Ironmen stymied by state power

To win on the road against undefeated Rochester, the Vermilion Ironmen had to keep their mistakes to a minimum.Turning the ball over twice inside the Rochester 5-yard line, giving up a sack for a safety and amassing over 100 yards in penalties probably wasn’t what Vermilion Head Coach Keith Turner had in mind.The community college football team misfired on too many opportunities, and the result was a 23-6 loss to the Yellowjackets, who emerged from the Sept. 11 contest with a 3-0 record.Vermilion fell to 1-1, and Turner said his club missed out on a chance to pull the upset.“Overall, I think if we take those mistakes away we can play with those guys,” said Turner.Rochester had just 230 yards of total offense, but the Yellowjackets were aided by Vermilion turnovers and chances created by good field position“Defensively we played very well,” said Turner. “But on offense we’d move the ball and then make mistake after mistake.”Rochester led 7-0 in a first half controlled by the defenses, when VCC’s misfortunes began.Quarterback Lenny Serfling was sacked in the end zone late in the half, allowing the hosts to take a 9-0 lead into the locker rooms.Rochester returned the second-half kickoff to the Vermilion 30 and then fumbled, but two Ironmen missed out on a chance to recover the ball.The Yellowjackets eventually turned the ball over on downs, but VCC was hampered by penalties that pushed the ball back deep into its own territory.After a short punt, Rochester responded with a scoring drive that made it 16-0.Vermilion got back in the game on the ensuing position.Sophomore back Keena Turner broke away on a 60-yard run, and two plays later Serfling hooked up with Anthony Wiggins for a six-yard scoring play.That made it 16-6, but VCC’s good fortunes wouldn’t last.“We end up going for two and the snap went right over Lenny’s head,” said Keith Turner.The Vermilion defense stiffened and created further opportunity for the offense.Twice in the fourth quarter, Vermilion got to the Rochester five.One drive ended on a fumble, and another was stalled when the Ironmen turned the ball over on downs.The Ironmen got inside Rochester territory one more time in the final quarter, but a Serfling pass was picked off.That set up the Yellowjackets’ final score of the day.Vermilion played Ridgewater over the weekend, and the Ironmen are on the road this Saturday, going to Brainerd to take on Central Lakes.