GRAND RAPIDS - A 200-mile journey into the northern forests is just what the Cardinals needed reaching the halfway point of the schedule.
Willmar piled up six touchdowns defeating the winless Grand Rapids Thunderhawks 37-7 on Friday evening in Grand Rapids, a near 400-mile round trip from the Willmar High School.
After getting stuffed a week ago by Sartell, the Cardinals regained control of the line of scrimmage which allowed them to resume their aerial gymnastics.
Auggie Hahn, the senior quarterback, tapped into nine different receivers for 372 yards completing 29 of 35 attempts with one pick.
Austin Grove, the 6-5 senior wideout, nabbed a dozen for 150 yards.
Michael Heitzman ran for three TDs and caught a Hahn pass for another, all on plays from inside the 10.
The Willmar defense gave up a TD on the game’s first possession but allowed little after that, only 145 net yards.
Willmar, held to 14 points a week ago by the Sabres, now has averaged 39 points in each of their three wins.
The three second-half TDs were each keyed by long plays: a 31-yard screen pass to Vaughn Johnson, a 49-yard downfield pass play to Colton Carlson and a 56-yard screen to Heitzman.
Hahn’s 40 yards rushing put him over 400 total yards for the game.
Grand Rapids quarterback Eric Soderberg made some nice gains but he was sacked or tackled behind the line so often he ended up with only five net yards.
Safety Travis Deegan had 11 tackles and OLB Zach Rudolph was credited with three sacks.
Willmar piled up 482 yards against a defense that had allowed 153 points in its first three outings.
Next up is Alexandria for homecoming on Friday. Alex plays Rocori today.
Bemidji buried Sartell 31-0, Brainerd shaded Apollo 28-24, Fergus felled Sauk Rapids 14-6 and Moorhead crushed St. Cloud Tech 48-0.
Willmar 37, Grand Rapids 7
Willmar (1-1, 3-1) 6 13 18 0 - 37
Gr. Rapids (0-2, 0-4) 7 0 0 0 - 7
GR – Eric Soderberg 3 run (Joe Palik kick)
Wil – Michael Heitzman 5 run (kick blocked)
Wil – Heitzman 2 run (Max Trochlil kick)
Wil – Heitzman 5 pass from Auggie Hahn (kick blocked)
Wil – Hahn 2 run (kick fail)
Wil – Heitzman 8 run (run fail)
Wil – Vaughn Johnson 1 run (kick fail)
Willmar
First downs: 22 … Rushing: 32-110 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 29-36-372-1 … Fumbles lost: 3-0 … Penalties: 11-91
Rushing: Auggie Hahn 8-40, Michael Heitzman 9-41, Vaughn Johnson 4-9, Nate Ackerman 3-24, Tyler Johnson 4-15, Evan Jolly 2-(-4) … Passing: Hahn 29-35-372-1 ... Receiving: Alex Grove 12-150, Johnson 1-32, Colton Carlson 2-60, Levi Sanky 6-39, Max Trochlil 1-10, Heitzman 2-53, Max Doering 2-14, Grant Schwieger 1-2, Eli Gunderson 1-4 … Punting: Zach Radermacher 2-21.0… Tackles (solo-assist): Carlson 3-2, Johnson 2-6, Joel Engel 1-2, Nick Lothert 2-2, Zach Rudolph 2-6, Travis Deegan 7-4 … QB sacks: Johnson, Lothert, Rudolph … Tackles for loss: Rudolph 3, Carlson, Johnson, Lothert, Lawrence 2, Louis Russell
Grand Rapids
First downs: 8 … Rushing: 42-129 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 4-8-16-0 … Fumbles lost: 0 … Penalties: 2-4
Rushing: Eric Soderberg 17-5, Spencer Yurrik 9-77 … Passing: Soderberg 4-8-16-0 ... Receiving: Jake Luckwell 1-8, Dakata Hocking 1-6 … Punting: 8-23.0 … Interception: Levi How
