WILLMAR - The Willmar Cardinals won their first playoff game in four years in dominant fashion Tuesday night, knocking off the Thief River Falls Prowlers 42-0 at Hodapp Field.
The win sets them up to play Fergus Falls on the road on Saturday in the semifinals of the Section 8AAAA playoffs.
“It’s been a long time coming” said coach Jon Konold about the elusive playoff victory. “We played well. We’ve had a year with tough wins and tough losses and we’ve been resilient. We played well and had a lot of success today.”
Max Doering caught three touchdown passes from Zach Radermacher in the first half, and Radermacher threw another first-half TD to Colten Carlson. The Cards led 28-0 at halftime.
Doering said he didn’t totally expect the early gameplan to be so pass-heavy.
“I just kept hearing them calling for the fade, and I was able to make some plays,” Doering said. “It feels really nice to get this win” he continued. “Hopefully we can keep it up in Fergus.”
Radermacher finished with 277 yards through the air on over 12 yards per attempt. Colten Carlson was the leading receiver with five catches for 121 yards, and also added a third-quater touchdown run.
Sam Kerfeld had 15 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown to lead Willmar on the ground.
The Cardinals’ defense was dominant, keeping Thief River Falls under 100 yards from scrimmage and intercepting quarterback Kade Nelson three times.
“We had a great defensive performance” said Konold. “I think this is our first shutout since I’ve been here.”
“We’ve got to hope that Saturday we can keep building on what we did tonight.”
Willmar 42, TRF 0
Thief River Falls (3-6) 0 0 0 0 - 0
Willmar (4-5) 14 14 7 7 - 42
W – Max Doering 19 pass from Radermacher (Ryan Liimatta kick)
W – Colten Carlson 52 pass from Radermacher (Liimatta kick)
W – Doering 29 pass from Radermacher (Liimatta kick)
W – Doering 6 pass from Radermacher (Liimatta kick)
W – Carlson 6 run (Liimatta kick)
W – Sam Kerfeld 35 run (Liimatta kick)
Thief River Falls
First downs: 6 … Rushing: 32-55 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 9-20-35-3 … Fumbles lost: None … Penalties: 6-50
Rushing: Christian Larson 5-(-2), Kade Nelson 7-0, Josh Bernier 12-37, Chase Myhrer 2-19 … Passing: Nelson 9-20-35-3 ... Receiving: Derick Newland 1-12, Landon Kruckeberg 2-12, Cole Johnson 1-8, Larson 5-3
Willmar
First downs: 9 … Rushing: 33-100 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 15-23-277-0 … Fumbles lost: 1 … Penalties: 4-40
Rushing: Zach Radermacher 6-2, Colten Carlson 1-6, Sam Kerfeld 15-82, Nate Ackerman 6-7, Sam Warne 3-5 … Passing: Radermacher 14-22-268-0, Warne 1-1-9-0 ... Receiving: Grant Schweiger 1-9, Carlson 5-121, Jarod Swoboda 2-50, Max Doering 5-66, Kerfeld 2-31 … Punting: Radermacher 4-124 … Interceptions: Carlson 1, Tyler Johnson 1, Ackerman 1 … Fumble recoveries: None … Tackles (solo-assist): Noah Slagter 1-1, Tate Hovland 3-2, Grant Duininck 1-1, Johnson 3-2, Ackerman 4-1, Austin Boller 5-2, Nate Lawrence 3-0, Louis Russell 3-1, Swoboda 2-1, Breck Erickson 3-2, Kerfeld 1-0, Gunner Raths 1-0 … QB sacks: None
