a touchdown, and Deven Soerens “was phenomenal,” Schreurs said.

The junior linebacker blocked two punts and recovered a fumble. Egan caught a runner from behind who would have scored and jarred the ball loose before Soerens secured it.

“I’m extremely happy with the way the whole team played,” Schreurs said, praising defensive coordinator Jason Klein and the defenders for handling the colossal Cardinals.

Soerens, and linebackers Justin Anzia and Caleb Ledbeter each had eight tackles. Linebacker Billy Navis had seven tackles and a sack, and linebacker Casey Katte had an interception.

Mayville quarterback Adison Mittelstadt went 8-for-14 passing for 111 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Blake Schraufnagel ran 17 times for 131 yards and a score, and Braeden Vollmer ran 11 times for 49 yards.

The Rockets see another familiar face this week at Sheboygan Falls and coach Chris Zablocki, who coached the Rockets from 2006 to 2015. Schreurs, who took over for Zablocki, said they love seeing each other but hate playing each other.

“We know that there’s such a respect among the coaches and the program and it’s going to be a good, clean fun football game. I just wish one of us didn’t have to lose,” Schreurs said.

The Falcons won on the road over Brown Deer, 33-12, on Friday.