St. Thomas Academy defeated Mahtomedi 35-7 in statement win to claim the program’s 18th undefeated regular season Wednesday night, and its first since 2022.
The battle of two of the top teams in Class 5A was a lopsided affair. Two-way threat Todd Rogalski scored two explosive touchdowns and added an interception.
Cadets coach Travis Walch said Rogalski’s nickname is “Big Play Todd,” and he lived up to that in the win.
“Anytime the ball touches or is near Todd Rogalski, good things are going to happen,” Walch said. “He continues, in every one of these games, to be the most impactful player on the field, because he can do it in every manner. He’s even the long snapper.”
The contest began as a defensive battle, with an early kickoff along with swirling winds contributing to a scoreless first quarter. The only offensive action by either team was from Cadets senior tailback Dominic Baez, who broke off a 49 yard gain on the first play of St. Thomas Academy’s second drive.
With no score after 12 minutes, the Cadets continued to march down the field via a ground-and-pound attack. Baez led the way on a 12-play, 76-yard drive, which he capped off by breaking multiple tackles as he pounded his way across the goalline for a seven-yard score to put St. Thomas Academy up 7-0 with 10 minutes to play in the half.
After dominating between the tackles, St. Thomas Academy (8-0) aired it out to balance out its attack. Cadets junior quarterback Tristan Karl completed three of his first four passes on the Cadets’ fourth offensive drive.
Before his fifth drop back, Karl put senior wideout Grant English in motion across the formation from left to right. English eluded the Mahtomedi defense and found himself wide open in the endzone, where Karl’s pass parachuted into his arms for the Cadets second score.
On the ensuing Mahtomedi drive, Zephyrs quarterback Mark Graff lofted a ball towards the far sideline, but a leaping Rogalski ripped it out of the air. Rogalski contorted his body and got a foot down in bounds to secure the interception at Mahtomedi’s 42 yard line.
Three plays later, Karl tossed a middle screen to Rogalski. He turned and sprinted through the secondary, angling past one Zephyrs defender and dove over the pilon for a 40-yard receiving touchdown to give St. Thomas Academy a 21-0 lead with 2:20 left in the first half.
The Cadets controlled the entirety of the first half, holding the Zephyrs to 43 yards of offense while putting up 250 yards of their own. St. Thomas Academy was led by Baez’s nine carries for 88 yards and Rogalski with three catches for 63 receiving yards, a touchdown and an interception on defense.
Walch said he was happy with his teams performance in all phases tonight in a “complete game.”
“You could really see how special teams goes out there and tilts the field and the offense can punches it in,” Walch said. “Complimentary football. If you’re not playing it come playoff time it’s going to be tough to win.”
After stuffing Mahtomedi (7-1) on its opening drive of the second half, the Cadets began their possession with a holding penalty.
But St. Thomas Academy bounced back thanks to a trick play. Karl pitched it to Baez, who, while running to his right, unloaded a pass downfield to English. Using his strength and speed, English separated from his defender, made the grab and sprinted into the endzone.
The Cadets went 90 yards in four plays after the infraction to extend their commanding lead to 28-0.
St. Thomas Academy’s final score of the night was a 70-yard punt return from, who else, Rogalski. The star said the ball was blending in with the night sky which caused a little concern while the ball was in the air, but that did not affect his return.
“Once I caught that, my blockers had a great hole for me,” Rogalski said. “Cody Kronberg, great block at the very end, so I told him I didn’t even need to pick a side I could have ran right in the middle, because he was putting him in the endzone.”
Mahtomedi’s lone score came on a Graff designed rush.
Both the Cadets and Zephyrs will be No. 1 seeds in their respective Class 5A sections when playoffs being next week — St. Thomas Academy in Section 3, and Mahtomedi in Section 4.
Karl said Wednesday was a statement win, but noted there is room for improvement.
“We have a lot of work to do,” said Karl, who went 11 for 17 for 112 yards and two passing touchdowns. “We can get better every day, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
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