Prep football: Willmar Week 8 preview

Overview
This will be a turf game and perhaps just what the Cardinals need to break out of their fourth-quarter funk. The last time on manufactured grass, they came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat Brainerd on Sept. 5. Since, they are 1-4 on grass. Willmar head coach Jon Konold, a 1997 Concordia College graduate, last played on this field in 1996 when the Cobbers and the Johnnies played to 17-all tie.
Section situation
Willmar needs this win to get No. 4-seed Monticello on the road on Tuesday evening. With Buffalo (2-5) likely to beat Duluth East (1-6), a Willmar loss would drop them to the bottom of Section 6AAAAA and put them up against either St. Michael-Albertville or Elk River, depending on tonight’s results.
Eyes on the Tiger
Sophomore QB Chris Backes has thrown for 875 yards and eight TDs but won’t run as much as Rocori QB Alex Budde did on Friday. Devin Vouk, Brennan Paulsen and Andrew Pierskalla all average over six yards per carry. Jake Martig, son of head coach Gregg Martig, has 32 catches and 6-foot-5 Jake Mussman 10 in five games. “They’re very good at the skill positions,” Konold said. “Defensively, they’re not as big as teams we’ve been playing, but they run well and are very aggressive, so we’ll have to adjust to that.” Tech’s wins are over Grand Rapids and Sauk Rapids; they lost last week to St. Cloud Apollo 41-19 at Husky Stadium.
Willmar
on ropes
“We’ve had a tough stretch,” Konold said. “The kids are playing so hard but we’re not making our own breaks and executing late in the game. Offensively, we’ve had our chances (late in the fourth quarter) every game but we’ve been unable to punch it in. Both the coaches and players have to do a better job down the stretch.” In its three-game skid, the Cards were outscored 44-7 in the fourth quarter after leading at the end of three.
Highlights
Co-captain Nick Lothert has become the right guard on offense while playing about half-time at inside linebacker (three tackles vs. Rocori) and on special teams. DE/OLB Zach Rudolph had six tackles behind the line vs. the Spartans, including two sacks. He has 11 tackles for loss.
- Rand Middleton