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

St. Thomas Academy has won seven straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Spring Lake Park has won seven straight on the road also dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Cadets will welcome the Panthers at 2:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few points on average (St. Thomas Academy 13.4, Spring Lake Park 11.5) so any points scored will be well earned.

St. Thomas Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They walked away with a 21-14 win over Mayo. 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.

Dominic Baez

Rushing Yards

11/08/25 vs Mayo	126
10/31/25 vs Two Rivers	147
10/25/25 vs Apple Valley	139

Dominic Baez continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 126 yards and a pair of scores. His 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.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Spring Lake Park challenged Alexandria on Saturday. The Panthers slipped by the Cardinals 13-12. The 13-point effort marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

St. Thomas Academy's victory bumped their record up to 11-0. As for Spring Lake Park, their win bumped their record up to an identical 11-0.