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Sports

Cadets Football Storms To Section Finals With 42-8 Win

St. Thomas Academy jumps all over visiting Simley in the first quarter, then puts the game away with two big plays in the second.

It was case of déjà vu for the second-ranked Cadets and the Simley High School Spartans on a gorgeous October afternoon Saturday at Mendota Heights.

St. Thomas Academy dropped Simley 42-0 on Sept. 2 in the season opener for both teams, and then knocked them out of the playoffs 42-8 in a Class 4A, Section 3 football semifinal Saturday.

The win puts top-seeded St. Thomas Academy (9-0) into the section finals where the Cadets will host third-seeded and ninth-ranked South St. Paul (9-1) Friday at 7 p.m.

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South St. Paul dominated No. 8 Holy Angels 50-20 Saturday.

The Packers are a familiar opponent for the Cadets, who have knocked them out of the section playoffs the last three seasons.

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Simley ends its season at a much improved 4-6, after finishing 2-7 and 1-8 the previous two seasons.

“This one wasn’t our best game,” said Simley first-year coach Rex King. “You like to go out playing your best football and this was not our best game.

“Just little mistakes, added King. “We went from playing lights out last week, and we had a couple calls that went against us. You know it’s 15-, 16- and 17-year-old boys. They’re emotional. And our execution was subpar tonight.”

The Cadets roared out of the gate and led 21-0 after the first quarter and 35-0 at the half.

“We  came out and we were flying at the beginning and overwhelmed them a little bit,” said St. Thomas Academy head coach Dave Ziebarth. “So I thought it was going to be closer, too. They’ve improved a lot since the beginning of the year. You could see that at times. I think we threw a couple of fronts at them that they probably weren’t ready for and used our speed on the defensive line to kind of make some big plays early on.”

Junior running back Nick Waldvogel scored on runs of 16 and 19 yards to give St. Thomas Academy a 14-0 lead. Waldvogel had just four carries, but made the most of them with 76 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cadets then broke the game wide open with a pair of pivotal plays.

St. Thomas Academy scored when junior defensive back Danny McManus stepped in front of a Simley pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. One series later, senior Paddy Clancy of the Cadets took a Simley punt back 83 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-0.

“When you get an interception for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown, all of a sudden everything changes very dramatically,” Ziebarth said.

“Everyone just handled their responsibilities well, the offense executed the plays and we just played hard,” said McManus.

St. Thomas Academy scored again in the third on a 1-yard run by backup quarterback Keegan Zimprich and a 16-yard scamper by Hootie Hubbell.

The Spartans finally got on the board on a 20-yard pass play from Simley junior quarterback Nick Wanzek to Cody Hazelett.

It was one of the few times Wanzek had much time to throw as he was hurried and harassed by a relentless Cadets defense most of the game. He was able to complete just four of 14 passes for 87 yards.

The  STA  defense, meanwhile, mostly stoned the Simley offense until the outcome was no longer in doubt.

“Our defense is pretty good,” said Cadets defensive end Mack Marrin. “We just do our job and that’s the key to our success.”

St. Thomas Academy’s defense intercepted two passes and forced three Simley punts in five possessions of the first half.

Senior running back Micah Barnes rushed for 81 yards on 15 attempts to lead the Simley offense.

Junior linebacker Parker Chapman led St. Thomas Academy on defense with eight tackles, including three tackles for losses and a quarterback sack. Senior linebackers Mitch Mountain and Doug Vanasek had seven tackles each.

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