Crucial mistakes undid the Cretin-Derham Hall football team Saturday, leading to a 23-19 loss to Chanhassen in a Class 5A quarterfinal at Osseo High School. The third-seeded Raiders (7-4) were stopped at the same stage last year after winning their first section title since 2017.
Chanhassen lineman Owen Linder, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound behemoth who’s committed to play at Iowa next season, blocked a Cretin-Derham Hall point-after kick attempt two minutes before halftime. That play loomed large when the Raiders scored with 5:34 remaining in the game to pull within 21-19. Raiders quarterback Izaak Johnson scrambled right and threw back left on the ensuing 2-point try, but the pass fell incomplete. Johnson said he was forced to his third read on the play.
“My tight end (Dre Frierson-Hollie) ran a delayed cross on the back side,” said Johnson, who completed 23 of 34 pass attempts for 273 yards and two touchdowns and had a toss intercepted. “I tried to give him a chance, but I had pressure in my face when I threw.”
Second-seeded Chanhassen drove 67 yards to the Cretin-Derham Hall 2-yard line and took a knee with a minute remaining. The Storm attempted to do the same thing on the next play, but quarterback Nathan Ramler couldn’t handle the snap, and the Raiders recovered at their own 4 with 32 seconds on the scoreboard. Two plays later, however, Johnson was sacked for a safety, and Chanhassen (10-1) advanced to next week’s semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium to play St. Thomas Academy, a 21-14 victor Saturday over Rochester Mayo.
Cretin-Derham Hall was also hurt late in the first half when Elias Brasel made an ill-advised attempt to handle a rolling ball off the foot of Chanhassen’s punter. The Storm recovered at the Raiders’ 5-yard line, and Ramler’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Kade Bush a play later led to a 7-all tie.
Cretin-Derham Hall couldn’t convert a fake field-goal attempt midway through the second quarter, and Johnson had a pass intercepted by Logan Smith with 18 seconds remaining in the first half. After a nice return on that play, the Storm set up at the Raiders’ 37, and Ramler ran for a 1-yard touchdown five seconds before intermission. Michael McDowell’s extra point gave Chanhassen a 14-13 lead at the break, and it never again trailed.
“One of the points of emphasis for today was to avoid self-inflicted errors,” first-year Cretin-Derham Hall coach Kim Royston said.
Raiders tailback Ja’Dale Thompson, who could manage only 55 yards in 12 carries, added: “We came back out in the second half with energy, and we were communicating instead of arguing. We could have come back, but we did it a little too late.”
Cretin-Derham Hall drove 67 yards in five plays and opened the scoring when Johnson threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Frierson-Hollie five minutes into the contest. The Raiders’ muffed punt return led to the Storm’s tying effort at 7-all.
Cretin-Derham Hall marched 94 yards in 11 plays and went up 13-7 on Johnson’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Owen Welk with two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Linder blocked the extra-point kick attempt, and although the Storm punted on its next possession, it soon intercepted Johnson’s pass and scored seconds before halftime.
Chanhassen went up 20-13 midway through the third quarter on a 1-yard Ramler run and a McDowell extra point. Cretin-Derham Hall turned the ball over on downs at the Storm’s 8 on its next possession but scored the following time it had the ball, this time when Johnson hit Frierson-Hollie for an 11-yard touchdown. The Raiders couldn’t convert on their 2-point pass attempt, effectively ending their season.
Frierson-Hollie caught four passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Chanhassen’s Ramler completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 218 yards and a touchdown to Bush, who hauled in seven tosses for 80 yards.
https://www.twincities.com/2025/11/08/football-mistakes-doom-cretin-derham-hall-in-state-quarterfinal-loss-to-chanhassen/