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Floyd leads Cretin-Derham Hall to conference championship
Floyd's three-touchdown spree blows open SEC title game
BY TIM LEIGHTON
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 10/18/2007 12:40:05 AM CDT


Every time Cretin-Derham Hall's Michael Floyd has the football, a collective gasp typically follows. What will Minnesota's best prep player do with it?

Will he dance through the line of scrimmage with his long stride or will he accelerate out of defensive coverage to make a difficult pass play look routine? Or will he make a play on special teams that truly is special?

During an exhilarating, nearly three-minute span in the second quarter Wednesday night, the answers were yes, yes and yes.

Floyd, who has yet to announce where he will play his college ball, scored three touchdowns in various ways to power the Raiders to a 42-7 victory over Mounds View at Mustang Stadium to clinch the Suburban East Conference championship. Cretin-Derham Hall, the No. 2-ranked team in the metro area, completed the regular season with an 8-0 record, all of its victories against conference opponents.

Mounds View fell to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the conference.

"He keeps topping something he did the previous week," Raiders coach Mike Scanlan said of Floyd. "We see him all the time, and we are still amazed at some of the stuff he can do. We played very well, but a lot of it was due to (Floyd). It is a matter of getting smart, giving him the ball and letting him make all of these plays. He gives us luxuries that no one else can."

"When I get (the ball), I just look at it as another opportunity to do something," said Floyd, who had 235 all-purpose yards. "I just try to bring my 'A' game every week. My teammates expect a lot out of me, and I expect a lot out of myself. The plays they do give me, I know that I can do a lot with them."

Floyd, who has 15 touchdowns and 1,289 all-purpose yards this season, gave fans quite a scare when he hobbled off the field with 4:56 remaining in the third quarter after injuring his right ankle and foot. Floyd was gang-tackled throughout, and the hits took their toll.

He sat on the bench for a while and had the ankle and foot wrapped. He also stood on crutches along the sideline during parts of the fourth quarter.

"I was just using the crutches so I could watch the game," he said. "I didn't want to sit on the bench and make it look like I was not contributing."

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_7209113