WILLMAR — Finley Donelan and Luke McCleary are never too far from each other on the football field.
The senior duo are mainstays in the trenches for the Willmar football team. Both are defensive tackles for the Cardinals’ defense.
“I feel like he’s a tank and I’m a bit more mobile,” McCleary said with a grin towards Donelan. McCleary measures in at 5-foot-10 and 225 pounds. Donelan is 6-5 and 235 pounds.
“We’re both able to take on the blocks,” Donelan added. “Especially in the pass game, having more of a bull rush-type guy and then more of a speed rush-type guy, we compliment each other very well.”
As of two weeks ago, McCleary and Donelan are now paired together on the offensive line. Donelan is at left tackle and has been playing both sides of the ball for the bulk of the season. McCleary has recently made the jump to left guard as Willmar shifted to an all-senior offensive line. They’re joined by Danny Martinez at center, Gustavo Blue Arce at right guard and Tristan Boehme at right tackle.
Last week, the all-senior line helped the Cardinals to 305 yards of total offense in a 21-14 win over Chisago Lakes. It was Willmar’s first victory of the season.
Now, the Cardinals hope to carry that momentum on a short week against second-ranked Totino-Grace at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hodapp Field. It is the sixth top-10 opponent the Cardinals have faced this season.
“I’m a little nervous but I know everyone’s really confident coming off the win so I feel like we have a better foundation going into this week,” McCleary said.
Donelan has been a three-year starter on the line for Willmar. Having an elder statesman on the line has been a valuable resource as the Cardinals tried to find the right line combination.
“He’s been through the highs and lows and knows how to balance those things out,” Willmar head coach Jon Konold said of Donelan. “Finley’s a smart player. He’s able to not practice as much on offense or defense and still knows what he’s supposed to do. He’s been giving a great effort all season long and it’s been seen in the improvement of the team these last few weeks.”
Moving McCleary to offense wasn’t the plan. He focused his off-season workouts towards being a D-lineman. He also had limited experience at the varsity level after his junior season was derailed by injuries. He hurt his right knee. That was followed by a back injury while doing squats in a weightlifting session.
“It was a pretty lofty amount,” McCleary said about how much he was lifting during the injury. He says his max today is “around 500” pounds.
Making both Donelan and McCleary was a move out of necessity. To help with that, senior Jake Huisinga and junior Cameren Champagne have been in the defensive tackle rotation.
“You have to be mentally and physically strong,” Konold said of playing both ways on the line. “And you have to be prepared because it takes a little extra film work.”
Joe Brown / West Central Tribune
On every offensive play, Donelan is there to lend a helping hand to McCleary, whether that’s with a double-team block or help knowing the plays.
“Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to know half the plays,” McCleary said. “He talks to me the whole game, which is really nice.”
Donelan pushed through McCleary’s self-deprecating humor and credited his teammate for being a quick learner.
“I can tell him a little adjustment to make to help out Danny or help out me and he goes out there and gives it 100% every time and tries to throw that adjustment in as quickly as possible,” Donelan said. “It’s been really nice to have someone that learns quickly, really wants to be out there, plays hard and gives it their all.”
Facing a top team in Class AAAA is a tall order in the regular-season finale. The hope for Donelan and McCleary is to keep the positive momentum going into the postseason next week.
“Everyone’s 0-0 going into the playoffs,” Donelan said. “You can look at regular-season records all you want but everyone’s got the same advantage going into the playoffs. For us to have the past two games that we’ve had in the run game and the O-line, it’s really exciting to see.”
Joe Brown / West Central Tribune
Dawson-Boyd at Minneota
7 p.m. Wednesday
The Dawson-Boyd/Minneota rivalry is renewed when the Blackjacks and Vikings meet at K.P. Kompelien Field on Wednesday.
Dawson-Boyd is coming off a 52-0 victory over MACCRAY on Thursday. The Blackjacks got a boost from Gunner Liebl and Brayson Boike, who combined for three first-quarter touchdown passes of 23, 43 and 54 yards. Liebl finished 12 of 24 for 265 yards and four touchdowns. Boike, a 6-foot-8 senior wide-out and Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball commit, had seven catches for 212 yards.
Minneota is the top-ranked team in Class A and is coming off an 81-0 win over Lac qui Parle Valley. The Vikings out-gained the Eagles 421-57 and had a 20-2 advantage in first downs. Ryan Meagher was Minneota’s top back, rushing for 126 yards and four touchdowns on 10 carries. Lucas Rybinski, Destin Fier, Adam Devlaeminck and Mason Javers also had touchdown runs in the victory.
Minneota won last season’s matchup, 50-6. Dawson-Boyd was the winner in 2022, 22-20.
Macy Moore / West Central Tribune file photo
Jacob Savig, Renville County West
Renville County West strengthened its case for a top seed in Section 2 9-Player with a 57-8 victory last week against Madelia. At the head of the Jaguars’ efforts was junior running back Jacob Savig.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Savig ran the ball 18 times for 195 yards and five touchdowns from 3, 11, 40, 11 and 7 yards out.
He paced a RCW offense that put up 407 yards against the Blackhawks.
The Jaguars close out the regular season at Mountain Lake.
(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)
Wednesday
Totino-Grace at Willmar
New London-Spicer at Annandale
Litchfield at Holy Family Catholic
ACGC at Benson
BBE at KMS
Paynesville at Royalton
BOLD at Canby
Melrose at Minnewaska
Montevideo at Albany
Dawson-Boyd at Minneota
LQPV at Lakeview
YME at MACCRAY
RCW at Mountain Lake
Section 2AAAA
1. Marshall 6-1 (QRF 71.1, 11th)
2. New Ulm 4-3 (QRF 45.3, 27th)
3. St. Peter 3-4 (QRF 42.5, 28th)
4. Hutchinson 3-4 (QRF 42-1, 29th)
5. Willmar 1-6 (QRF 30.1, 37th)
Section 2AAA
1. Dassel-Cokato 7-0 (QRF 83.3, 3rd)
2. Litchfield 5-2 (QRF 57.9, 15th)
3. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 4-3 (QRF 43.6, 23rd)
4. Watertown-Mayer 3-4 (QRF 37.9, 26th)
5. Rockford 2-5 (QRF 23.4, 43rd)
6. Glencoe-Silver Lake (QRF 21.1, 48th)
Section 6AAA
1. Albany 7-0 (QRF 85.9, 2nd)
2. Minnewaska 4-3 (QRF 49.0, 20th)
3. New London-Spicer 4-3 (QRF 47.3, 21st)
4. Sauk Centre 2-5 (QRF 28.3, 34th)
5. Melrose 2-5 (QRF 26.7, 40th)
6. Montevideo (QRF 8.5, 55th)
Section 5AA
1. Kimball 7-0 (QRF 68.6, 2nd)
2. Eden Valley-Watkins 6-1 (QRF 57.4, 9th)
3. Holdingford 6-1 (QRF 54.4, 14th)
4. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 4-3 (QRF 27.9, 28th)
5. Paynesville 2-5 (QRF 21.4, 43rd)
6. Royalton 1-6 (QRF 15.6, 47th)
Section 4A
1. Upsala/Swanville Area 7-0 (QRF 49.6, 4th)
2. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 6-1 (QRF 45.8, 6th)
3. Browerville-Eagle Valley 4-3 (QRF 33.4, 20th)
4. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 2-5 (QRF 18.6, 37th)
5. Benson 1-6 (QRF 15.5, 45th)
6. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 1-6 (QRF 11.4, 51st)
Section 5A
1. Minneota 7-0 (QRF 44.6, 8th)
2. BOLD 6-1 (QRF 43.5, 11th)
3. Dawson-Boyd 6-1 (QRF 36.8, 17th)
4. Canby 3-4 (QRF 20.3, 33rd)
5. Lac qui Parle Valley 2-5 (QRF 17.1, 41st)
6. Lakeview 2-5 (QRF 17.1, 41st)
7. MACCRAY 1-6 (QRF 13.4, 49th)
8. Yellow Medicine East 0-7 (QRF 8.7, 55th)
Section 2 9-Player
1. Cedar Mountain 4-3 (QRF 23.8, 18th)
2. Renville County West 5-2 (QRF 22.3, 21st)
3. New Ulm Cathedral 5-2 (QRF 21.1, 25th)
4. Red Rock Central 2-5 (QRF 14.1, 40th)
5. Nicollet 3-4 (QRF 12.2, 43rd)
6. Westbrook-Walnut Grove 1-6 (QRF 8.8, 47th)
7. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 0-7 (QRF 4.5, 57th)
