Minneapolis tops St. Paul Johnson in clash of cities' best

Minneapolis North, which hasn't lost to a team from a Minneapolis or St. Paul public school since 2013, kept its streak intact Friday with a 26-6 victory over St. Paul Johnson.

"I'm absolutely pleased with [the outcome],'' Polars coach Charles Adams said, "but I know there's room for improvement."

The game featured arguably the top public school program in Minneapolis in the Polars, undefeated in their past five regular seasons, and St. Paul, with a Governors program that reached the Class 4A state tournament last season for the time since 1981.

Minneapolis North took the lead late in the first quarter on a 5-yard run by running back Terrance Kamara.

North, 11-1 last season, scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter for an 18-0 lead at halftime. Quarterback Zach Yeager threw a 97-yard touchdown to wide receiver Rio Sanders to make it 12-0. With two minutes left in the quarter, North defensive lineman Darius Hanson recovered a fumble and ran for a 35-yard touchdown to make it 18-0.

The Governors responded in the third quarter when linebacker Joe Moberg ran 40 yards for a touchdown.

North scored twice in the fourth quarter. Quientrail Jamison-Travis tackled quarterback Jovanni Gonzalez for a safety. Then Sanders found Dominic McMillian for a 9-yard touchdown.

"They're a good football team," Moberg said. "We can't make the mistakes that we made. You give a team like that two, three, four turnovers and they will eat you up."