In a game during which big plays sprung from unlikely situations, St. Thomas Academy running back Hootie Hubbell turned an inside handoff on fourth-and-inches into a 38-yard touchdown run to give the Cadets their first lead in an eventual 21-13 victory at No. 3 Mahtomedi on Friday night.
“Every game needs a little bit of luck,” Hubbell said. “I was just trying to get the yard. I had some great blocks. I got it out there and into the end zone.”
After not giving up a point in either of their first two games this season, the Cadets, No. 2 in Class 4A, trailed 13-0 at halftime before quarterback John Gould broke a run to inspire his team.
Facing third-and-13 at his team’s 14-yard line, Gould got loose for a 58-yard gain. A few plays later, he floated a pass into the end zone to Thomas Sjoberg for a 6-yard touchdown. The Cadets’ ensuing surprise onside kick attempt was ruled to have not traveled 10 yards before a Cadets player touched the ball, giving Mahtomedi possession in good position to start an answering drive. Instead, running back Trevor Dittberner lost a fumble.
After giving up some chunks of yardage, the Zephyrs defense forced the Cadets into the fourth-and-inches situation. Then Hubbell scored to make it 14-13. Gould added a late touchdown to seal the victory.
“You’re not going to get better by winning by 40 points every week,” Cadets coach Dave Ziebarth said. “You’ve got to get tested, and we got tested tonight.”
Two first-half fumbles hurt the Cadets. And Mahtomedi left points on the table with a missed field goal and failed two-point conversion attempt.
Sparked by a 53-yard completion from Jordan Goodmanson to Kyle Thell, Mahtomedi took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter with the first points given up by St. Thomas Academy this season.
A bad snap to Gould on fourth-and-3 resulted in him scrambling unsuccessfully and getting tackled at his own 32-yard line with 1:46 to go in the first half. Another big pass play, this time a ball tipped by Zach Lindquist to teammate Brandon Goodwin, moved the Zephyrs to the Cadets 7-yard line. Three plays later, Luke Lindahl scored to make it 13-0 with 30 seconds left in the first half.
Hootie Hubbell follows in the recent tradition of St. Thomas Academy players with spectacular skills and peculiar names.