Football: Willmar Cardinals on verge of a milestone

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Oct. 20—- History is on the line for the Willmar football team on Wednesday night.

When the Cardinals host Big Lake at 7 p.m. at Hodapp Field, they are going for an 8-0 regular-season record.

It's a factoid not lost on Willmar. But how long has it been since the Cardinals were perfect in the regular season?

"We were just talking about that," senior wide receiver Aidan Paulson said after practice on Monday. "Was it '88, '87?"

Close. It was 1989. Thirty-seven years ago.

"Ugh," Paulson lamented. "I knew it was there."

To put that in context, head football coach Jon Konold was a freshman at Minneota High School in 1989. Defensive line coach Ken Heitzman was in his second year as an assistant coach at Willmar after graduating from the University of Minnesota-Morris. Defensive coordinator Dustin Carlson was 3 years old.

"Our team lost in the state semifinals that year," Konold said, reflecting on his freshman football season. "We got beat by Waterville-Elysian (43-14). … The field was frozen. They smoked us pretty good."

Willmar's postseason path is secure. Seeds for Section 2AAAA were announced on Tuesday and the Cardinals are the No. 1 seed. They have a first-round bye and will host the winner of No. 4 Rocori and No. 5 St. Peter on Saturday, Oct. 31 at Hodapp Field.

But, getting the win over Big Lake and claiming some team history would be another high mark on the season.

"It means a lot," Paulson said. "We got to stay locked in for our game, do our jobs and just play our football."

Willmar is fresh off a

last Wednesday. That comes off the heels of a 62-14 victory against St. Cloud Tech in Week 6.

"We've been locked in from the get-go," said Paulson, who's Willmar's top pass-catcher with 30 receptions for 455 yards and seven thouchdowns.

"Just start off hot, don't let off the gas and do your assignments."

The Cardinals led 42-2 at halftime against the Lakers. The run game put up 225 yards and six touchdowns. Seniors Isaac Cayler (six carries, 51 yards, three touchdowns) and Hudson Sjoberg (9-118-2) each shouldered the load on the ground. Quarterback Alex Hoppe completed 9 of 15 passes for 109 yards and one touchdown before the backups entered the game.

The defense held Detroit Lakes to 76 yards of total offense, tallying three sacks and an interception.

"It's kind of two-fold team football," Konold said. "Our defense is creating more turnovers and are able to give us a shorter field so we're able to use all four downs.

"Field position has been huge. Our defense has set up the offense really well and the offense is taking advantage of those situations."

Big Lake (3-4) is coming off a 27-12 loss to Providence Academy. Weston Jones, the Hornets' quarterback, completed 12 of 30 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Leroy Hamrin (three catches, 101 yards, one TD), Caleb Martin (3-34-0) and Bryson Kipke (4-32-0) were the top receivers. Bennett Thielke added a 49-yard TD reception.

Defensively, the Hornets are giving up 25.1 points per game. Daniel Rotz leads the team with 48 tackles to go with two forced fumbles. They also have Evan Blackman. The 6-foot-6 defensive lineman is committed to Division II Sioux Falls.

"They have a really nice player in number 70 (Blackman); he's a big kid that plays the run really well," Konold said.

Big Lake's aggressiveness stands out for Paulson from last year's game. In 2025, Willmar beat Big Lake, 49-16.

"I know they'll be physical and they'll fly around," Paulson said.

While Willmar wants to make history, they don't want to repeat history. That 1989 football team got a first-round bye in the playoffs, only to lose to Elk River in its first playoff game 31-0 in the Section 8AA semifinals.

"You gotta take it one game at a time and you just gotta keep working," Konold said.

Tuesday, Oct. 27

Quarterfinals

5-St. Peter at 4-Rocori, 7 p.m.

6-New Ulm at 3-Hutchinson, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 31

Semifinals

St. Peter/Rocori winner at 1-Willmar, 3 p.m.

New Ulm/Hutchinson winner at 2-Marshall, 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 6

Championship

TBD, 7 p.m. at high seed

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