Ironmen extend streak

The Vermilion Ironmen won their fourth straight game and maintained a share of first place in the Northern Division with an easy 40-6 victory over Rainy River Oct. 6 at Ely School Stadium.Chilly temperatures and snow flurries that turned the stadium turf white by the end of the contest didn’t affect the community college football team’s offense - particularly the play of quarterback Willie Johnson.The freshman from Jacksonville, Fla. had a hand in all six touchdowns - throwing for three and running for three more- as Vermilion rolled to a 26-point first-half lead and ran away from the Voyageurs.Johnson passed for 245 yards on 14 completions and showed a knack for avoiding the Rainy River pass rush, turning would-be sacks into positive yards for the home team.And the Vermilion defense - paced by a strong outing up front by end Abraham Morales and linebacker Jon Dodds - held the Voyageurs to 156 yards of total offense and only a second-half touchdown.“We played pretty well,” said Vermilion Head Coach Keith Turner. “There are some things on special teams that we have to work on, but overall we played well. I really liked the fact that we came out in the second half and played hard with the big lead.”The outcome was decided by the midway point, as Vermilion took a 26-0 lead to the dressing room.The offense fired up right away, with Johnson directing a short drive that ended with a 23-yard bomb to receiver Kirby Mayle, the first of his two touchdowns.Vermilion’s second drive ended with a missed field goal but the Ironmen came right back in the second quarter, getting three more scores.Johnson completed a four-yard scoring strike to Patrick O’Malley and later scored on a four-yard plunge. The signal-caller ran it in again just before the half to make it 26-0.Vermilion continued its barrage in the third quarter, with Johnson hooking up with Isaiah Osborne on a 14-yard scoring throw.Both teams would get one more touchdown in the second half.On defense, Morales and Dodds finished with 10 tackles each while lineman Robert Lewis also plugged things up in the middle.The Ironmen took a 2-0 division mark and their share of first place (tied with Mesabi) to Hibbing Thursday to take on the Cardinals. They’re at Itasca next Thursday, and the division title could come down to a matchup with Mesabi, set for Oct. 27 at Ely School Stadium.