The play was working Wednesday afternoon in Elk River, so the St. Anthony football team kept going back to it.
Senior quarterback Josiah Johnson threw four touchdown passes, all on bubble screens to sophomore speedster Troy Ellison, in a 38-22 victory over previously unbeaten Spectrum.
Ellison scored once in each quarter, starting with a 22-yard catch-and-run to finish off the game's first drive. In the second quarter, he sprinted 72 yards after the catch, then scored from 27 yards out in the third and capped off the Huskies' scoring with a 54-yard tally in the fourth.
Ellison, who has seven touchdowns in his past two games, credited fellow receiver Aaron Smith with freeing him up on the outside.
"We know that our wide receivers can block really well, so we know when we run that play to my side, it will be a big gain," Ellison said.
Johnson completed 15 of 28 passes for 284 yards for the Huskies (6-2).
Spectrum (7-1), ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, rushed for nearly 300 yards, but rarely attempted to pass against a St. Anthony defense that consistently crowded the line of scrimmage.
"We covered every person, had one more than them in the box and told them to throw the ball," St. Anthony coach Todd Nicklaus said.
"It worked in our favor because we knew they weren't going to throw the ball."
Fisher Marberg led host Spectrum with 198 rushing yards, Alex Glenn had a 67-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
MATT STEICHEN
