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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Standing just beyond the infield dirt in shallow left field, San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arraez paused his pregame preparations and set his eyes up on the scoreboard.

There, he was treated to a tribute video that took him through some of his most memorable moments as a Twin. He watched his first career hit and home run. He saw the walk he worked against New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz after entering a game mid-plate appearance and inheriting an 0-2 count. He relived a clip of himself breaking up future Padres teammate Dylan Cease’s no-hit bid in the ninth inning.

When the video was over, he tipped his hat to a cheering crowd and waved his hand. And when he came up to the plate for his first-inning at-bat, he gave former teammate Ryan Jeffers a hug before waving to Twins fans once again. And then, as those same fans had seen many times before, he sent a single to right field.

It’s been nearly three full seasons since Luis Arraez, a fan favorite while with the Twins, played a game at Target Field. But the infielder received a warm welcome upon his return to Target Field on Friday evening.

The Twins traded Arraez for starting pitcher Pablo López in the offseason ahead of the 2023 season. The Twins visited Miami that year. Had he stayed with the Marlins, he would have returned to Target Field as a visitor late last season. Instead, he was traded to the Padres midseason and played against the Twins in San Diego.

“When I (woke) up, I just opened the door and then I told my wife, ‘Wow, this is the team that gave me the opportunity to play baseball,’ ” Arraez said. “They signed me in 2013 when I was 16 years old, and then this is my first team. I’m excited to be here.”

Arraez acknowledged the fan support and also mentioned hall of famer Rod Carew and Twins first base coach Ramon Borrego as among those who helped him along his way. Borrego was one of Arraez’s minor league managers, and he credited him with helping improve his defense, calling him one of his “favorite coaches.”

The 28-year-old broke onto the scene in 2019 and gradually won the second baseman job from veteran Jonathan Schoop. He spent four seasons in a Twins uniform, winning a batting title in the final one. He then went on to win a batting title the next season in Miami and a season later, in 2024, with San Diego. His numbers have slightly dipped this season, but Arraez entered Friday with 147 hits, good for fifth in the majors.

“He did great things for us. He really did,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I always said if you have a runner in scoring position, there’s no hitter you’d want up at the plate more than Luis Arraez, because if you just need to score a run, he can bring that run in. And he just does nothing but continue to get hits.

“He was a pleasure to work with, he was a good teammate, he was a good citizen. He was a very good Twin,” Baldelli added. “And he got a lot of hits for us.”

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By CLAIRE RUSH

Oregon could become the second U.S. state to require electric vehicle owners to enroll in a pay-per-mile program as lawmakers began a special session Friday to fill a $300 million transportation budget hole that threatens basic services like snowplowing and road repairs.

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Legislators failed earlier this year to approve a transportation funding package. Hundreds of state workers’ jobs are in limbo, and the proposal for a road usage charge for EV drivers was left on the table.

Hawaii in 2023 was the first state to create a mandatory road usage charge program to make up for projected decreases in fuel tax revenue due to the growing number of electric, hybrid and fuel-efficient cars. Many other states have studied the concept, and Oregon, Utah and Virginia have voluntary programs.

The concept has promise as a long-term funding solution, experts say. Others worry about privacy concerns and discouraging people from buying EVs, which can help reduce transportation emissions.

“This is a pretty major change,” said Liz Farmer, an analyst for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ state fiscal policy team, noting “the challenge in enacting something that’s dramatically different for most drivers.”

Oregon’s transportation woes

Oregon’s transportation department says the budget shortfall stems from inflation, projected declines in gas tax revenue and other spending limits. Over the summer, it sent layoff notices to nearly 500 workers and announced plans to close a dozen road maintenance stations.

Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek paused those moves and called the special session to find a solution. Republican lawmakers say the department mismanaging its money is a main issue.

Kotek’s proposal includes an EV road usage charge that is equivalent to 5% of the state’s gas tax. It also includes raising the gas tax by 6 cents to 46 cents per gallon, among other fee increases.

The usage charge would phase in starting in 2027 for certain EVs and expand to include hybrids in 2028. Should the gas tax increase be approved, EV drivers either would pay about 2.3 cents per mile, or choose an annual flat fee of $340. Drivers in the program wouldn’t have to pay supplemental registration fees.

Drivers would have several options for reporting mileage to private contractors, including a smartphone app or the vehicle’s telematics technology, said Scott Boardman, policy adviser for the transportation department who works on the state’s decade-old voluntary road usage charge program.

Republican lawmakers, who have opposed the tax and fee increases, unveiled a different proposal Friday that largely focuses on lifting restrictions on how the transportation department can spend money on maintenance operations. It does not include a road usage charge.

FILE – A line of electric cars and newly installed charging stations sit in front of the Portland General Electric headquarters building on July 28, 2015, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

As of May, there were over 84,000 EVs registered in Oregon, about 2% of the state’s total vehicles, he said.

Hawaii launches program

Under Hawaii’s program, which began phasing in last month, EV drivers can pay $8 per 1,000 miles driven, capped at $50, or an annual fee of $50.

In 2028, all EV drivers will be required to enroll in the pay-per-mile program, with odometers read at annual inspections. By 2033, the program is expected to expand to all light-duty vehicles.

Questions about privacy and fairness

In past surveys commissioned by Oregon’s transportation department, respondents cited privacy, GPS devices and data security as concerns about road usage charges.

Oregon’s voluntary program has sought to respond to such concerns by deleting mileage data 30 days after a payment is received, Boardman said. While plug-in GPS devices are an option in the program, transportation officials anticipate moving away from them because they’re more expensive and can be removed, he added.

Still, not everyone has embraced a road usage charge. Arizona voters will decide next year whether to ban state and local governments from implementing a tax or fee based on miles traveled after the measure was referred to the ballot by the Republican-majority Legislature.

Many people don’t realize that “both your vehicle and your cellphone capture immense amounts of data about your personal driving habits already,” said Brett Morgan, Oregon transportation policy director for the nonprofit Climate Solutions.

Morgan added that road usage charges exceeding what drivers of internal combustion engines would pay in gas taxes could dissuade people from buying electric and hybrid cars. Already, federal tax incentives for EVs are set to expire under the tax and spending cut bill recently passed by the GOP-controlled Congress.

“We are definitely supportive of a road usage charge that has EVs paying their fair share, but they should not be paying extra or a penalty,” Morgan said.