Even when Roseville’s offense failed on fourth down twice from inside the 5-yard line, and Farmington intercepted a pass at the 1-yard line, the Raiders’ defense was there to make sure nothing went array.

That defense prevented Farmington (2-7) from crossing midfield in a 7-0 victory in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs Friday in Roseville.

“They just did a heck of a job keeping us in the football game when we were having trouble,” Roseville coach Chris Simdorn said. “We had some opportunities in the first half to put some scores on and couldn’t do it, and the defense just kept coming on and getting stops for us.”

The Raiders (7-2) broke the scoreless tie when Max Sandin planted a stiff arm on a defender and burst around the edge for a 63-yard touchdown. 

Sandin intercepted a pass on Farmington’s next offensive play and nearly had another with time winding down on Farmington’s final drive.

“Slippery hands,” the senior said, joking.

Either way, Roseville won its first postseason game since 2014 while leaving plenty of room for improvement.

“We had a couple lackadaisical practices on offense before this game, so we’re just going to get that together,” Sandin said. “Once we get our offense together we’re just going to get rolling.”

One big play was all the Roseville defense needed to carry its team past Farmington on Friday in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.

Farmington never advanced the ball past midfield while Roseville, playing at home. finally broke through with Max Sandin’s 63-yard run with 5:03 left in the third quarter to provide the only scoring in a 7-0 victory.

Sandin finished with 81 yards on the ground on seven carries and added an interception on Farmington’s first offensive play after his touchdown. Victor Yang made two catches for 51 yards and Zachary Andrade caught three for 47 yards. 

Farmington, meanwhile, finished with only 67 total offensive yards and seven first downs.

Check back later for more on the game.