St. Thomas Academy wanted payback for last year's section finals overtime heartbreaker against South St. Paul. It cost the Cadets a trip to the state tournament and tarnished their undefeated record.
They're no longer in the same football class, but the two teams met again Wednesday night for the final regular-season matchup. South St. Paul sported a perfect 7-0 mark and St. Thomas Academy was 6-1.
But what appeared at the outset to be a competitive grudge match turned into a blowout as the Cadets shut out the Packers 34-0 on the road to earn a split of the Classic Suburban title.
"It's always in the back of our minds," senior Danny McManus said of last season. "The seniors from last year's team were sending in e-mails to us wishing us good luck this week. We were hungry."
Wyatt Schmidt opened the scoring with a 27-yard field goal on the Cadets' opening offensive drive. Pat McFadden followed that up with a 6-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Keegan Zimprich threw a 60-yard strike to McManus that made it 17-0 early in the second quarter.
The Packers were stunned, but it would be just the beginning of a long night.
McManus and McFadden each added rushing touchdowns in the third and Schmidt's big boot capped the scoring with a 33-yard field goal.
The Cadets defense was airtight and neutralized Jake Hill, the Packers' top offensive threat. From start to finish, St. Thomas put on a clinic in all areas of the game. With the playoffs next week, the Cadets' timing couldn't be better.
