Cretin-Derham Hall senior Izaak Johnson threw for seven touchdowns onFriday night and his team needed every one of them to hold off late-charging Mahtomedi 49-44 on the road in the Class 5A, Section 4 championship game at a cold and rainy George Smith Field.

Despite trailing by 13 at halftime, and by as much as 21 in the fourth quarter, the top-seeded Zephyrs managed to cut the gap to as little as six with just under five-and-a-half minutes to play, and to just five in the final minute of play.

But Johnson — who seemed to have a response all night — connected with classmate Sam Heath on a 45-yard touchdown pass with 3:08 to go that helped lift the second-seeded Raiders (7-3) seal their second straight trip to the state tournament.

Mahtomedi — which held off a late Cretin-Derham Hall ral

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