TIFFIN — It was the Eddie Johnson show from start to finish.
Under Clear Creek Amana’s (CCA) Fri- day night lights, the senior running back trampled the Clippers with a five-touch-down game leading the Solon Spartans to their second victory of the season.
“I think [Eddie] is one of the most underrated football players in Eastern Iowa. I don’t think there’s enough talk about Eddie Johnson and his teammates, in my opinion,” Spartans head coach Lucas Stanton said. “He’s starting to show what kind of football player he is and the great thing about him is he’s an even better person. Great character, integrity. He’s who you’d want to have as a son.”
Standing at 6’2” and 210 pounds, John- son used his power to run for 138 yards and four touchdowns with an additional 18-yard receiving touchdown pass from senior quarterback Ty Bell. Although CCA displayed tough defense in their win against the Marion Wolves in Week 1, their brick wall crumbled as they were unable to stop Johnson and the No. 2-ranked Spartans. With their 42-14 landslide win, Solon is looking to climb to the top of the rankings, pushing aside current Class 3A No. 1 Williamsburg after their loss to 4A No. 7 Cedar Rapids Xavier.
Although the Spartans won big, it was not all physical.
Touching on the mental aspect of the game, Stanton’s strategy for keeping the team’s momentum consistent throughout all four quarters was simple. “We have a young team, so it really comes from us as coaches to stay on them about staying focused, it’s not about being up two scores. We’re playing a good football team, we can’t just take our foot off the gas and our leaders have got to stay on each other as teammates.”
The offense was not the only part of the team that succeeded. The Spartans’ defense dominated against the Clipper offense with 50 total tackles and two interceptions, one being a pick-six by junior secondary Eli Kampman, his first of the season. In the last two games, Solon has only allowed 21 points.
“We knew they had a ground game, so defensively we had to stop the run. Two good quarterbacks, we had to not let them get the big shots on us,” Stanton said.
At 2-0 on the year, Solon has 351 rushing yards and 379 receiving yards in the books, some of the highest numbers in the 3A Class. Johnson has 258 of the Spartans’ 351 rushing yards, 313 all-purpose yards, and six touchdowns on the season, five being from last Friday alone. Currently ranked No. 2, Solon will be eager to receive their updated ranking on Monday. They will face the Central DeWitt Sabers this Friday in DeWitt.