SOLON — For a moment, everything slowed down—the cheers, the chatter, the PA announcer. All that remained was the moment’s silence. Underneath the clear night sky, these athletes, who had given so much to their team over the years, stood together savoring the final minutes of what could be their last time playing on this field. Most of these men had been playing together for as long as six years, leaving them wondering where the time had gone.
The seniors (Beau Mullen, Karsyn Regennitter, Cole Carney, Charlie Karam, Oliver Owens, Ty Bell, Owen Einwalter, Eddie Johnson, Abe Houtakker, Owen Grimm, Grant Wilson, Reece Rochholz, Jackson Feuerbach, and Mike DeValk) left on a high note, achieving a dominant 61-19 victory over the Fairfield Trojans on Friday night.
“This is the way to go out,” said senior Eddie Johnson as the Solon community embraced him after leaving his mark at Spartan Stadium. Each senior heard their name called over the stadium speakers and hugged coaches, teammates, and family members.
If this was indeed Solon’s final home game, Johnson’s last touchdown will be remembered for a long time. Starting from their own five-yard line is never ideal. But this gave Johnson more room to get crafty. After taking the ball on a dive RPO play, he dodged one defender, juked past another, and broke through a third, ultimately outrunning everyone to score a 95-yard touchdown, securing a hat trick, his third touchdown of the night.
The Spartans were motivated going into the game. Not only was it Senior Night, but they were looking to rebound after a two-game losing streak. Yet the celebration after each big play was subdued for the most part, just a few high fives and helmet slaps. It felt more like a business trip than anything.
“Just because we had a few bumps in the road doesn’t mean we can’t still achieve everything we want,” said Head Coach Lucas Stanton. He praised his team’s effort from start to finish, highlighting the defense’s discipline against an unfamiliar double-tight run offense.
The Spartans controlled the game from the get-go. They scored on their opening drive in just 1:42, with Eddie Johnson running it in from five yards out. From that point, there was no looking back.
By halftime, Solon held a commanding 48-0 lead as Fairfield had yet to find answers for the Spartans. Senior quarterback Ty Bell threw four touchdown passes while Johnson had 195 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone.
The starters’ night ended early as they rested for the entire second half. Fairfield managed to find some rhythm and scored three touchdowns to Solon’s two, but by then the game was well out of reach.
Solon will conclude the regular season this as they travel to South Tama Friday, October 25. The frosh-soph game is set for 5:00 p.m. with the varsity at 7:30 p.m.