St. Thomas Academy bends, but doesn't break

The undefeated St. Thomas Academy Cadets are built on a solid two-headed running game and a dominating defense. The defense was its usual stingy self – only allowing fourteen points to a Mahtomedi offense that had scored over thirty points in five victories. The Cadets' defense gave up some yards, but when the chips were down – in the red zone – they were great. Two fourth quarter interceptions by safety [player_tooltip player_id='237907' first='Jake' last='Borman'] helped seal the deal and led to an STA 28-14 victory on the Zephyrs' home field.   The first red zone stand occurred on the game's first drive. Mahtomedi called all running plays to move into the red zone but then tried to cross up the Cadets' defense with a play action pass. STA's JC Ferrell put immediate pressure on the quarterback, forcing him out of the pocket and into teammate Jeff Cragg and a fifteen yard sack and an eventual turnover on downs.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/STA-defense.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-470942"/></figure>   The Cadets' first offensive play would result in running back [player_tooltip player_id='19005' first='Love' last='Adebayo'] breaking through the middle of the offensive line for forty yards. The other head of the two-headed attack, [player_tooltip player_id='105372' first='Savion' last='Hart'], finished off the drive with a short touchdown run to give the Cadets an early 7-0 lead.   "I don't think I will ever be able to coach a pair like them again," STA head coach Dan O'Brien said. "The best thing about them is they are great teammates. They take care of each other. They are not jealous if one guy gets more carries than the other guy."   Mahtomedi's offense went up top on the next possession. Zephyrs' quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='241903' first='Charlie' last='Brandt'] threw a perfect deep ball down the sidelines to Michael Barry, getting the offense near the red zone again. Running back Corey Bohmert's quick-cutting ability finished the drive with a ten yard touchdown run, but a failed two-point conversion kept the Cadets in the lead.   "Their running back gashed us a little early, but we made adjustments and played through adversity," Borman said. "We gave up some big plays. We bent, but we didn't break."    The Cadets' passing game was the difference maker on their next scoring drive. On third and long, quarterback Maximus Sims fired a pass outside toward wide receiver Luke Dobbs who grabbed the pass on the sidelines for a first down. The Dobbs and Sims connection complemented the running game, and Sims would come up huge one more time to cap off the drive. On fourth down and 16 from the Mahtomedi 25 yard line, Sims fired a pass down the middle of the field to Adebayo, who not only picked up a first down, he got into the end zone.   Brandt and Barry teamed up again, beating the STA corner deep for fifty yards. Back in the red zone, a great tackle on the outside by STA's [player_tooltip player_id='383742' first='Anthony' last='Bickford'] put the Zephyrs in a fourth and eight situation. Linebacker Bennett Kotok put on the pressure for STA and sacked Brandt, essentially ending the first half.   After stopping the Cadets coming out of the locker room, Brandt and Barry continued their chemistry with the deep ball. They picked up forty more yards on yet another deep ball. Inside the ten yard line, the Cadets' defense made back-to-back huge plays to turn the Zephyrs away again. Linebacker Jonny Miller made a tackle in space for a short gain setting up a fourth and six. Then Sean Happe undercut a slant route, knocking the ball harmlessly to the ground.   The Cadets looked ready to put the game away – driving deep into Mahtomedi territory, but a fumble – recovered by the Zephyrs' Tyler Gunderson kept it a one score game.   Immediately after the fumble, Mahtomedi tried to go deep again. This time, Borman was all over it and picked off the pass near the sideline. After a successful hook and ladder play – Sims to Dobbs to Adebayo put the Cadets in the red zone; Hart finished the drive with a nine yard touchdown run.   "I saw the ball in the air and tried to make the best play I could," Borman said. "All glory to God - helping me through everything, and I made the play."   It looked like Mahtomedi was out of the game, but their best drive of the night kept them in the game. Brandt first used his legs to pick up fifteen and then his arm to connect with Andrew Breien for a 23 yard touchdown.   Leading by just one score, STA just needed first downs. Facing third and short deep in their own territory and everyone in the stadium expecting a run, Sims uncorked a play action pass down the middle of the field to Adebayo for thirty five yards. A few plays later, tight end [player_tooltip player_id='310480' first='Jordan' last='Wold'] moved his man about five yards off the line of scrimmage to spring Hart for a forty seven yard touchdown.   Borman made sure the Zephyrs would not get back in the game with his second interception of the fourth quarter. The senior read the play all the way and came across the field to make the pick – sealing the 28-14 victory.

The undefeated St. Thomas Academy Cadets are built on a solid two-headed running game and a dominating defense. The defense was its usual stingy self – only allowing fourteen points to a Mahtomedi offense that had scored over thirty points in five victories. The Cadets' defense gave up some yards, but when the chips were down – in the red zone – they were great. Two fourth quarter interceptions by safety Jake Borman Jake Borman 6'1" | 185 lbs | DB St. Thomas Academy | 2023 State MN helped seal the deal and led to an STA 28-14 victory on the Zephyrs' home field.