High school football: St. Croix Lutheran improves to 2-0 by beating Johnson

Colin Avery did just about everything for St. Croix Lutheran on Friday night, and that was enough to carry the Crusaders past St. Paul Johnson 39-20 at Harding High School.

The senior running back — whose team improved to 2-0 — got on a roll from the get-go, scoring on a 26-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive.

Johnson answered right back when senior Justice Moody caught a short pass on the second play of his team’s first possession and evaded a host of tacklers en route to the end zone on a 51-yard touchdown pass.

The extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the score 7-6.

The Governors (1-1) caught a break when they recovered a fumble at their own 9-yard line. Two plays later, however, Johnson senior quarterback Ali Farfan was tackled in the end zone for a safety and St. Croix Lutheran extended its margin to 9-6.

Then, the Avery show really began.

He scored on touchdown runs of 6 and 11 yards to expand his team’s lead to 23-6. Then, after the Crusaders forced a Governors’ punt with just 21 seconds to go before halftime, Avery made an impressive grab on a pass from senior teammate Villiam Andersen and somehow kept his balance, staying on his feet to complete a 42-yard scoring strike.

That put St. Croix Lutheran on top 30-6. Avery finished the first half with 15 carries for 130 yards and three touchdowns and the one catch for 42 yards — compiling 172 total yards of offense.

But a renewed aerial attack, and a pair of Crusaders’ fumbles, helped Johnson climb back into the game in the third quarter.

The Governors advanced all the way to the Crusaders’ 11 on the opening drive of the second half but turned the ball over on downs.

However, St. Croix Lutheran fumbled the ball away at their own 27, setting up a 6-yard touchdown pass from Farfan to senior Jacoby Wiggins. The ensuing 2-point conversion cut the gap to 30-14.

After recovering another fumble at their own 37, Johnson cut the gap to 20-10 on a 12-yard touchdown catch by junior Dea’majeon Henderson-Moore.

Yet, a 5-yard touchdown by Avery with 6:41 to play and another safety helped the Crusaders put the game out of reach.

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