The fireworks started early Friday night on Rocket Hill.

Prairie Ridge sophomore defensive end Hunter Mosolino, who explodes off the line of scrimmage, met Burlington Central quarterback Landon Arnold after a short gain and popped him hard enough to jar the ball loose. Sophomore linebacker Aiden Rodriguez recovered the ball and ran seven yards, setting the Wolves up at the Rockets 18 midway through the first quarter.

PR scored seven plays later, capitalized on another turnover on Central’s next possession and never looked back en route to a 28-7 win in a Fox Valley Conference showdown between undefeated teammates in Burlington.

“We got the ‘dub’ (’W’),” the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Mosolino said while fireworks boomed just south of Central’s stadium on homecoming, entertaining fans, players and everyone who stuck around on the drizzly night.

“It was a tough game, but we came out on top,” Mosolino said after the Wolves, the top-ranked team in Class 5A in the AP poll, improved to 4-0 and 4-0 in the FVC. “We just wanted come out on the ball fast, stay low and keep the execution up.”

Like Mosolino, Wolves junior fullback Jake Wagler flashes explosiveness and physicality. While Central (3-1, 3-1) focused on stopping Wolves quarterback Luke Vanderwiel – who’s a fireworks show in football pads every Friday night – the 6-4, 220-pound Wagler rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

“I just try to get downhill and stay low,” Wagler said of his running style. “I try not to stand up and run until I get into the open field and I know that we get those three yards that we need.”

When rain came in the second half, pouring at times, Vanderwiel tucked the ball into Wagler’s No. 19 jersey. The sure-handed fullback kept delivering positive yards, running behind a group that included tight end Mosolino, Ben Nystrom, Zachary Mason, Agnello Kay, John Huser and Michael Pochron.

“He gets better as the game goes on,” coach Mike Frericks, whose Wolves were up 14-0 at halftime and 21-0 after three quarters, said of Wagler.

Vanderwiel’s 10th rushing TD of the season, from 1 yard out on fourth-and-goal with 1:17 left in the first quarter, opened the scoring after the Rodriguez fumble recovery. Then on Central’s next possession, Vanderwiel intercepted Arnold at the Rockets 36.

Wagler’s 5-yard TD run capped another seven-play drive and hiked the Wolves’ lead to 14-0 with 9:24 left before halftime.

“Prairie Ridge is a heck of a program and a heck of an opponent,” Central coach Brian Iossi said. “I think we beat ourselves tonight a lot, and you can’t do that against good football teams. That starts with me.”

Central, which is ranked fifth in Class 6A, won its first three games with a ball-possession offense and a dominant defense (19 points allowed), but it was PR that controlled the clock and showed its defensive prowess.

The Wolves kept the Rockets off the scoreboard until Arnold scored from 1 yard out with 4:36 left in the game. By that time, the visitors were up 28-0.

“We’re coming out pretty hard and are probably one of the best [teams] in the conference,” Mosolino said.

Vanderwiel’s 17-yard TD pass to Logan Thennes in the end zone, which deflected off the hands of Rockets defensive back Benjamin Atieh, capped a 10-play, 76-yard drive in the third quarter. Wagler barreled up the middle, as he did all night, to score from 27 yards out midway through the fourth.

Central held Vanderwiel to 85 rushing yards on 21 carries with his longest run from scrimmage being 13 yards.

“I’ve been coaching in this conference for 10-plus years now, and I don’t know if I’ve seen a player like him,” Iossi said. “We went into this game wanting to make sure he didn’t [break off a long run], and I thought our defense did a great job. We put our defense in two awful spots to start the game, and they made [Prairie Ridge] snap the football.”