Football: Willmar Cardinals hope to contain potent Hill-Murray offense

Nov. 10—BLAINE — Willmar: Meet the unstoppable force.Hill-Murray: Meet the immovable object.The Class AAAA state football quarterfinals pits the highest scoring offense in the class against the stingiest defense. The Pioneers are averaging 46.7 points per game while the Cardinals are the only team in Class AAAA to hold teams under double digits at 8.1 points per game.These two statistical standouts face off at 6 p.m. Thursday at Blaine High School.As Willmar head coach Jon Konold put it, "We'll have to find out what wins out, right?"The Cardinals (10-0) are the two seed in the South half of the Class AAAA bracket. The Pioneers (9-1) are the three seed. In the other South matchup, it's No. 1 Byron against No. 4 Totino-Grace at 7 p.m. Thursday in Owatonna. Hill-Murray is making its fourth straight state appearance and eighth overall. It has not advanced out of the quarterfinals since 2011. Willmar is back at state for the first time since 2018 and for the fifth time in program history."We were hoping that we would earn that one seed, but we fell to the two," Konold said. "We're just excited to be a part of the state tournament and we're working accordingly."That work begins with slowing down quite the potent offense."It'll be a tremendous challenge to slow those guys down," Konold said.The Pioneers' offense starts with a dynamic running back in junior Grady Buettner. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, Buettner has run for 1,511 yards and 21 touchdowns on 178 attempts. That's an average of 8.5 yards per carry.The rushing threat of Buettner plays into the passing game where the Pioneers thrive in play-action, according to Konold. Behind center is 5-9, 180-pound junior quarterback Brayden Hartmann. He's completed 70.7 percent of his passes for 1,670 yards, 24 touchdowns and just two interceptions. His top target is tight end Brady Reeves. The 6-4, 225-pound junior has 28 catches for 489 yards and 13 touchdowns."They're very multiple in what they do," Konold said. "They'll be under center and run on some I-formation. They'll go two tight end sets, they'll do some shotgun and some spread stuff as well."Hill-Murray rolled through the Section 3AAAA tournament with wins over Chisago Lakes (49-21) and Simley (42-7). It's only loss was to Byron in Week 3, 21-14."They have a variety of stuff that they'll hurt you with. It'll be a big challenge for our defense to get prepared."The Pioneers' defense is no slouch. They're holding teams to 13.7 points per game. That starts with a defense that commits heavily to stopping the run."They try to out-number you in the box with more guys than you can block and force you to beat them (by) throwing the ball," Konold said. The Cardinals' offense is third in Class AAAA at 43.9 points per game. "A lot of the good skill kids on offense, they start on defense as well. They feel they can match up with you man-to-man and make you throw the football by stopping your run game.""It's (Hill-Murray's defense) a lot different than what we've seen in the past," Konold said. "But I thought we put together a pretty good plan (on Sunday). Now, we just have to go out there and execute it."Willmar's vaunted defense is coming off a hard-hitting 22-12 victory in the 2AAAA championship against Marshall. The Cardinals held the Tigers to 46 rushing yards."That was a physical game, wasn't it," Konold said. "They really got after each other. Marshall is always a very physical team. We came out of there healthy ... and the guys are super excited to win a section championship. It's a tremendous feat for not only the boys, but for our program and the community in general."To have it at Hodapp (Field) was special. I've never heard it so loud there in my 18 years here."Now, Willmar's immovable object looks to thwart Hill-Murray's unstoppable force on the way to U.S. Bank Stadium for the semifinals and, hopefully, a Class AAAA championship game.Record: 10-0Head Coach: Jon Konold (18th season)State Appearances: Five (1973, '87, '88, 2018, '26)Stats Leaders (from Strib Varsity)Passing: Alex Hoppe 128-209 (61.2%), 1,570 yards, 24 TDs, 4 INTsRushing: Isaac Cayler 92 carries, 800 yards, 12 TDs; Hudson Sjoberg 117 carries, 762 yards, 13 TDsReceiving: Aidan Paulson 34 catches, 501 yards, 7 TDs; Cooper Schnichels 26 catches, 306 yards, 3 TDs; Nickoli Vogel 23 catches, 375 yards, 6 TDsDefense: Lawson Anez (95 tackles); Jackson Carlson (6 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries); Briar Schuett (4 INTs)Record: 9-1Head Coach: Rob Reeves (7th season)State Appearances: Eight (1983, '87, 2011, '12, '23, '24, '25, '26)Stats Leaders (from Strib Varsity)Passing: Brayden Hartmann 82-116 (70.7), 1,670 yards, 24 TDs, 2 INTsRushing: Grady Buettner 178 carries, 1,511 yards, 21 TDsReceiving: Brady Reeves 28 catches, 489 yards, 13 TDs; Tristan Will 24 catches, 493 yards, 7 TDs; Silas Deziel 21 catches, 601 yards, 6 TDs