Cretin crushes Lakeville South 49-7

Marlin Levison, Star Tribune

Cretin-Derham Hall running back Marcus Binns went for yardage in the first half Friday night against Lakeville South at Griffin Stadium in St. Paul. Binns rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns as Cretin-Derham Hall advanced to the Class 5A semifinals.

The Raiders rambled over and rumbled through an overwhelmed Cougars defense, setting up a Class 5A semifinal with Blaine.

Star Tribune

Last update: November 8, 2008 - 6:30 AM

Lakeville South coach Larry Thompson, a Dakota County farm boy through and through, spent lots of time on a tractor this week. He drove a combine up and down cornfields until late in the evening Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, which was fine football preparation ... or so he thought.

"I'll sit out there and think about the game and by the time I'm done I'll have the game plan all figured out," Thompson said earlier this week.

Cretin-Derham Hall coach Mike Scanlan admitted that he just cannot relate.

"I need to sit in front of video myself," he said. "I do it a little different. My dad liked blacktop and concrete. Larry will be on the John Deere or whatever and I'll be on the couch with my clicker."

Clicker wins.

Cretin-Derham Hall rolled to a 49-7 victory in the Class 5A state quarterfinals Friday night at Griffin Stadium in St. Paul, mowing the Cougars down like so many cornstalks.

Quarterback Mark Alt was the triggerman of an offense that scored at will. He completed eight of 10 passes for 247 yards and five touchdowns, including 67- and 30-yarders to Clay Horne and another 67-yarder to Tommy Crosby ... and that was all in the first half; Alt did not throw a pass in the second half.

Marcus Binns added to the mass destruction for the Raiders (12-0) by rushing 21 times for 160 yards and two touchdowns, including a 40-yarder.

"When things went bad, we got on our heels and just couldn't recover," Thompson said. "We couldn't pressure their quarterback and they were throwing it right on the money. When you let a good team get rolling like that, you don't have much of a chance."

Lakeville South's exit from the playoffs was the second for a Lake Conference team in as many nights on the same field. Cretin-Derham Hall will meet Blaine in the 5A semifinals next Friday night at the Metrodome; Blaine upset two-time defending state champion Eden Prairie 28-24 at Griffin on Thursday.

The only Lake Conference team standing is Rosemount, which will meet Mounds View tonight ... insert scary horror-movie music ... at Griffin.

The Raiders held a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and doubled it in the second. They scored on the game's second play, the 67-yard toss from Alt to Horne. After Harry Pitera intercepted a Lakeville South pass, Cretin scored on an 11-yard pass from Alt to Willie Schneider, and Binns raced 40 yards to make it 21-0.

The Alt-to-Horne scoring play of 30 yards made it 28-0 early in the second quarter and Alt hit Crosby for six more points. With 34 seconds left before halftime, Alt's fifth touchdown pass, a 32-yarder to Sam Karel, made it 42-0.

"The key was the defense," Scanlan said. "If they could hold them and get us the ball back right away, we were clicking. It was either going to be Marcus or Alt, and we kept making plays."

After a 4-yard scoring burst by Binns in the third quarter, Lakeville South (8-4) scored on a 34-yard pass from Nick Bailey to Alex Richter. That's when Cretin-Derham Hall began pulling the starters and Thompson's thoughts could begin returning to the corn that's still standing in the field.

"We didn't make any plays happen, and we didn't get any turnovers to keep some momentum going," Thompson said. "They're better than we are."

John Millea • jmillea@startribune.com