In their Oct. 27 Section 8AAAAA playoff opener, Cambridge-Isanti took care of business with a 44-28 win over visiting Elk River. Eric Johnson broke loose for 195 yards on 26 carries, and Eric Mielke booted three field goals for the Bluejackets.

Nick Scherer and Eric Johnson accounted for nearly 300 yards of offense and 4 touchdowns in the playoff win over Elk River. 

The victory sends 3rd-seed Cambridge-Isanti (6-3) to Brainerd for this Saturday’s semifinal game, 2 p.m. at Adamson Field. The No. 2 seed Warriors  (5-3) received a first-round bye.

Brainerd features a balanced offense where five backs have rushed for over 100 yards, led by Jordan Hayes’ 380 yards on 61 carries. QB Reid Mimmack has thrown for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns, adding 4 rushing TDs. Kyle Crocker is the top receiving threat with 28 catches for 523 yards and 4 TD.

The two teams have a great history hammering on each other in the playoffs over the years. Since 2000, Brainerd won two of the past three games, including downing C-I 34-0 in the 2004 section finals.

Seventh-ranked Buffalo is the top seed in Section 8AAAAA; they will host No. 5 seed St. Cloud Tech in the semis, a 24-7 winner over Moorhead in the quarters.

Tuesday night, the Bluejackets drove deep on their first possession, but the Elk defense rose up to stop three runs inside their 5. C-I’s Kish Daniels got his team on the board with a safety when he corralled ER’s first run attempt in the end zone.

Nick Scherer’s long return on the free kick gave the Jackets a short field. Johnson’s reception and run up the middle set up a 4-yard TD pass from Wade Smethers to a leaping Scherer to make it 8-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Sean Eastlund’s tackle for a loss and a fumbled snap at QB stopped the Elks’ next possession. The Jackets followed with Smethers bootlegging for 20 yards for the next score. Cody Reilly and Eastlund teamed to sack the Elk QB on a 4th down pass (left), and Johnson’s long run set up a 21-yard Mielke field goal. Johnson’s 4-yard TD run then had C-I leading safely 25-0 at the half.

Scherer began the second half with a 44-yard scoring run. He later added a 4-yard TD run, and Mielke converted 24 and 32 yard field goals in the fourth quarter after the Elks got to within 38-22.

Cambridge-Isanti 44, Elk River 28
    C-I    ER
First Downs    18    16
Att/Yards rushing    52/316  21/50
Yards passing    30    257
  Att/Comp/Int.    13/4/0  47/22/2
Total net yards    346    307
Fumbles/lost    2/0    1/0
Penalties    6/64    9/92
Punts/avg.    1/20      3/25.7   

Bluejacket Individual Stats
Rushing: E.Johnson 26/195, TD; N.Scherer 6/50, 2TD; S.Gifford 9/32; W.Smethers 7/27, TD; J.Locken 4/12.
Passing: W.Smethers 13/4/0- 30 Yds, TD. Receiving: N.Scherer 4/30, TD.
Kicking: E.Mielke 3 FG, 3 xpt, 8 kickoffs 49.1 avg. C.Asmus 1 punts 20 yd, 1 kickoff 35 yd.
Tackle leaders: C.Jennissen 13, K.Asmus 8.5, K.Daniels 8, M.Dahlquist 7.5, N.Scherer 7, J.Locken 6, S.Eastlund 5.5, P.Christenson 5.5, P.Johnson 5, D.Swanson 5, C.Glines 4.
Returns: Interception– N.Scherer 1/0, M.Dahlquist 1/0. Kickoff– N.Scherer 1/21, J.Locken 1/18.