Rockets roll to 16th straight over rival in rain

It was as wet as it was sweet for the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School football team at Oostburg last Friday.

The Rockets secured the Golden Spike, the traveling trophy between the rivals, for the 16th straight season with a 26-6 victory, the same score of the Rockets’ 2024 win in Oostburg.

Some of the Rockets’ players weren’t born the last time the Flying Dutchmen won a game in the border battle, but coach Dan Schreurs and some of his assistants remember, and the weather made them nervous.

“It was in Oostburg in a rainstorm,” Schreurs said.

This time, the Flying Dutchmen broke the ice to take a 6-0 lead. Schreurs put in a formation in the first half that he wanted to unleash in the second, and it worked.

Running back Austin Knapp was the beneficiary, rushing for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. National weightlifting champion fullback Alex Geib “made an awesome catch” with 20 seconds to go before halftime, setting up the Rockets’ first touchdown.

After taking a 7-6 lead into halftime, the Rockets took over in the final two quarters.

Oostburg had six offensive plays in the third quarter, including a lost fumble.

Tackle Noah Teunissen was among the Rockets’ leaders in tackles. Schreurs said defensive stats were too soaked to read, but the line made the tackles while the linebackers assisted.

“They ran away from RJ (Griffin) again. They kept running into Noah,” Schreurs said. “RJ caught a couple of ball carriers from behind.”

On defense, the Flying Dutchmen keyed on Griffin Knight, who had 13 carries for 121 yards rushing and two touchdowns in a win over Hilbert the week before. He was held to four yards on five carries, but that helped open up the game for Knapp, and quarterback Evan Halleman managed the offense well, Schreurs said.

“Evan controlled the game, got us first downs when we had to. We did play action looks designed for him to run,” he said.

Schreurs praised sophomore defensive lineman Caiden Beymer in his first start filling in for injured Nolan Meinen. Beymer forced a fumble and wreaked havoc. “He was eating everything alive. It was a great coming-out party,” Schreurs said.

The other sophomore getting his first start made it a family affair. Isaiah Teunissen stepped in for Meinen on the offensive line and played next to his older brother Noah and did a solid job. It’s the first time they’ve played together.

“Our offensive line was dominant in the second half,” Schreurs said.

The Rockets were prepared. Schreurs held the ball in a 10-gallon jug of water before each play during Thursday’s practice, and he had the skilled position players dunk their hands in water.

Despite the heavy rain, Daxton Vanderbeek made a one-handed catch for a first down that sealed the game in the fourth quarter.

The Rockets lost tight end Adair Herrera to a shoulder injury. His return this season is unknown.

Oostburg went to 2-1 in the Big East and 3-2 overall. The Rockets, with the same records, host 3-2 Random Lake/Ozaukee for homecoming in an odd rivalry for Schreurs, a Cedar Grove-Belgium grad who works for the Northern Ozaukee School District as director of information technology and was the Warriors’ junior varsity baseball coach for several seasons.

“I know some of the guys. I coached some in baseball,” he said. “I told them I’m not letting up. We’ll play Rocket football.”