Football Game Preview: Spring Lake Park Panthers vs. St. Thomas Academy Cadets

The Spring Lake Park Panthers are taking a road trip to challenge the St. Thomas Academy Cadets at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are still undefeated after 11 games, but that won't be the case come Friday.

Spring Lake Park is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They pulled ahead with a 13-12 photo finish over Alexandria. Those 13 points were actually the fewest the Panthers have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.

Meanwhile, St. Thomas Academy earned a 21-14 win over Mayo on Saturday. Given the Cadets' advantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota football rankings (they are ranked eighth, while the Spartans are ranked 83rd) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Spring Lake Park better keep an eye on Dominic Baez. He was instrumental in St. Thomas Academy's win, rushing for 126 yards and two TDs. Baez's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 126 rushing yards.

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 Grant Young and Manny Sims.

Spring Lake Park's record is now 11-0. As for St. Thomas Academy, their record now sits at an identical 11-0.