31 August 2024
For a quarterback taking over the starting job, Izaak Johnson felt pretty good about how things played out Friday night.
The Cretin-Derham Hall junior threw for 139 yards and three touchdowns as the Raiders rolled past Tartan 34-6 in the season opener for both teams at O’Shaughnessy Stadium at the University of St. Thomas.
“It felt great,” Johnson said afterward. “I was super nervous at first, but then I realized it was the same game as always.
“My line was doing great and that helped. There are still a bunch of things we have to clean up as an offense. But overall, it was a good game.”
Johnson got things started by connecting with senior Monteff Dixon on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 1:15 to play in the first quarter, then junior Ja’Dale Thompson scored on a 16-yard run in the second.
Johnson finished the half with a 27-yard scoring strike to junior Sam Heath and a 16-yard touchdown pass to senior Owen Prestegaard to put his team on top 27-0 at halftime.
“Everybody has optimism the first game,” Raiders coach Steve Walsh said. “When you get a big lead, it kind of deflates the other team a little. But give them credit, they played hard in the second half. We played sloppy at times throughout the game, but we made enough big plays to win. So that was a good start.”
Indeed, , moving the ball and finally scoring on a 2-yard run by senior Bryant Saloe with 8:47 to play. But Cretin-Derham Hall added a final touchdown on a 23-yard run by Thompson with 3:48 remaining.
“We clearly weren’t awake in the first half and we challenged the kids at halftime,” Tartan coach Matt Diediker said. “It was good to see them respond. But like I told them at the end, you don’t get to count a victory in the second half. It’s the whole game.
“So we have a lot of areas to improve, but we did see some good things tonight.”
So did the Raiders, who next travel to Bemidji (1-0) for a game scheduled for 7 p.m. next Friday.
Senior Tommy Sticha finished with 13 carries for 110 yards against the Titans. Thompson carried the ball eight times for 60 yards and the two touchdowns.
“This was a nice start, but now we have to clean up the little things and focus on Bemidji,” Johnson said.
“(Bemidji) kind of gave us some fits last year,” added Walsh, whose team fell 14-7 to the Lumberjacks at home in 2023. “It was a close game, but we lost. There will be a lot of distractions. Leaving school a little early and a five-hour bus ride. We’re going to spend the night on campus (at Bemidji State) and take a college tour the next morning.
“We’re going to do a lot of interesting things. But first and foremost, we have to take care of the game.”
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