Football: Willmar renews some conference rivalries – West Central Tribune

WILLMAR — The Willmar football team’s 2025 schedule has a familiar Central Lakes Conference flair.

While football went away from conference play in favor of districts in 2015, the Cardinals have four opponents on their schedule from the days of CLC football.

That’ll begin with the season opener on Friday, Aug. 29 on the road against Fergus Falls.

“It feels good to play a lot of common opponents with the Central Lakes schools,” Cardinals head coach Jon Konold said on Monday. “Our kids play ‘em in every other sport so there’s familiarity with the kids competing against each other, which is cool.”

Willmar will try to bounce back from a 2-8 season in 2024.

Other CLC teams on the schedule include Sept. 19 at Hodapp Field against Rocori, Oct. 3 at home against St. Cloud Tech and Oct. 10 at home against Detroit Lakes.

Rocori has been a rival of Willmar’s in district play and are section foes again with the Spartans being moved to Section 2AAAA.

Willmar hasn’t played Tech since the 2016 season and Fergus Falls since ‘18. Detroit Lakes, a newcomer to the CLC in 2024-25, last played Willmar in the Section 8AAAA playoffs in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

Class reshuffling also helped revitalize the former CLC games. Fergus Falls is moving up from Class AAA after making state last season. Tech was 2-7 last season and is dropping down from Class AAAAA.

“I’m excited to play up at Fergus Falls,” Konold said. “We’ll play Tech for homecoming. It’s going to be a lot of fun seeing those teams.”

The Cardinals’ home opener in Week 2 is against a new opponent: Mound-Westonka. That will take place on Sept. 5.

“Westonka is a school that we’ve never played,” Konold said. The White Hawks were 6-4 last season. “That’ll be an interesting matchup for us in Week 2.”

From weeks 3-5, Willmar has three straight section opponents. The Cardinals go to Marshall on Sept. 12, come back home for Rocori on Sept. 19 and travel to Hutchinson on Sept. 26.

The regular season closes out with a road game against Big Lake on Oct. 15.

“We’re happy about our schedule,” Konold said. “We think that it’s very competitive for us but we also feel that we have an opportunity to have some success as well.”

Willmar kicked off its summer workouts on Monday with a week-long football camp at the Willmar Civic Center turf fields. Konold said that 74 players were at camp on Monday.

“It’s the first day of practice after nine months and it’s a lot of remembering how to have a routine at practice,” Konold said. “It’s like drinking through a fire hose early on but it’s fun. … The kids are getting to know each other again and we’re getting to know them again a little bit.

“This is our time to try some things, see if it fits our kids and if the kids like them and we feel that they could be effective. Not a lot of changes structurally but just a couple things offensively and defensively we want to try a little different.”

Aug. 29: at Fergus Falls, 7 p.m.

Sept. 5: vs. Mound-Westonka, 7 p.m.

Sept. 12: at Marshall, 7 p.m.

Sept. 19: vs. Rocori, 7 p.m.

Sept. 26: at Hutchinson, 7 p.m.

Oct. 3: vs. St. Cloud Tech, 7 p.m. (homecoming)

Oct. 10: vs. Detroit Lakes, 7 p.m.

Oct. 15: at Big Lake, 6 p.m.