SOLON — It was a top-ranked defensive battle. Solon escaped despite last-minute heroics from Mount Vernon.
Top-ranked Solon narrowly defeated No. 3 Mount Vernon 7-6 in a Class 3A non-district high school football showdown during Armed Forces Night Friday, Sept. 20 at Spartan Stadium. The Pregame featured three earpiercing blasts from a canon as soon as the National Anthem concluded.
The Spartans started the game fast with Senior Running Back Eddie Johnson sprinting downhill between the tackles and catching a pass in the flat, resulting in a 45-yard gain. Johnson took it in for a two-yard score just 1:59 into the game.
That wasn’t all they wanted, but it was all they needed, with Johnson giving his defense a seven-point head start. The defense took the field and dictated the rest of the game.
“Resilience. We got a lot of resilient kids here…we bent a lot, but we didn’t break,” said Spartans Head Coach Lucas Stanton. Stanton praised his defense for their efforts on Friday.
The defense forced three interceptions and pitched a shutout for 46 minutes. However, their offense stalled out at that time and couldn’t help them. Solon was forced to punt seven times, with a lost fumble mixed in between.
The game saw little action, as these two rivals knew each other well. Both defenses had their way, limiting the big plays. Mount Vernon refused to quit and had one last drive to stay alive. That’s when Mustangs quarterback Kellen Haverback found Watson Krob, who leaped over the defender to haul in the pass and take it for a 65-yard touchdown with 1:53 to go in the 4th.
Mount Vernon’s Head Coach, Brad Meester, immediately threw up two fingers. Meester wanted to steal a victory right then and there. The Mustangs drew up a roll-out right for Haverback, who found senior Cole Thurn in the back of the endzone; refs called him out of bounds. A failed onside kick allowed Solon to get into victory formation. Quarterback Ty Bell had the honor of kneeling out the clock.
“This was a playoff atmosphere,” said Stanton, who mentioned that the bleachers returned to life as the Mustang offense returned to the field to try the two-point conversion.
The defense was led by Maddox Kelley, a sophomore defensive back, and wide receiver with two of the team’s three interceptions.
“I hoped he threw my way,” said Kelley, who recognized the familiar motion, cheated to the outside, and broke on the ball as soon as it was thrown, ultimately jumping the corner route for the takeaway midway through the 3rd.
Maddox also found himself at the right place at the right time as Haverback’s pass was ping-ponged off two Mustangs and one Spartan, then fell right into Kelley Lap. This ended one of the only chances the Mustangs had to score, as Kelley got the red zone interception with under two minutes to go in the first half.
“We’re a young team; they should feel really proud of themselves,” Stanton said. Stanton ended the game by expressing gratitude for his players. However, he made it clear that Friday’s game wasn’t perfect, and there’s plenty of film to go over. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier, especially with number 10-ranked Grinnell (4-0) coming to Solon this week for Homecoming and to start district play.
The night opens at 5:00 p.m. with the JV game followed at 7:30 p.m. by the varsity.
The Spartans travel to Benton Community Friday, October 4.
Stats Summary
Ty Bell completed 17/17 passes for 98 yards. Eddie Johnson rushed 109 yards on 23 carries with one touchdown, a two-yard dash. Cole Carney made three carries for 16 yards.
Johnson took two passes 53 yards, Karsyn Regennitter took six passes for 26 yards, Cody Milliman had an eightyard reception, and Owen Einwalter took two for six yards.
Kyler Jensen led the defense with six solo tackles, Maddox Kelley had four, Milliman, Owen Grimm, and Colby Myers had three each with two solos by Eli Kampman, Tripp Johnson, and Lucas Feuerbach. Regennitter, Carney, Oliver Owens, Teague Williams, Grant Wilson, Jackson Feuerbach, and Dylan Branscomb were each credited with one solo tackle.
Kelley returned two interceptions for four yards with Einwalter returning one 24 yards.
Kelley had a 29-yard kick return as well.