Colin Avery did just about everything for St. Croix Lutheran on Friday night, and that was enough to carry the Crusaders past St. Paul Johnson 39-20 at Harding High School.

“It was great to get out there and run the ball like that,” said Avery, a senior running back who rushed for four touchdowns and caught another as his team improved to 2-0.

“Our blockers were blocking. Everything was clicking.”

That allowed Avery to get on a roll from the get-go, scoring on a 26-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive.

Johnson answered right back when senior Justice Moody caught a short pass on the second play of his team’s first possession and evaded a host of tacklers en route to the end zone on a 51-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the score 7-6.

The Governors (1-1) caught a break when they recovered a fumble at their own 9-yard line. Two plays later, however, Johnson senior quarterback Ali Farfan was tackled in the end zone for a safety and St. Croix Lutheran extended its margin to 9-6.

Then, the Avery show really began.

He scored on touchdown runs of 6 and 16 yards to expand his team’s lead to 23-6. Then, after the Crusaders forced a Governors’ punt with just 21 seconds to go before halftime, Avery made an impressive grab on a pass from senior teammate Villiam Andersen and somehow kept his balance, staying on his feet to complete a 42-yard scoring strike.

That put St. Croix Lutheran on top 30-6. Avery finished the first half with 15 carries for 130 yards and three touchdowns and the one catch for 42 yards — compiling 172 total yards of offense.

“He’s dynamic,” Crusaders coach Adam Frey said. “We’re looking at different ways to use him — out of the backfield, at a receiver spot, as a return guy.

“He’s a special player. He can do a lot of things that other players can’t.”

But a renewed aerial attack, and a pair of Crusaders’ fumbles, helped Johnson climb back into the game in the third quarter.

The Governors advanced to the Crusaders’ 11 on the opening drive of the second half but turned the ball over on downs.

However, St. Croix Lutheran fumbled the ball away at their own 27, setting up a 6-yard touchdown pass from Farfan to senior Jacoby Wiggins. The ensuing 2-point conversion cut the gap to 30-14.

After recovering another fumble at their own 37, Johnson trimmed the lead to 30-20 on a 12-yard touchdown catch by junior Dea’majeon Henderson-Moore.

“We regrouped at halftime,” said Governors coach Richard Magembe, whose team was playing at Harding because work on new stands and lights at Johnson is not yet finished.

“We know we have great skill players,” he said. “We just had to tap into it and get a sense of urgency going. We gave it our best shot to try and rally, but unfortunately it came a little too late and we weren’t able to pull it out in the end.”

Indeed, a 5-yard touchdown by Avery with 6:41 to play and another safety helped the Crusaders put the game out of reach.

“We’re ready to fight,” Avery said of his team. “We’re ready to keep pushing. There’s a lot more season to go.”

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A five-mile run through the Minnesota State Fair? Sure, if fried-food stops are included

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Twins chose to add another catcher to the active roster Friday without making a definitive decision on the status of Ryan Jeffers.

Jhonny Pereda, promoted from Triple-A St. Paul before the game, started behind the plate to catch right-hander Pablo López’s return from the injured list after three months away. Pereda also caught the final two of López’s three rehab starts in the minors.

The Twins continue to monitor Jeffers after he sustained a head contusion the day before against the White Sox at Target Field. Jeffers was hit in his headgear twice in the third inning on foul tips — once off his mask, the other on the left side of his helmet. After striking out weakly in his at-bat in the fourth, the Twins removed Jeffers from the game.

Jeffers was not in concussion protocol before the series opener against the Royals, but manager Rocco Baldelli said it was prudent to sit him anyway.

“Jeffers is going to remain active right now,” Baldelli said. “We’re going to continue to monitor him and see how he’s doing as the day goes on. We’re still looking at it as if it’s a contusion. He got dinged, and felt it, but didn’t come back with concussion symptoms initially. So, let’s see where he is as the day goes on, and we’ll figure out more.”

Jeffers was present in the Twins’ clubhouse before the game but with the situation in flux said he needed more time before making a statement. A spokesperson said Jeffers — in his sixth season with the Twins — has never had a concussion as a major leaguer. Being vulnerable to concussions is part of being a catcher.

Jeffers came in batting .262 with a .353 on-base percentage and .394 slugging in 114 games. He also has nine home runs, 24 doubles and 48 walks.

The Twins optioned outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. to St. Paul to make room for Pereda on the active roster, but he’s probably been told to stick close for possible future transactions. Keirsey and Baldelli had a long meeting in the manager’s office before the game. Keirsey, hitting .110 with two homers and 33 strikeouts in 85 plate appearances, has been on the St. Paul shuttle before.

Pereda was hitting .294/.448/.500 in 20 games for St. Paul but also has 40 games of MLB experience, mostly with the Athletics earlier this season. In addition to catching López, he added an RBI double in the fifth on Friday.

Keaschall patient with throwing

Coming off his first career four-hit performance Thursday, Twins rookie Luke Keaschall said he’s pleased with his offensive production so far.

He ought to be. Keaschall is having one of the best starts for a first-year player in Twins’ history, reaching base in 30 of his first 33 games, and batting .328/.418/.508 with four homers, 10 doubles, 16 walks and 21 RBIs in his first 141 plate appearances.

The 59 times Keaschall reached base coming into Friday is the most ever for a Twins’ player in their first 33 career games. He added a bloop single in the first against the Royals.

Keaschall also is remaining patient with the defensive side of his game, specifically his throwing.

Doctors and Twins medical staff told Keaschall that, in the wake of ulnar collateral ligament surgery, he wouldn’t throw as effectively as he did before for a while. But for how long?

“They told me to be very patient,” Keaschall said. “They put no timeline on it.”

Keaschall ranks 61st of 86 second basemen in throwing strength by MLB’s Statcast. He’s made some wild throws, and some odd looking ones, too. He’s just going to keep working at it.

“I’m trying to keep a good head about things, and go out there and play the best defense I can play every day,” Keaschall said.

Keaschall’s surgery happened the second week of August 2024. When one considers the recovery time of pitchers who had Tommy John surgery, Keaschall is within typical parameters of performance.

He doesn’t think his broken right arm, sustained early this season and costing several weeks of playing time, affected how his recovery from UCL surgery went. It just delayed him a little getting back on the field.

Baldelli, an outfielder in his playing days who also had Tommy John surgery, knows what Keaschall is going through.

“I’ve had that surgery — I know that it takes time to build back up,” Baldelli said. “It takes time to regain confidence in throwing, throwing from different angles, throwing at different velocities. Your touch has changed after having that surgery. He’s actually handled it well. I think he’s come back pretty good, and I would expect him to continue to improve.

“He’s a very motivated young man.”

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Students across Minnesota staged walkouts Friday to demand legislative action on gun control following the Aug. 27 shooting at Annunciation Catholic School that killed two and wounded 21 others.

High schoolers from St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists took part in the walkout, leaving class Friday afternoon to gather with signs that read “Ban guns, not education” and “Am I next?”

“I feel like, enough has been enough. And I feel like I’m in a spot where I can use my voice and I’m allowed to and that I have the privilege of getting up and organizing an event like this,” said Mason Yang, 17, of Maplewood.

The group held a moment of silence before making its way to the Capitol.

Thirty-seven schools in the state were expected to participate in the walkout, in addition to walkouts in other parts of the country, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. The walkouts were part of a coordinated effort to demand bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. They are organized by Students Demand Action groups, a grassroots arm of Everytown for Gun Safety.

Other St. Paul schools with students participating in the walkouts included Central and Highland Park high schools.

“I think a lot of us are just fed up with the way that things are being handled, and we want change and we want it now,” said Lexi Anderson, 16, of St. Paul.

Search warrant documents show that the high-powered rifle used in the shooting at the Church of Annunciation was a semiautomatic, according to the Associated Press. Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters last week that the shooter used the 5.56 mm rifle to fire 116 rounds in under four minutes.

Also on Friday, a coalition of faith leaders and advocates held a press conference at the Capitol to call for an immediate legislative special session to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The event was held in partnership with Moms Demand Action, and students gathered inside the Capitol building to listen to speakers.

“I think it particularly hit close to home, because it was so close to home. This is a long time coming,” said Pharaoh Jones, 17.

Gov. Tim Walz has said he plans to call a special session to address gun policy. Walz and Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers want new restrictions on firearms, but passing bills banning certain semiautomatic rifles and limiting the capacity of magazines would require Republican support.

Mass shootings where an assault weapon was used have resulted in nearly six times as many people shot and more than twice as many killed compared to those that did not involve one, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.

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Amber Lee, 17, of St. Paul, said change is long overdue. Lee, who identifies as a trans female, also said the backlash against the trans community following the shooting is ignorant.

“One person’s action cannot define a whole community,” Lee said. “And I think that trans people are already under attack every day, and so they’re using this almost as fuel to continue their bigotry and continue the hate. I think this is trying to stop them.”

Victoria Mitchell, 14, said parents deserve to send their children to school without the fear that they could be shot. She said she knows one child who was at Annunciation who is now too afraid to leave the house and another family considering moving back out of the country.

“I guess I’m taking part in this walkout because I have seen the pain and the suffering of kids that have been impacted by gun violence,” Mitchell said.

By MARCIA DUNN

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Thousands of newborn stars sparkle and dazzle in the latest snapshot by NASA’s Webb Space Telescope.

This image provided by NASA on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, shows a scene of star birth in Pismis 24, a young star cluster about 5,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius taken by NASA’s Webb Space Telescope. (NASA via AP)

Released this week, the picture provides a breathtaking view of a nearby star-birthing center, 5,500 light-years away. A single light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.

Besides baby stars in a variety of sizes and colors, the photo reveals a dramatic cloud of star-forming dust and gas. This cloud — the so-called Lobster Nebula — is so massive that it spills beyond the camera lens. The cluster of infant stars, named Pismis 24, is located deep inside.

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Launched in 2021, Webb is the largest and most powerful telescope ever sent into space. It views the universe in the infrared, spending more than five hours to capture this one shot.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.