Central Lakes to play at Vermilion in state semis

The Central Lakes College Raiders, ranked 12th in the NJCAA/JC Football.com poll, will travel to Ely to play Vermilion at 1 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals of the MCAC state playoffs.

The teams met Oct. 17 and Central Lakes pulled out a 26-20 win in overtime.

Central Lakes, the Southern Division runner-up, is 8-1 overall, with its lone loss to 10th-ranked Rochester 27-6 on Sept. 26.

The Raiders feature the top offense in the South (287.1 yards a game) and the top running back in the division in Dennis Taute (659 yards, 6 TDs).

Wide receiver Tyler Erickson has 29 receptions for 481 yards and eight touchdowns. The Raiders' defense is led by Jordan Moll with 52 tackles.

Central Lakes' secondary is opportunistic as Dusty Parker and Lawson Starr have six interceptions apiece.

Vermilion won the Northern Division with a 6-3 overall record. The Ironmen rose to the top of the division despite ranking fourth in total offense (259.0 yards) and last in total defense (306.0).

The Ironmen have one of the best quarterbacks in the division in Logan McAllister with 1,747 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. Tim Paulk is McAllister's favorite target with 37 receptions for 548 yards and three touchdowns.

Maruice Waters, Michael Cora and Travis Unverzagt all rank in the top 15 in the NJCAA in total tackles. Waters has 127 tackles, Cora has 107 and Unverzagt has 90.

The CLC/Vermilion winner will play the Rochester/Mesabi winner for the MCAC state championship Nov. 8 at St. Cloud State University.