Football Game Preview: St. Thomas Academy Cadets vs. Hastings Raiders

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Previous Games

10/26/24 - Home	28-14 W
10/10/24 - Away	25-12 W
10/12/23 - Home	40-7 W
09/23/22 - Away	48-13 W
11/05/21 - Home	28-0 W
+ 5 more games

St. Thomas Academy is 9-1 against Hastings since September of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Cadets will be playing at home against the Raiders at 6:00 p.m. St. Thomas Academy will come into the game with an undefeated record on the line.

On Thursday, St. Thomas Academy made easy work of Apple Valley and carried off a 36-14 win. Given the Cadets' advantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota football rankings (they are ranked fourth, while the Eagles are ranked 106th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

It was another big night for Dominic Baez, who rushed for 163 yards and two TDs while picking up 9.1 yards per carry, and also threw for ten yards and one touchdown. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 80-yard run.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: St. Thomas Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 249 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 151 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.

St. Thomas Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Matthew Wagner and Sam McNellis.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Hastings, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They walked away with a 29-19 victory over Two Rivers on Friday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

St. Thomas Academy's win bumped their record up to 5-0. As for Hastings, they now have a winning record of 3-2.

St. Thomas Academy strolled past Hastings in their previous meeting back in October of 2024 by a score of 28-14. Do the Cadets have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Raiders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.