Powerful Rockets shoot past Elkhart in battle for first

ELKHART LAKE – A young Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah football squad took one on the chin here Friday night but gained valuable experience for the rest of the season.

Powerful Cedar Grove-Belgium, with a huge advantage in experience, rolled past the Resorters, 38-0, in a matchup of unbeatens in the Central Lakeshore Conference football race. The Rockets, who were the Division 5 state runners-up and CLC champions last year, seized sole possession of the CLC lead with a 4-0 record and improved to 6-0 overall.

Elkhart, which has 15 underclassmen on its roster, slipped to 3-1 and second place in the league (3-3 overall). The Resorters had a three-game winning streak snapped.

“We found out a lot about ourselves. They [Resorters] grew up tonight,” said Elkhart head coach Barry Feldmann following the game.

“We proved we can compete with them. Our kids played hard to the end.

“We made a lot of little mistakes which you can’t do against a state-caliber team. Our youth in the defensive backfield hurt us and the dropped passes hurt us,” Feldmann said.

“Cedar Grove is a very good team. They’re physical and play hard.”

The Elkhart defense was effective early on against the Rockets’ vaunted ground game, so the visitors rode the right arm of senior quarterback Kyle Bruggink. Bruggink, a three-year starter, was sharp on playaction as he dissected the Resorter secondary. Bruggink finished the night 11-for-15 passing for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

After a three-and-out on their first possession, the Rockets grabbed a 7-0 lead on Bruggink’s 15-yard scoring strike to running back Ian Evans midway through the opening quarter. The TD capped a five-play, 61-yard drive. The key play was a 20-yard scamper by running back Spencer Jacque to the 15 on a thirddown and-6 draw.

The Rockets scored TDs on three of their next four series in the first half to build a 25-0 halftime lead. A very costly penalty on Elkhart kept the Rockets’ second scoring drive alive.

After five penalties against them, the Rockets were facing a third and 37 at their 17-yard line. On the next play, the Resorters were called for an illegal tackle near the head. The 15-yard penalty gave Cedar Grove an automatic first down.

Bruggink then fired a 28-yard pass to tight end Jesse Anderson who made a nifty grab – taking the ball to the Elkhart 40. Tyler Garcia followed with a 23-yard sprint on an end-around play to the 17.

Two plays later, running back Nic Vrubley crashed into the end zone from the 1 on the final play of the first quarter that saw Cedar Grove lead 13-0.

“That was the turning point in the game,” said Feldmann, referring to the penalty that got Cedar Grove out of a big hole.

“We didn’t get down after the penalties. We responded well,” said Rocket head coach Chris Zablocki about his team’s second scoring possession.

“Elkhart Lake is a good football team. We weren’t looking past them.

“They took away our run inside and we had to pass the ball more than we usually do. Kyle threw the ball real well and the offensive line stepped up,” Zablocki said.

“We took away their option and were disciplined on defense. I give credit to our defensive coordinator, Chris Wetzel, who had a good game plan.”

The Rockets’ aggressive defense held Elkhart to only 114 yards in total offense, including a measly 15 passing. Cedar Grove intercepted three passes and had three quarterback sacks. The Resorters managed only 31 yards on the ground in the final half.

Cedar Grove’s third TD was set up by a mishandled snap by the Elkhart punter. The Resorters were unable to get the punt off and the Rockets took over at the Elkhart 44. A 20-yard pass from Bruggink to Evans moved the ball to the 6 and led to Vrubley’s 5-yard TD run which made it 19-0.

The Rockets showed excellent balance on offense. They rushed for 197 yards, including 142 in the first half.

Feldmann thought Tanner Rosso and Deric Lightle ran hard. Rosso wasn’t 100 percent because of an ankle injury.

FOOTBALL

CEDAR 38

GROVE

ELKHART 0

LAKE

		CG	EL
First downs	...16	5
Rushing Yards………………….197			99
Passing Yards	.162	15
Comp-Att-Int……………….11-15-0		5-15-3
Penalties-Yards	8-50	5-36
Punts-Averages	4-33	6-25
Fumbles-Lost………………….…0-0			2-1
Score by Quarters
Cedar Grove…..………....13 12 6 7 – 38
Elkhart Lake……………….0		0 0 0 –	0

Scoring
CG – Ian Evans 15 pass from Kyle Bruggink (Nic Vrubley kick)
CG – Vrubley 1 run (kick failed)
CG – Vrubley 5 run (kick blocked)
CG – Evans 4 run (pass failed)
CG – Vrubley 2 run (kick failed)
CG – Jesse Anderson 15 pass from Bruggink (Vrubley kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing – Cedar Grove, Nic Vrubley 14-79, Spencer Jacque 9-49. Elkhart Lake, Kyle Rentmeester 12-41, Tanner
Rosso 9-40.
Passing – Cedar Grove, Kyle Bruggink 11-15-0-162. Elkhart Lake, Rentmeester 5-15-3-15.
Receiving – Cedar Grove, Jesse Anderson 4-76, Chris Peszko 1-35. Elkhart Lake, Travis Kosnicki 3-12, Zak
Rentmeester 1-5.