Brooks Borman provided a spark for St. Thomas Academy early in the second half, and he led a swarming defense that clinched the game in the final minute.

With 33 seconds left and Rochester Mayo 13 yards away from a potential game-tying score, Isaac Peterson took the handoff on 4th-and-1 and tried to go into the right side of the line. Borman and fellow inside linebacker Kristian Cercioglu were the first Cadets to meet the senior quarterback.

“We had an inside linebacker blitzing. I wrapped around, and we got enough guys to the ball and stopped him,” Borman said. “Seeing the ref call him short just got all the boys hyped.”

It only seems appropriate the defense had the game-deciding play because that side of the ball was the difference Saturday afternoon in a 21-14 Class 5A quarterfinal win.

“These are the ones you remember; you don’t remember the 40-point blowouts. It makes them a little more special and it puts our guys in a situation where they realize every play matters,” St. Thomas Academy coach Travis Walch said.

Borman provided another of those early in the second half, blocking a punt that was recovered at the Spartans’ 29-yard line. Three plays later, Dominic Baez broke multiple tackles en route to an 18-yard touchdown run and a 14-7 St. Thomas Academy lead.

Two drives that started in Rochester Mayo territory later in the quarter resulted in no insurance points. The Cadets went up 21-7 on a third when Baez scored from the 4 with 6 seconds left in the quarter, one play after a Grant Young interception.

St. Thomas Academy (11-0) entered the game averaging 35 points per game but struggled to consistently put together drives against a 6-5 Rochester Mayo squad that held the Cadets to a season-low 17 points in Week 2.

On an afternoon when the feel-like temperature was 28 degrees at kickoff, the Cadets went three-and-out on four of six first-half drives. The other two ended on an 11-yard touchdown reception by Todd Rogalski and a punt. St. Thomas Academy finished with just six first downs for the game.

“Our defense has won games for us this year, so has our special teams and offense,” said Walch, whose team next meets Spring Lake Park in a state semifinal at 2 p.m. Nov. 14 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Panthers beat Alexandria 13-2 in overtime Saturday.

The Rochester Mayo offense largely revolves around throwing the football. Peterson threw for 179 yards, but the senior was repeatedly under heavy pressure.

“It was just about grit, winning a lot of one-on-one battles,” Young said. “Defense Coordinator (Joe) Ties is an incredible coach, and his schemes are super effective to get there.”

His team down by two scores, Max Durgin had the second of two fourth-quarter interceptions for the Spartans. A 3-yard Gavin Werneburg touchdown reception got Rochester Mayo within 21-14 with 3:26 left.

Another three-and-out by St. Thomas Academy followed by a short punt gave Rochester Mayo the ball on the Cadets’ 45 with 2:18 to play. Five completions moved the ball to the 13 before Peterson overthrew Werneburg on third down. Then came the game-sealing stop by Borman, Cercioglu and the Cadets.

“They had some big plays, but we just reset and just kept fighting,” Borman said.

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This started as one of those Five Takeaway stories, the most notable we learned from the news conference that officially started Derek Shelton’s tenure as manager of the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.

After going back through all the quotes, it quickly became clear that while there were a few newsy items dropped here and there, there was only one real solid truth to take away from an hour of questions and answers, and it’s nothing we didn’t already know.

After dipping into the deep end of the free agent pool by signing players like Carlos Correa and Josh Donaldson, and getting only two brief playoff appearances out of it, the Twins are starting over. If it’s not a rebuild, as Shelton insisted this week, it’s only because the team you saw play out the string in August and September will be the same one you see next summer.

If the Twins get good anytime soon, it will be because those players got much better and the prospect pool — draft picks and the spoils of the trade deadline salary purge — is deep enough to pan out.

“I’m going to build off what happened in September. I really like what happened in September,” Shelton said. “You guys know, you cover the team — ultra aggressive on the bases, started to push the envelope a little bit. I think we have to continue on that.”

Got it.

Through Aug. 20 last season, the Twins had stolen 72 bases, an average of 0.56 a game. After that, they stole another 32, bringing that average up to 0.86.

They went 12-24 over those final 36 games.

It’s worth noting, of course, that the team had drastically changed overnight. The bullpen was decimated, and a lot of players were getting their first extended major league experience. It’s also worth noting that the position players left on that team will be the guys taking up the lion’s share of next season’s active roster.

Shelton and Falvey also were asked if they had been given the particulars on what the 2026 payroll will look like, and Shelton acknowledged that he spoke with Twins Executive Chair Joe Pohlad about it as part of his interview process.

“I won’t get into the depth of that,” Shelton said, “but I did appreciate how transparent Joe was with me.”

Said Falvey: “I don’t have any specifics around that (regarding) payroll, a payroll number.”

Got it.

The Twins started last season with a payroll of just under $130 million, according to Spotrac.com. Baseball-reference.com has that down to $50.9 million in guaranteed contracts next season.

None of the arbitration-eligible players have agreed to a salary yet, but there are only five, and none of them made more than Ryan Jeffers’ $4.5 million salary in 2025. And while the Twins will sign a few veterans this offseason — they need relievers and a catcher — they will likely be journeymen, maybe even waiver claims. It’s difficult to see this team spending close to $100 million on major league payroll in 2026.

Only five MLB teams operated with payrolls that small last season: the Pirates, A’s, Rays, Marlins and White Sox. All of them finished under .500 and out of the playoffs, and Miami finished closest to a playoff spot, four games out in the National League wild card standings.

It makes one wonder what Pablo López and Joe Ryan are doing on a team like this one, especially with MLB owners ready to pitch a salary cap when the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires after next season. López, Ryan and centerfielder Byron Buxton, are royalty in exile on this roster.

The Twins have a lot of promising young arms — they’ve acquired Simeon Woods Richardson, Mick Abel and Taj Bradley via trade and developed Zebby Mathews and David Festa from the system — and Lopez and Ryan would fetch some nice prospects for the pipeline while substantially trimming more payroll. Ryan is in line for a real contract — he’s arb-eligible after making $3 million last year — and Lopez is due roughly $44 million over the next two seasons.

“I’m just trying to continue to build a plan around the options that are available to us via trade, free agency or otherwise, that can find ways to augment the group,” Falvey said.

Shelton promised “better things ahead” for the club, but it won’t be next season.

And if there’s a 2027 season, it won’t be then, either. We all know it, but no one from the front office or ownership would put that into a declarative sentence this week. It’s been a year since fans have heard anything close to clarity on the issue.

“I have a business to run,” Pohlad said after the 2024 season, “and it comes with tough decisions.”

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Now that Children’s Theatre Company’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” seems to have settled into the role of theatrical comfort food – gracing the stage of the company’s larger auditorium on an annual basis – it’s interesting to examine how each new incarnation responds to the tone of its time.

Like the Guthrie Theater’s wintertime staging of “A Christmas Carol,” CTC is offering a tale of transformation about the liberation of a hate-bound heart, this one from the imagination of Dr. Seuss, with a dash of development from the 1966 TV cartoon.

Judging from Friday’s opening night performance at CTC, it seems the 13th time’s the charm for its musical adaptation of Seuss’ book. For this is indeed the most charming version of the story it’s yet presented.

In his second year at the helm of this show, director Dean Holt has found a sweet spot between the humor and the heart of past productions, seemingly borrowing the best elements from previous incarnations and convincing the cast to sell the material with all the sincere spirit they can summon.

It feels as if Holt and company looked around at all the fear afoot in our troubled time and decided to try a little tenderness when telling the Grinch’s story this year. So Holt is going extra wistful in his portrayal of the aging dog Max who narrates the tale in flashback, and, most notably, Reed Sigmund has settled upon an ideal formula for the Grinch, a role he’s revived multiple times.

This year’s furry green villain is more funny than scary, his behavior unthreatening, his confrontational manner with the Whos never feeling particularly dangerous. Even when Sigmund borrows Robert DeNiro’s daunting delivery of “Were you talking to me?” from “Taxi Driver,” it’s done with a whimsical wink.

Yet if one simply describes the plot of this tale, it can sound pretty dark and scary. As the pear-shaped, psychedelic-hued Whos joyfully celebrate Christmas Eve with last-minute shopping and another chorus of one of Mel Marvin’s largely forgettable songs, the Grinch stews atop neighboring Mount Crumpit before hatching a plan to burglarize the entire town, making of his lovable dog Max a reluctant accomplice.

Something else Sigmund succeeds in stealing is every scene he’s in, and that’s saying something when he shares the stage with such talented young actors as Harriet Spencer as the unconditionally loving Max (she shares the role with Adelyn Frost) and Chloe Sorensen as Cindy-Lou Who, the child who sparks both the Grinch’s darkest night of the soul and his touching transformation. It says something about this production’s heart-forward approach that her lovely ballad, “Santa for a Day,” actually eclipses the iconic “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” as the show’s most memorable song.

The buoyant spirit is also aided by Karla Grotting’s effervescent choreography, the Seuss-faithful designs of Tom Butsch and David Kay Mickelsen, and a nine-piece pit orchestra that enhances the moods with some effective musical underpinning beneath the dialogue.

From left, Harriet Spencer, Reed Sigmund and Chloe Hu of the Children’s Theatre Company in “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” (Glen Stubbe / Children’s Theatre Company)

And, if you need assurance that it’s not too scary for the youngest audiences, I saw nothing but smiles on children’s faces when Sigmund wandered the auditorium and improvised exchanges with the audience while robbing the Whos, a very humorous high point of a particularly kindhearted and ultimately moving “Grinch.”

‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’

When: Through Jan. 4

Where: Children’s Theatre Company, 2400 Third Ave. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $114-$35, available at 612-874-0400 or childrenstheatre.org

Capsule: A sweet, tender take on the tale.

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The Gophers men’s basketball team wasn’t groggy for its Saturday morning tip-off against Alcorn State at Williams Arena.

Instead of an energy drink, the jolt was Minnesota’s stifling defense, which didn’t allow a bucket until 12:10 left in the first half. The U jumped out to a 17-0 lead in a 95-50 blowout win.

The Gophers had a similar sizzling start in the season opener against Gardner-Webb, not allowing a made field goal until 11:17 remained in the first half of that 87-60 win on Monday.

Combined, that’s more than 16 total minutes without a basket given up to start the opening two games of head coach Niko Medved’s tenure.

Both beginnings have been impressive, but need to be put in context. Alcorn State fell to 0-3 and was ranked 328th out of 365 teams nationwide, according to analytics site KenPom. Gardner-Webb dropped to 0-2 with a 97-59 defeat to Clemson on Friday and are 323 in KenPom.

Minnesota (2-0) will play at Missouri (2-0) on Wednesday.

On Saturday, the Gophers scored 27 points off 16 turnovers forced.

Point guard Chansey Willis, who was held scoreless in the opener, led the way in the first half with 11 points and four assists. He finished with 13 points.

Cade Tyson, who had a game-high 30 points against Gardner-Webb, finished with 21 points, including 10 of 11 shooting from the free-throw line.

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who joined Medved in a move from Colorado State, posted his second consecutive double-double with 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. On Monday, he had 13 points and 14 boards.

BJ Omot and Grayson Grove missed Saturday’s game with injuries. Omot (leg) also missed the season opener on Monday.

With some walk-ons also unavailable, Minnesota had only nine players suited up, which kept some regulars on the court at the end of the blowout.

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