Moments that mattered: St. Thomas Academy tops Andover on TD with 12 seconds left in clash of 5A high school football powers

St. Thomas Academy was on the brink of a season-opening setback. It used a couple of big plays in the waning moments to escape with a victory.

The Cadets scored two touchdowns in the final 1 minute, 10 seconds, rallying for a 21-14 victory over Andover in a clash of Class 5A powers Friday afternoon in Andover. The game was originally scheduled for Thursday but was postponed because of inclement weather.

Both teams fell to defending state champion Chanhassen in the state tournament a year ago — St. Thomas Academy 34-31 in the championship and Andover 54-46 in the semifinals.

Cadet junior running back Dominic Baez scored on a 10-yard run with 12 seconds remaining in the frantic finish. It came 26 seconds after the Cadets blocked a punt and recovered at the Huskies 21-yard line.

St. Thomas Academy pulled even at 14-14 on senior Chase Young’s 1-yard quarterback sneak with 1:10 remaining. Young kept the drive alive with a 36-yard completion to junior wide receiver Avery Buckner on a third-and-20 call from the Cadets 1-yard line.

Andover senior quarterback Hudson Maynard scored on a 2-yard run on fourth-and-goal with 4:52 left in the third quarter, giving the Huskies a 14-7 lead.

The Cadets also had their own fourth-down success. Junior running back Brooks Borman scored on a 1-yard run 4:47 before halftime following two fourth-down conversions by the Cadets inside the Andover 30.

Andover opened the scoring on senior running back Wyatt Myers’ 38-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.

In other games Friday:

Bloomington Kennedy 33, St. Paul Central 28: Senior running back Ladu Loro ran for three touchdowns and senior quarterback Malik Johnson threw for two as the Eagles outlasted the Minutemen. Loro scored on runs of 8, 14 and 43 yards. St. Paul Central senior quarterback Allan Lankfard also ran for three scores, 3, 3 and 7 yards.

Sauk Rapids-Rice 40, Irondale 14: Senior Deagan Gondeck was all over the field for the Storm in its victory over the Knights. He ran for three second-quarter touchdowns, intercepted three passes and recovered a fumble. The 5-10, 190-pound running back/linebacker scored on runs of 7, 10 and 25 yards. Classmate Chris Pepin added scoring runs of 15 and 32 yards in the third quarter, when the Storm built a 40-0 lead.

Armstrong 42, St. Francis 15: Senior running back Kevon Johnson ran wild, rushing for 308 yards on 21 carries and scoring four touchdowns. He scored on runs of 9, 22, 79 and 99 yards.

Woodbury 13, Roseville 10: Junior quarterback Emmett Snuggerud threw his second touchdown pass, a 9-yarder to sophomore tight end Nolan Freymiller, with 6:43 remaining as the Royals rallied to beat the Raiders. Roseville led 10-0 at halftime before Snuggerud connected with senior wide receiver Dominic Ebensteiner on a 35-yard scoring pass in the third quarter.

Watertown-Mayer 42, Austin 35 (2 OT): Junior quarterback Matthew Isakson threw his third touchdown pass, a 4-yarder to sophomore wide receiver Tyler Otterness, in the second overtime as the Royals edged the Packers. Austin failed to score on its possession in the second extra session. Both teams scored a touchdown in the first overtime. Senior Garlo Gee ran for four touchdowns and returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown for the Packers.