Chaska (3-4) entered Wednesday night’s football game with St. Thomas Academy (5-2) hoping for a rebound from last week’s loss to Chanhassen and a continuation of wins over St. Thomas that dates back to the state championship game of 2019.
In the first quarter, Chaska took the opening kickoff and punted back to St. Thomas, and they held the ball for a long march for most of the first quarter. St. Thomas scored first on a 1-yard run in the opening seconds of the second quarter. Defense was prevalent in the quarter as each team held the other on successive fourth downs.
At 5:33 left in the second quarter, St. Thomas blocked a Chaska punt and ran in it for a 35-yard touchdown making the score 14-0 at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Nathan Raser picked off a St. Thomas pass on the opening drive. On the ensuing possession, Matt Welter ran it in from the 19 to close the gap to 14-7. Defense for both Chaska and St. Thomas’s kept ball movement in check for most of the third quarter.
Chaska tied the score at 14-14 with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Matt Welter to Tyler Forrest. St. Thomas bounced back with their own 17-yard run a few minutes after that to regain the lead at 21-14. Chaska followed with a strong offensive effort, finishing off with a Morgen Engeman 2-yard run to bring the score to 21-21 with less than 3:00 to play. Chaska held St. Thomas and moved the ball sufficiently on the following drive to set up for a 42-yard field goal with two seconds remaining. Quinn Meyer, who has had a very successful year kicking extra points and field goals for the Hawks, lined up.
The ball went through the uprights with plenty of room to spare, giving Chaska their third win in a row over St. Thomas Academy with a final score of 24-21.
“The first half was not our best’ said Chaska Coach Bryan Dahl following the game. “Really proud of the way the guys mentally stepped up and brought a strong team effort and energy in the second half.”
Kicker Quinn Meyer summed up kicking the game winning field goal. “Magical. I just mentally pictured it going through,” he said. “I just lined up and made that kick. My heart just jumped when it when through. I’m so glad to be able to help the team with this win.”
Chaska (4-4) travels to Waconia (4-4) next Tuesday for the first round of the playoffs.
