St. Thomas Academy sprints into U.S. Bank Stadium for Class 5A semifinals
St. Thomas Academy's Savion Hart tallied five scores while Owatonna lost three fumbles and threw an interception in Saturday's Class 5A football state tournament quarterfinal at Woodbury High School — and the combination produced a 46-28 Cadets victory.
With the victory, No. 9 St. Thomas Academy (9-2) advances to play at 2 p.m. Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Cadets led 25-14 at halftime. Owatonna quarterback Jacob Ginskey got hit and fumbled away his team's opening possession on the first play. Teddy Knapp recovered to give St. Thomas Academy the ball at the Huskies 6-yard line.
Three plays later, running back Hart recorded his 30th rushing touchdown of the season (31st touchdown overall) and tacked on the two-point conversion run for an 8-0 Cadets lead.
Hart broke a 34-yard touchdown run on the Cadets' next possession for a 15-0 advantage.
The Ginskey brothers finally got the Huskies (8-3) going. Quarterback Jacob and receiver Nolan hooked up for a 69-yard touchdown.
Teammate Brennan Sletten added a short scoring run to cut Owatonna's deficit to 18-14. On the next St. Thomas Academy drive, however, Maximus Sims hit a wide-open Chase Young for a 1-yard touchdown and restored a 25-14 lead.
Owatonna capped the first half about the way it started, with two fumbles.
Hart punctuated his day in similar fashion, too, getting loose on a fourth down carry for a 39-yard touchdown with 3:02 remaining.
A penalty-filled game resulted in Owatonna coach Jeff Williams getting ejected with 5:32 remaining in the game.
