Cedric Tomes did just about everything he could to lift East Ridge to a 28-20 victory over Andover in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs on Friday night at the Raptor’s Nest in Woodbury.
The senior quarterback, who is headed to the University of Minnesota to play basketball, rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another as the Raptors (5-4), a No. 4 seed, advanced to face Maple Grove, a No. 1 seed, in the second round next Friday.
The Crimson rolled past Eastview, a No. 8 seed, 56-7 on Friday to advance. The Huskies, a No. 5 seed, finished their season 5-4 overall.
East Ridge turned the ball over on downs at the Andover 31-yard line on the game’s opening drive, and history looked like it might repeat itself on possession No. 2 when a false start call brought up 4th-and-8 at the Huskies’ 18.
Instead, Tomes fired a pass over the middle and connected with junior wide receiver Akeed Ali in the end zone. After converting a 2-point try, East Ridge led 8-0 with 1:05 to play in the first quarter.
The Raptors expanded that margin to 14-0 when Tomes scored on a 24-yard run to cap a lengthy drive kept alive on a roughing-the-punter call on the Huskies on 4th-and-24 at the East Ridge 21. Tomes and company then faced a 4th-and-7 at the Andover 35, but he connected with Ali on an 11-yard catch for another first down.
East Ridge struck again late in the first half when a 47-yard pass from Tomes to Ali set up a 1-yard quarterback sneak. The touchdown put the Raptors on top 21-0 with 26 seconds to play before halftime.
But the Huskies were far from finished, running almost six-and-a-half minutes off the clock to score on a 2-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Joseph Mapson on the opening drive of the second half.
Then, after a Raptors’ fumble on the opening play of their next drive, Andover got the ball back at the East Ridge 39. Mapson scored again on an 11-yard run to cut the gap to 21-14 with 1:58 remaining in the third quarter.
But Tomes answered right back, leading his team 78 yards on its next possession to score on a 2-yard run with 7:12 left in the fourth.
Andover scored again on an 8-yard pass from Mapson to senior Aidan Wiegert with 1:18 remaining. But the two-point conversion attempt failed and East Ridge recovered the ensuing onside attempt at midfield.
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