The St. Thomas Academy defense repeatedly set the table Friday night, and Dominic Baez and the offense took advantage.
Baez, a senior running back, rushed for a 2-yard touchdown in the first half and caught a 33-yard touchdown pass in the second as the Cadets downed Cretin-Derham Hall 27-14 in the season opener for both teams at TCO Stadium in Eagan.
St. Thomas Academy set the tone defensively from the start, keeping the pressure on Cretin-Derham Hall senior quarterback Izaak Johnson in the first half and furnishing the Cadets’ offense with ideal field position.
A big sack and fumble on the game’s opening drive forced the Raiders to punt from their own 13, and an ensuing penalty allowed St. Thomas Academy to start at the Cretin-Derham Hall 24.
The Cadets didn’t miss a beat, moving into scoring position where Baez’s touchdown run gave them an early 7-0 lead.
Johnson — who had a big first half passing — withstood the pressure to complete an 8-yard scoring strike to senior Ja’Dale Thompson on the Raiders’ next possession. But the extra point attempt was blocked, allowing St. Thomas Academy to keep a one-point advantage.
Cretin-Derham Hall advanced all the way to the Cadets’ 19 on its next drive, but after a two-yard loss and a pair of incompletions, Johnson was sacked for a loss of nine on fourth down.
Then, after a St. Thomas Academy punt, Johnson was sacked for a third time on first down, and Cretin-Derham Hall ended up kicking the ball away from its own 26.
The Cadets took over at the Raiders’ 43, helping set up junior Toren Piltingsrud for a 34-yard field goal as time expired, giving St. Thomas Academy a 10-6 halftime lead.
The margin expanded to 17-6 when junior Tristan Karl connected on a 3-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass to senior Grant English on the first possession of the second half.
Cretin-Derham Hall then elected to gamble on fourth down and was stopped well short, turning the ball over at its own 28.
Two plays after that, Baez – who was stopped for a loss of five on the first play of the drive – caught a short pass and raced 33 yards down his own sideline for his second touchdown of the night, expanding the Cadets’ lead to 24-6.
Piltingsrud then connected on his second field goal of the night with 4:58 to play, and Sam Heath added a late 13-yard touchdown catch for the Raiders with 1:10 remaining on the clock.
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