Willmar vs. St. Cloud Apollo isn't just a big Week 6 matchup in the North Central White district standings. It also has major implications three weeks from now.
Both teams enter their 7 p.m. Friday game at Apollo with 1-0 records against Section 8AAAA opponents and are currently second and third in the section seeding, according to Minnesota-Scores.net's QRF rankings.
With new QRF numbers coming out on Monday, Willmar is second in the section (13th in AAAA) with a QRF score of 60.3. Apollo is third in the section (22nd in AAAA) at 45.9 and is trying to fend off Fergus Falls for that third spot.
While Moorhead managed to hold the Cardinals' offense to 181 yards, Willmar (4-1, 2-1 White) managed three fourth-quarter touchdowns en route to a 35-32 win at Homecoming. Struggling through three quarters, the Cardinals' defense shined in the fourth, capped off by a game-clinching fumble recovery for a touchdown by Hamza Mohammed with 5 minutes, 56 seconds to play. Mohammed was one of three players with double-digit tackles. Ty Roelofs led the way with 12 stops, followed by Ben Hisken and Mohammed with 10 apiece.
On offense, Alex Wickliff had two rushing touchdowns and Drey Dirksen was 10 of 20 passing for 133 yards with one interception and a first-half touchdown to Jake Evans.
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Apollo (3-2, 2-1 White) had a three-game win streak snapped last Friday against Hutchinson, 40-14. Against Class AAAA's third-ranked team, the Eagles were limited to 170 yards of total offense while turning the ball over three times. They also allowed 301 rushing yards to the Tigers, including 254 on 40 carries by Josiah Nelson.
The Eagles' two losses have come against ranked teams in Hutchinson and St. Cloud Tech (sixth in AAAAA).
Much of Apollo's offense has revolved around quarterback Neal Benson, who has completed 65 of 121 passes for 692 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. Often spreading the ball around to upwards of five or six pass-catchers a game, among the top targets are Jalyn Williams (19 catches, 229 yards, three touchdowns), Lukas Theisen (16-164-1) and John Blommel (15-203-2). Cameron Vorachit leads the rushing attack with 318 yards and two scores on 76 carries.
Team-wise, Apollo is averaging 137.8 passing yards and 131.8 rushing yards per contest.
Area schedule
(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)
Friday
Willmar at St. Cloud Apollo
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Milaca at New London-Spicer
Watertown-Mayer at Litchfield
LQPV at YME
Dawson-Boyd at Canby
Eden Valley-Watkins at Paynesville
ACGC at Benson
BOLD at Montevideo
Morris/C-A at Osakis
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Sauk Centre at Minnewaska
New York Mills at BBE
Parkers Prairie at KMS
Verndale at Hancock
Cedar Mountain/Comfrey at MACCRAY
RCW at Westbrook-Walnut Grove
BLHS at Sleepy Eye St. Mary's
