CLC remains unbeaten
Some days are better than others.
Back
Despite not having one of their better days offensively, the Central Lakes College Raiders pulled out a grueling 17-7 win over the Itasca Vikings during homecoming Saturday.
The Raiders were dominant early as Colt Gatzemeyer orchestrated 116 first-quarter yards, including a seven-play, 48-yard touchdown drive highlighted by Gatzemeyer connecting with Tyler Erickson on a fade route from the 11 to put the Raiders up 7-0.
Early in the second quarter, Gatzemeyer appeared to have the Raiders primed to put the game away as he conducted the Raiders' third drive deep into Viking territory. A sack on third-and-long left him injured, which restricted his mobility and ability to pinpoint the remainder of his passes.
Faced with a long third down with less than 2 minutes remaining in the first half, the Raiders returned to the fade route as Gatzemeyer connected with Erickson. Following a block by Kevin Beehler, Erickson was off to the races resulting in a 40-yard gain and the day's longest play from scrimmage.
Five plays later, Dennis Taute received a pitch to the right side, side-stepped one Viking, stiff-armed another, and spun his way in around a third defender to cap-off the 9-play, 82-yard drive, giving the Raiders a 14-0 halftime lead.
Taute carried the ball 24 times for 99 yards and one touchdown. He has eclipsed 90-yards rushing in each of the past three games. Taute's running was accompanied by the dynamic duo of Gatzemeyer to Erickson, who connected five times for 62 yards as the Raiders marched off 246 total yards.
The extent of Gatzemeyer's injuries became apparent early in the second half as a pass traveled five yards too little for its intended target, ending up in the hands of Vikings' free safety Mitch McWilliams.
On the next drive, clutching his left hip, Gatzemeyer hobbled from the huddle to under center. When the snap was mishandled, Raiders' head coach Greg Medeck became concerned and got his quarterback off the field.
"(Gatzemeyer is) pretty beat up right now," Medeck said. "We're hoping he'll be able to heal up this week and be ready for next week."
Two plays later, the Raiders turned the ball over on another botched snap. Following the turnover, Josh Stougard showed his prowess under center as the Vikings quickly moved the ball 32 yards setting up a touchdown strike from 16 yards cutting the Raider lead in half.
Later, with the Vikings trapped deep in their own territory, the Raiders' Cody Robbins stuffed a screen play after just two yards and Dusty Parker intercepted a pass.
"As a team we work hard," Raiders' strong safety Adrian "Ace" Collie said. "Everybody works together and plays hard to keep up the intensity and sticks to their assignment to get the job done."
The Raiders capitalized on the turnover as they ran four plays setting up a 37-yard field goal by sophomore Filipe Castro, giving the Raiders a strangle hold on the victory with 6:56 remaining.
The Vikings, who average more than 200 passing yards per game were limited to 101 yards.
"Overall, we did what was necessary to win and that's what is important right now," Medeck said. "Now we see how we get better and get ready for a big showdown next week."
The Raiders will put their 4-0 record on the line as they travel to face the Rochester Yellowjackets Saturday.
CLC 17, Itasca 7
Key to the game: The Raiders' defense came up big as it held the Vikings to 173 total yards, 208 yards less than the Vikings' average.
Overall: CLC 4-0.
Next: CLC at Rochester 6 p.m. Saturday.
Itasca 0 0 7 0 - 7
Central Lakes 7 7 0 3 - 17
First quarter
CLC-Tyler Erickson 11 pass from Colt Gatzemeyer (Felipe Castro kick)
Second quarter
CLC-Dennis Taute 11 run (Castro kick)
Third quarter
Itasca-Anthony Howard 16 pass from Josh Stougard (Nick Clemence Kick)
Fourth quarter
Castro 38 yard field goal
Team statistics
Rushes-yards: CLC 34-146, Itasca 19-63
Pass comp-att-int-yards: CLC 10-15-1-100, Itasca 10-23-1-101
Total offense: CLC 246, Itasca 173
Individual statistics
Rushing: CLC-Taute 24-99, Michael Iverson 6-29
Passing: CLC-Gatzemeyer 10-15-1-100
Receiving: CLC-Erickson 5-62, Andrew Maskell 2-37