One out away from winning for just the third time in 11 games, the Twins watched another late lead slip away on Friday. The Twins, however, didn’t fold.

After Cole Sands gave up a 6-4 lead in the Diamondbacks’ four-run ninth inning, Minnesota rallied from an 8-6 deficit to beat the Diamondbacks, 9-8, in front of 18,177 at Target Field.

Kody Clemens’ hit his third home run of the night to start the ninth and make it 8-7, and the Twins loaded the bases with no outs against right-hander Jake Woodford. Jhonny Pereda singled, Woodford hit Byron Buxton and Austin Martin drew a walk to load the bases.

Left-hander Andrew Saalfrank came in to face lefty Trevor Larnach but walked him on five pitches, and Luke Keaschall followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Buxton with the winning run.

Making his second start since returning from a shoulder injury that cost him three months, Pablo Lopez gutted out five innings, allowing only two unearned runs on four hits and three walks, and Kody Clemens was 4 for 4 with three home runs and five RBIs for the Twins.

It was Clemens’ first career multihomer game, and he became the 11th Twins player to hit three home runs in a game.

Minnesota led 6-2 after six innings, but as has been the case so many times since the team traded away three of its best relievers at the deadline, the bullpen couldn’t make it stick.

Kody Funderburk and Travis Adams each pitched scoreless innings, but Michael Tonkin started the seventh and allowed a two-run home run to leadoff hitter Geraldo Perdomo before recording an out, and Sands ran into big trouble in the ninth.

Lopez wasn’t at his best but powered through five innings while the Twins’ lineup got comfortable against Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, who allowed five earned runs on nine hits, including Clemens’ first two home runs.

Clemens’ double in the sixth off left-hander Kyle Backhus that scored Brooks Lee from first base to give the Twins a 6-2 lead.

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White Bear Lake was inside the red zone, trailing by six in the fourth quarter when star quarterback Oluwatomi Animasaun sustained an injury that forced him to exit the contest on fourth down.

That left the Bears with their backup signal caller in a must-convert situation. But it was a Farmington star making the game-altering play in the clutch moment.

Minnesota-Duluth commit Danny Sather intercepted a desperation pass at the goal-line and returned it 98 yards for a score, shedding multiple potential tacklers along the way to put the Tigers up 19-6 in the final frame.

Farmington then forced a stop, and proceeded to march its ensuing drive down for a chip-shot field goal  with 3 minutes to go to secure a 22-6 victory and move to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 2020.

The Tigers led for much of the night, utilizing an intriguing offense in which it has four players in the backfield out of a shotgun formation. Multiple different players could take the ball on any single snap, with various potential handoffs and pulling linemen.

Farmington is running the ball 40-plus times per game, and Friday was no different.

The Tigers scored on their first drive of the night as Christopher Rehak ran in a 31-yard score.

But White Bear Lake’s defensive front held up relatively well for much of the night from there, keeping the Bears in the game. White Bear Lake’s dynamic offense seemed to be inches away from a big play for much of the night, with deep passing glancing off the fingertips of receivers at various points.

Farmington’s defense has now held each of its last two opponents to single-digit scoring outputs.

The first drive didn’t go the way Centennial senior quarterback Isaac Belinske-Strauss and his teammates wanted it to Friday night.

But things picked up considerably from there.

Belinske-Strauss rushed for three 1-yard touchdowns as the Cougars – ranked No. 7 in the state in Class 6A – rolled past 10th-ranked Champlin Park 31-10 at Champlin Park High School in a battle of two teams that each entered the night 2-0.

Centennial fumbled the ball away at the Champlin Park 29 on its first possession.

After that, though, Belinske-Strauss and his offense were tough to stop. The Cougars took a 7-0 lead on the quarterback’s first touchdown run on the opening play of the second quarter.

Centennial then expanded that margin to 10 when senior Justin Driver drilled a 50-yard field goal. The Rebels cut the gap to 10-3 when junior Trace Fitzgerald connected on a 21-yard field goal of his own.

But the Cougars scored on a 24-yard scoring strike from Belinske-Strauss to senior Calvin Coppersmith that made the score 17-3 with 1:33 remaining in the first half.

Belinske-Strauss had 11 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown in the first two quarters of play.

Centennial again fumbled the ball away at the Rebels’ 17 on the opening drive of the second half.

But its next possession ended on another 1-yard Belinske-Strauss touchdown run. So did the one that followed that, which started on the Champlin Park 1 after a high snap on a Rebels’ punt attempt.

Champlin Park junior Preston Nelson scored on a 22-yard touchdown run with 9:37 to play to cut the gap to 31-10. The Rebels then drove into Centennial territory on its next possession before turning the ball over on downs at the Cougars’ 40.

And from there, Centennial ran out the clock.

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Republican Tad Jude announced his candidacy for Minnesota secretary of state in 2026 on Friday.

Republican Tad Jude, center, will run for Minnesota secretary of state next year. In this Nov. 5, 2024 photo, Tad Jude is seen at the 2024 Minnesota GOP Election Party held at Radisson Blu in Bloomington. (Matt Blewett / Special to Pioneer Press)

Jude, 73, of Maple Grove,  has previously served as a state representative and senator, as well as 11 years as a district court judge for Minnesota’s 10th Judicial District. He most recently ran for Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District against now-Rep. Kelly Morrison in 2024.

“After many years of service to our great state, I’m stepping forward to protect the integrity of our elections,” Jude said in a Friday press release. “Minnesotans deserve a Secretary of State who values transparency and accountability. It’s time to end the doubts plaguing our election system and rebuild confidence in every vote cast.”

Jude also ran for attorney general in 2022 but lost the Republican nomination to Jim Schultz.

No other candidates have officially announced their bid for the secretary of state’s office, which is now occupied by 11-year incumbent Steve Simon.

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