Cretin-Derham Hall senior Izaak Johnson threw for seven touchdowns onFriday night and his team needed every one of them to hold off late-charging Mahtomedi 49-44 on the road in the Class 5A, Section 4 championship game at a cold and rainy George Smith Field.

Despite trailing by 13 at halftime, and by as much as 21 in the fourth quarter, the top-seeded Zephyrs managed to cut the gap to as little as six with just under five-and-a-half minutes to play, and to just five in the final minute of play.

But Johnson — who seemed to have a response all night — connected with classmate Sam Heath on a 45-yard touchdown pass with 3:08 to go that helped lift the second-seeded Raiders (7-3) seal their second straight trip to the state tournament.

Mahtomedi — which held off a late Cretin-Derham Hall rally to win 28-27 when the two teams faced off in the regular season on Oct. 10 — finished its season 8-2 overall.

Thompson finished the night 23 of 32 passing for 425 yards.

The Zephyrs began the game with runs of 23 and 24 yards from senior Jacob Reubish, but the drive stalled and they turned the ball over on downs at the Raiders’ 33-yard line.

Two plays later, Johnson connected with junior Owen Welk on a 66-yard touchdown pass to take an early 7-0 lead.

Mahtomedi answered back on its next possession when senior Mark Graff scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. The extra point was blocked, though, and the Raiders still led by one.

Johnson insured that margin grew, connecting with senior tight end Isaiah Thom on a 3-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter.

He struck again one drive later, this time on a 44-yard scoring strike over the middle to junior Dre Frierson-Hollie — a touchdown that put Cretin-Derham Hall up 21-6 with 6:34 to play in the first half.

Mahtomedi found a bit of a spark late in the second quarter. Senior Moseh Mouacheupao picked off a Johnson pass and returned it to his own 49.

The Zephyrs were forced to punt, but succeeded in pinning the Raiders at their own 1. Two plays later, a bad snap resulted in Johnson downing the ball in the end zone for a safety.

That cut the deficit to 21-8 at halftime.

Johnson finished the first half 12 of 17 passing for 199 yards and three touchdowns.

And he picked right up where he left off to start the third quarter, connecting with Ja’Dale Thompson for the first of three second-half touchdown passes to the senior running back.

Mahtomedi cut the gap to 11 when Graff threaded the needle to find junior Jacob Sokoll on a 7-yard touchdown pass with 5:56 to go in the third quarter. The two-point conversion trimmed the Raiders’ lead to 27-16.

But four plays into his team’s next possession, Johnson again connected with Johnson on a 48-yard touchdown pass followed by a two-point conversion.

Reubish scored for the Zephyrs on an 11-yard run early in the fourth quarter, but once more Johnson responded with a touchdown pass to Thompson — this one a 5-yarder that made the score 43-22.

But things were far from over.

The Zephyrs cut the gap to 13 when junior Trevor Rogosheske threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Graff, who ran for the two-point conversion to make the score 43-30.

Then, after recovering the onside kick, Mahtomedi pulled within six, 43-37, on a 34-yard pass from Graff to junior Luke Torgrude with 5:29 remaining.

And even after Johnson’s touchdown pass to Heath, the Zephyrs didn’t quit. Graff scored on a 22-yard run to trim the lead to just five with 46 seconds to go.

But the Raiders recovered the onside kick to seal the win.

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About half the residents of a St. Paul high-rise forced from their homes by a fire earlier this week have returned to their apartments, city officials said Friday.

More than 770 people were displaced early Sunday morning when a small fire broke out on the 12th floor of the Skyline Tower complex at Griggs Street and St. Anthony Avenue, according to a news release. No one was injured, but the blaze caused outages of the water, heating and electrical systems, rendering the building uninhabitable.

As of Friday afternoon, all 141 households of the complex’s east tower were back in their apartments, the news release said. The units in the west tower suffered significant water damage from the building’s sprinkler system and require repairs before they can be occupied.

The city’s Department of Safety and Inspections conducted “a comprehensive safety review Thursday, certifying the entire building structurally sound,” the news release said.

Skyline Tower, which overlooks Interstate 94, is the largest affordable housing community in St. Paul, according to CommonBond, the nonprofit that manages the complex.

About 150 city workers — including firefighters, police officers, Department of Safety and Inspections personnel, and the mayor and his staff — pitched in to help residents evacuate on Sunday.

CommonBond arranged hotel rooms for many of those who were displaced, while some chose to stay with family or friends.

The fire remains under investigation, but Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith said there were not signs it was suspicious.

Donations for residents are being accepted at commonbond.org/skylinetower.

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MINNEAPOLIS — The mood in the Como Park High School locker room Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium after its Class 2A boys soccer championship game with top-seeded Blake mirrored the weather outside — cold, gray and damp.

The unseeded Cougars, whose run to the title clash energized their campus and sparked pride throughout the St. Paul City Conference, ended with a 3-0 loss to the Bears, who were simply too good to be beat and finished the season 19-1-2.

“They were just a good team and good teams create good chances,” said Como Park standout Blessed Htoo, who found himself tightly marked and often jostled. “Their ball movement, they’re very quick with it. And after they pass, they move right away.”

Said Cougars defender Henry Simmons: “I was nervous. I knew they were a good team and it was kind of what I expected from them.”

Como Park coach Brendan Doyle noted that Blake was the division’s top team in the coaches poll and the computer rankings throughout the season.

“They came out with intent to win a state title,” Doyle said. “They were very well-prepared and our guys were trying to hang on.”

Blake opened the scoring during the 13th minute. Oliver Brown redirected in a Landon Bell shot after two earlier Bears missiles bounced off the post during a frenzied, goalmouth scramble.

Como Park’s deficit doubled nine minutes after intermission when Blake was awarded a free kick in the center of the field and just outside the penalty area. The Cougars struggled to structure their defense and Moises Huerta casually rolled the ball wide to a wide-open Max Vezmer, who pounded home a 25-yard shot past a charging foe.

Blake closed the scoring with 29 minutes to play. Bell received a pass from along the end line and to the right of the goal before using a nifty, back-heel feed to send the ball on to Brown. The junior midfielder received the offering with his right foot before shooting inside the left post with his left boot.

Como Park’s best scoring chance might have come with 14 minutes remaining when it was awarded an indirect kick in the center of the penalty area. A teammate’s quick touch set Htoo up for a shot, but the Bears charged off the goal line en masse and smothered the attempt.

“For a high school team, (Blake) has a very well-defined style of play,” Doyle said. “And despite that, they’re not at all predictable. They attack with eight and every player is able to find a bunch of solutions, which means our defenders have three things in their head at any time.

“They’re probably, top to bottom and player to player, the most talented team in our class, too. Everyone’s fighting them uphill from the start.”

The Cougars’ coach said his 15-6-1 team was fortunate to be down only a goal at halftime and made tactical changes to try and get attackers high and wide.

“I think we did a better job in the second half but they have super-talented players and they won their (individual battles) and scored anyway.”

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The Blake School girls soccer team felt it was robbed during Friday’s 1-0 loss to Mahtomedi in the Class 2A title game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Zephyrs coach Dave Wald didn’t offer much disagreement.

“I feel like we stole one, in a way,” said the Zephyrs’ 20th-year bench boss after his claimed its second consecutive state crown. “But we get better and better and play harder and harder. The pride I feel in these guys is amazing.”

Mahtomedi defender Eloise Taylor, 4, takes control of the ball past Blake forward Lauren Breyer, 2, during the second half of the Class 2A girls soccer championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)

Crucial to the larceny was Mahtomedi goalkeeper Harlow Berger, who made a dozen saves, several of them spectacular. Blake held a 19-6 shot advantage and took 10 of the contest’s 12 corner kicks but couldn’t solve No. 43 in the yellow jersey.

Blake’s Livi Abboud-Young entered with 34 goals scored, the last being Wednesday’s winner during a semifinal victory over Holy Angels. She and her teammates forced Berger to make seven saves before intermission, with virtually every Bears touch being purposeful and attack-oriented.

“I was really hoping we’d play Holy Angels because I didn’t think we matched up well with Blake,” said Wald, who lost his four-player back line to graduation after last season but saw the Zephyrs close this year’s campaign with shutouts in 11 of its last 13 games.

“If you’d asked me at the beginning of the season if we’d be here, I’d have said no way.”

Berger was expected to split time for a second consecutive campaign with senior classmate Jacque Worden, who’s headed to play for the University of North Dakota. Worden got hurt playing flag football, however, and Berger, a former basketball player, took over full time.

Friday, the 6-foot-3 keeper charged off her line to make sliding stops on loose balls at the edge of the penalty area. She leaped to tip line-drive shots over the crossbar, and jumped to pluck corner-kick offerings from the air. Berger crushed punts and kicks, some of the latter taken near midfield after fouls on her teammates, which allowed Mahtomedi to threaten her Blake counterpart, Reese Aafedt, from more than 50 yards away.

“It just seemed like she was everywhere in the net,” said Aafedt, who made four saves but couldn’t prevent her team from falling to 16-1-4. “She had such good footwork to get to any ball, and she used her height as a strength, which was good for their defense overall.”

Audrey Aflakpi cheers as she watches her sister, Mahtomedi’s Elise Aflakpi, defeat Blake 1-0 to win the Class 2A girls soccer championship at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)

Mahtomedi (17-2-2) was being outshot, 19-4, when it scored 15 minutes after intermission. Rose Prescott passed from the center of the field to Kennedee Cummins on the right side. From there, Cummins found striker Elise Aflakpi, who was facing away from the goal and had a defender on her hip atop the penalty area.

Aflakpi spun 180 degrees to her right and dribbled into a small patch of open space. Without time to reposition, the junior chose to shoot with her toe, knocking the ball off the left post, then off the right post and, according to the officials, across the line at some point during its journey.

“I saw it release from her foot and I … thought it was going completely wide,” Aafedt said. “Then it hit the post and hit the other post and I didn’t personally think it went in, but it was called otherwise.”

Said Blake coach Jocelyn Keller: “Soccer’s an unfortunate game where you can outplay and outshoot and out-defend a team and then that happens.”

With 7 minutes remaining, Berger slid to stop a cross and felt her shoulder pop out of joint. An agonized roll to one side pushed the wing back into place, but the goalkeeper wore a sling postgame and said she was glad she only had to make two more saves the rest of the way.

“I’m not sure how it happened and it was really painful, but I knew I could move it,” said Berger, a University of St. Thomas commit who described the title clash as her busiest game of the season. “Every time I screamed, the pain kind of went away, so I did that every time the ball came to me.”

Wald said he pondered retirement from coaching about five years ago, but then the Zephyrs began what he called “a run of amazing people” that continued with the current team’s energy and enthusiasm. Berger was in the midst of that culture, the coach noted.

“Harlow is an amazing person and a game-changer,” Wald said. “With that many young kids on the field, we don’t do this without them knowing they have Harlow behind them.”

Mahtomedi poses with the trophy after winning the Class 2A girls soccer championship at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)

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