Holding what felt like an overwhelming lead, St. Anthony began to coast.

The Huskies scored four touchdowns in the first 17 minutes of their Section 6 Class 4A first-round game Friday at home. They rode the big start by senior wide receiver Billy Johnson, who had three 30-plus-yard touchdown receptions and a 49-yard touchdown run to give St. Anthony a 28-0 lead.

Then it was Blake’s turn. The Bears scored three consecutive touchdowns before St. Anthony’s defense could slow down the Bears’ momentum. The rally stopped there, though, as the Huskies advanced with a 41-28 victory.

“I was a little worried,” St. Anthony quarterback Ryan Rush said. “But we kept fighting and came through. Our defense and long drives really helped us late.”

Despite watching its large cushion fade, St. Anthony led by a touchdown heading into the final quarter and had the ball. With the Bears defense beginning to tire, the Huskies used their ground attack, depending on Cody Bauleke and Zach Siggelkow to burn the clock.

Bauleke converted a 4-yard touchdown run in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to all but secure the victory.

“Our line stepped it up and our run game started producing,” said Johnson, who had 165 receiving yards and 68 rushing.

Outside of a few short runs by Marcus Berg, Blake’s offense was nonexistent early. That changed with a single play.

After falling behind by four touchdowns, the Bears gained momentum as Jack McNeill turned a short pass from quarterback Logan Kline into a 62-yard scoring play.

Berg then began to find holes and extra yardage. He rattled off runs of 14, 15, 13 and 33 yards before he trotted into the end zone for a 3-yard score and Blake’s second touchdown.

The spark carried over into the third quarter when Blake pulled within a touchdown after Berg ran 65 yards on the first play. He finished with 220 rushing yards.

The unanswered run would end there, though. St. Anthony held Blake scoreless from then on until the final seconds of the game.

The Huskies will face Robbinsdale Cooper in the second round Saturday.