Quantcast
skip navigation

St. Paul Central steamrolls into first place

By Aaron Paitich, Special to the Star Tribune, 09/30/11, 10:37AM CDT

Share

Minutemen take sole possession of top spot in the St. Paul Conference

Suffering only one conference loss the past four seasons, Central has dominated St. Paul football the past three years. Make it a fourth

Powered by the running game, head coach Scott Howell’s team steamrolled St. Paul Johnson 40-0 Friday night at Bakken Field.

“We didn’t think it was going to be like this because Johnson’s a good team, a quality program,” Howell said.

D.J. Johnson ran for 184 yards on 14 carries for four touchdowns.

“That’s one of the best games out of a back we’ve had in a long time,” Howell said of Johnson, who also recovered a fumble.

The senior running back began and finished the Minutemen’s opening drive with a 35-yard carry and 5-yard punch-in for the score.

Free safety Theo Haslow’s interception recovered possession for Central, and Johnson stepped up again — this time busting a 59-yard touchdown run.

Senior running back La’Dra Kilgore-Hodges picked up some big gains late in the second quarter, setting up Johnson’s third touchdown rush and ending the half with a 20-0 lead.

“I came out here and had a good game, but I owe it to my O-line,” Johnson said.

Seamus Walsh threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Haslow and Johnson would add his fourth rushing touchdown from 17 yards out in the third quarter. Adrian Wood had a team-high 14 tackles.

The Minutemen are well on their way to their fourth-straight crown with a 3-0 record and only two games left in the regular season. Previous to their current title streak, Central hadn’t won a conference championship since 1988.

The players are buying in.

“We’re part of the bigger, faster, stronger program and you’re seeing the results on the field,” said Howell, in his 11th year at Central.
 

Related Stories