St. Thomas Academy used a smothering defense and some hardy running by senior Ian Turnbow to roll to a 28-0 win over Two Rivers in a Section 3 5A football semifinal game Saturday.

Turnbow rushed for three touchdowns as the Cadets (5-4) avenged a 30-29 loss to the Warriors 17 days ago. St. Thomas, the fifth seed in the section, will face Hastings for the Class 5A, Section 3 title in Hastings on Friday.

Gophers commit Zachary Shatek ran for five touchdowns as Hastings downed Burnsville, 42-27 on Saturday. Hastings didn’t punt until late in the fourth quarter of the victory.

Shatek scored seven total touchdowns in Hastings’ win over the Cadets during the regular seaosn.

St. Thomas broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter when quarterback Grant Keeley found Max Cercioglu in the corner of the end zone to cap an eight-play, 55-yard drive.

Turnsbow took over from there, rushing for a TD with 11 seconds left in the half. He added a score in the third quarter and another in the fourth. Meanwhile, the Cadet defense shut down the Warriors’ attack hard. The closest Two Rivers could get to the end zone was the Cadet 20-yard-line.

Other area scores Saturday

Mahtomedi 20, Highland Park 14: The Zepyhrs led 20-0 in the first half, but Highland Park rallied to close within six in the game’s closing minutes. But the Scots’ late-game onside kick attempt went out of bounds to seal Mahtomedi’s victory.

Hill-Murray 49, Chisago Lakes 21: Grady Buettner and  Brady Reeves each scored twice while Tristan Will tallied three total touchdowns as the Pioneers raced out to a 49-7 lead through three quarters in the Class 4A, Section 3 semifinals.

Simley 41, South St. Paul 12: Simley avenged a regular season loss to the rival Packers with a dominant display in the Class 4A, Section 3 semifinals. Junior receiver Julian Rodriques took a swing pass 31 yards for a score on the third play of scrimmage, and Simley never looked back from there.

The Spartans will travel to Maplewood to play Hill-Murray in the section final on Friday.

SMB 60, Richfield 13

Fridley 69, Como Park 12

Totino-Grace 45, St. Anthony 10