St. Thomas Academy gets its work in before the storm, defeats Robbinsdale Armstrong

St. Thomas Academy did all the damage it needed to do in the first half Friday, taking a 44-13 victory over visiting Robbinsdale Armstrong in a matchup of top-10 Class 5A teams.

St. Thomas Academy is ranked ninth in 5A, Armstrong fifth.

Lightning put a stop to the game with the Cadets leading 30-13 at halftime at Gerry Brown Stadium. Despite the delay moving past two hours, the two coaches decided to wait out the storm.

Before the break, St. Thomas Academy senior Savion Hart ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns, and he made a catch for 38 yards on the first offensive play of the game. Hart finished the game with 266 rushing yards on 21 carries.

"Man, I didn't even know that was the number," Hart said. "That's a great number. I didn't even know that. I was just ready to get back out there for the last drive, too. I like the stats, but at the end of the day, I like the wins."

Hart had three runs of more than 30 yards and receptions of 38 and 28 yards. He shrugged off arm tackles and pushed defenders away on each of his big plays.

"That's what I want my game to be like," Hart said. "I idolize my game after Saquon [Barkley]. I want to be explosive, fast, strong, vision."

As Hart piled up yards, the Cadets defense was stopping Falcons leading rusher Kevon Johnson. Johnson, a junior, entered the game in the state's top 10 in rushing attempts and rushing yards, but he went into halftime with just 26 yards on 11 carries. He was able to get going in the second half but still managed just 84 rushing yards.

The Falcons (4-1) stayed in the game in the first half on two touchdowns by Dawson Franke. The junior quarterback threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Seth Newbern and ran 1 yard for another score.

Ari Tobias helped the Cadets put the game away in the second half with a pair of touchdown runs.

The Falcons had opportunities to get back in the game in the second half. A pair of turnovers in goal-to-go situations on their first two drives of the second half were too much to overcome.

They moved the ball to the Cadets 6-yard line on the first possession but threw an interception on the goal line. On their next possession, they moved inside the 1 but fumbled the snap on fourth down.