Corey Bohmert and Cole Saenger got a couple carries to give the Zephyrs breathing room from their own goal line. Then Bohmert busted one for 29 yards. A couple plays later, he scampered for 42 yards. That set up an eight-yard TD run by Saenger a play later.  

Mahtomedi went 98 yards, all on the ground, and led 7-0.  

“That’s what we want to do is establish that run and get things going there, but that definitely got us rolling,” Mahtomedi head coach Dave Muetzel said of the opening drive.  

“It was a big drive cause we deferred so we obviously didn’t get the ball first, we just pounded the rock on them,” Bohmert said. “Our O-line just got to work, running backs got to work. It was a good first impression.”  

That drive set the tone for the remainder of the game.  

Bohmert led the way with 246 of those rushing yards, tallying five runs over 20-plus yards. The running back added three touchdowns to give him 23 on the ground this season.  

The senior has plenty of speed and agility to show off, but he credits his offensive lineman for a lot of his individual success this season.  

“This offensive line’s crazy, they just push people back which opens up lanes for our backs,” Bohmert said.  

The culmination for Bohmert and the offensive line was back-to-back touchdown plays to start the second half.  

After receiving the second-half kickoff, Bohmert took the first play from scrimmage 66 yards to the house. He got a big lane from his line, then he made one defender miss and it was over from there.  

The Zephyrs recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Bohmert took the next play 30 yards for a score. It was an outside run that was perfectly set up by the line and receivers blocking outside.  

That totaled 96 yards and two scores in 32 seconds. Had Bohmert ever scored two touchdowns that fast before?  

“No, 30 seconds is crazy for that,” he said. “I’ll have to give my props to my O-line for that too, cause I wouldn’t have done it without them.”  

The Raiders (2-7, 1-3) had some success on the ground themselves in the second half, as Nolan Harris had three runs over 10 yards, including a 17-yard score. He finished the game with a team-high 67 yards.  

The Zephyrs now shift their focus to Friday’s section final against St. Paul Central. This is the eighth-straight section final for Mahtomedi (not including making the final in 2020, which was canceled).  

Muetzel gives all credit to the work ethic of his players for the continual success.  

“Our kids buy into it and they work hard, they work hard through the offseason, they work hard all the way up,” he said. “It’s a tribute to them and the hard work they put in.”