GRINNELL– After a tense start in the opening quarter and a 10-0 lead by the Tigers, the Solon Spartan varsity football team calmed down and obtained its first goal of the season, putting the finishing touches on the Class 3A District 5 title, 35-17, at Grinnell Community Senior High School, Friday, Oct. 15.
Following a scoreless first quarter, the Grinnell Tigers mounted a surge, leaping out to 10-0 lead as the Spartans battled some self-inflicted demons, penalties providing the Tigers with opportunities. Grinnell’s Cole Johnson claimed the Tiger lead in the second quarter courtesy of a one-yard run, capped by fellow Tiger Calvin Jaworski’ point after kick. Jarworski delivered later in the second quarter with a 27-yard field goal to give the hometown crowd bragging rights over the No. 3 ranked Solon Spartans.
“Not to take anything away from Grinnell,” Head Coach Lucas Stanton explained, “but we felt like, for the most part, it was what we were or were not doing that had put us in a hole. We had been down earlier in the season and the best thing we can do in those situations is not panic. Our defense kept us right in the game, even after being put in some adverse field positions and situations. We knew we would make a play if we just kept doing what we do.”
And, it was exactly what the Spartans did.
In two minutes near the end of the half, Spartan quarterback Blake Timmons busted out a 80-yard run and kicker Brent Lumpkin split the uprights to put Solon on the board, then Logan Sieverding leaped in front of a Tiger pass and returned the interception 77-yards for a score, also capped by a Lumplin PAT giving Solon the 14-10 halftime lead much to the approval of the Spartan Nation that made the trek.
The third quarter the Spartans exercised the dominance garnering the 7-0 record leading to this district title confrontation.
Spartan Sean Stahle showed the speed the Spartan universe has come to expect in the third quarter scoring on a 60-yard dash and a four-yard sprint, both complemented with Lumpkin kicks for a 28-10, third quarter score.
Grinnell refused to go quietly as Johnson delivered the Tigers their final score in the fourth quarter on a one yard run, again capped with a Jaworski kick to close the distance, 28-17, before Stahle again delivered for Solon putting the exclamation point on the game with a 39-yard run and a Lumpkin kick. The 35-17 win gave Solon the Class 3A District 5 title, with a record of 8-0, 4-0 in district play.
“We are happy about the district title but not satisfied,” Stanton said. “To us it means we have put ourselves in great position for the playoffs but we still must continue to get better this week at practice. Our focus has to be on improvement.”
The loss relegated the Grinnell Tigers to 5-3 for the season, 3-1 in district play.
Timmons was 4 for 17 passing for 26 total passing yards and was intercepted twice for the Spartans. Grinnell split up quarterbacking duties among four, who totaled 136 passing yards. Colin Gibson went 5 for 25, Alex Smith was 6 for 7, Braden Blackford and Calvin Jaworski hit 1 of 2 combined.
The Spartan defense once again bowed up holding the Tigers to a meager 70 yards rushing by stellar performances by Gage Marty with 8.5 total tackles including seven solo tackles, a sack and 4.5 tackles for loss; Cayden Knipper and Brett White with 7.5 tackles apiece, Knipper’s included six solos and 3.4 for a loss and White’s seven solos and three for loss; and 5.5 total tackles for Jacob Timmons, including five solos and one for loss.
The Spartans racked up 335 total yards rushing for the evening. Stahle led Solon’s rushing onslaught with 209 yards on 24 carries, Blake Timmons netted 123 yards on nine carries and Jake Quillin rushed for Solon once for three yards.
On special teams, Parker Pentico reeled in Solon’s other reception for the evening advancing it 22 yards for the Spartans.
“It was great to see Cayden Knipper back out on the field for us and I think he definitely came to play. He had some big time plays for us throughout the night.
“Gage Marty has just been a consistent guy for us, but last night he was on a different level. Gage is just such a consistent player that just does his job every play you sometimes forget just how dominant he is and can be. That’s what you want to see out of him and Cayden, both. They are, both, returning all-district/all-state caliber players, captains and seniors. They are playing exactly how they should, and they are seeing the fruits of their labor pay off a bit.
“Another mention is the continued play of Carson Miller, Brett White and Jacob Timmons at (linebackers) on defense. Those three guys just seem to get better every week,” praised Coach Stanton.
The only real smudge on the Spartans’ evening were the 10 penalties costing 105 yards for Solon, at inopportune times, and three fumbles, two of which were lost, while the Tigers limited their penalties to three for 25 yards with no fumbles for the evening.
“I would say we were frustrated with the penalties and turnovers,” he summarized. “We haven’t really been put in that situation this season a whole lot, so it was nice to see our team overcome that adversity even though it was self-induced for most part. I think Grinnell is a good team and they came out amped for the opportunity to knock off the No.3 ranked team.”
He also confessed, “Truthfully, we probably needed a game like this before playoffs. We will learn a lot from film from this game and will get better.”
Solon returns to Spartan Stadium on Friday, Oct. 22, for Senior Night, and host the 2-6 Keokuk Chiefs in the final regular season game.
“We respect every opponent we play and Keokuk is no different,” Coach Stanton stated. “While we do feel we are the superior team, we must be sure to play our game and get better this week. This is a special, special week and game for us. To me, honoring the seniors is one of the more important and fun nights every year. It can also be an emotional night. This is a special group of seniors and I am looking forward to honoring them Friday night.”
Solon Spartans 35, Grinnell Tigers 17
Statistics courtesy of Varsitybound.com and Yourprepsports.com, Oct. 17:
Individual statistics
Rushing– Solon: Sean Stahle 24-209, Blake Timmons 9-123, Jake Quillin 1-3. Grinnell: Cole Johnson 17-70, Alex Smith 7-4, Colin Gibson 3-7, Josh Osborne 7-3, Braden Blackford 1-(-1), Calvin Jaworski 2-(-13).
Passing– Solon: Blake Timmons 4-17-2 26. Grinnell: Alex Smith 6-7-0 90, Colin Gibson 5-25-2 28, Braden Blackford 1-1-0 18, Calvin Jaworski 0-1-0 0.
Receiving– Solon: Jake Quillin 2-18, Jacob Timmons 1-11, Oaken Foster 1-(-3). Grinnell: Calvin Jaworski 8-64, Cole Johnson 2-43, Josh Osborne 1-18, Braden Blackford 1-11.
Defense– Solon: Gage Marty 8.5-7-1-4.5, Brett White 7.5-7-0-3, Cayden Knipper 7.5-6-0-3.5, Parker Pentico 5-4-0-0, Josh Olney 4-4-0-0, Michael Pipolo 3.5-3-0-0, Carson Miller 3-2-0-1, Jacob Timmons 5.5-5-0-1, Austin Bell 5-4-0-1.5, Lucas Kampman 4-4-0-1, Mac McCarty 2.5-2-0-2, Logan Sieverding 2-2-0-1, Ben Kampman 2-2-0-0, Rhyse Wear 2-2-0-0, Trin Eidahl 1-1-0-0, David Karam .5-0-0-0, Ryan Rasmussen .5-0-0-0. Grinnell: Tryston Stark 9-7-0-1, Braden Blackford 7-5-0-1, Josh Osborne 4.5-2-0-.5, Calvin Jaworski 3-3-0-0, Ian Kephart 2.5-2-0-0, Gene Blalock 2.5-1-0-1.5, Nick Brennecke 2-2-0-0, Will Doty 2-1-0-1, Cole Johnson 1.5-1-0-1, Oliver Louden 1.5-1-0-0, Alex Smith 1.5-0-0-0, Kinnick Johnson 1-1-0-0.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Parker Pentico running after intercepting a pass, taken down just shy of a touchdown.