Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – When you have only lost two games in three seasons it can be difficult to get those losses out of your mind.

That has certainly been the case Solon seniors AJ Coons and Cam Miller.

Miller and Coons have helped the Spartans rack up a 31-2 mark over the past two seasons but haven’t been able to shake how each of those two seasons ended.

Two years ago it was a 35-7 loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier in the Class 3A semifinals.

Last season a 48-13 opening-round loss at home to Western Dubuque.

“Those losses, especially in the fashion they happened getting blown out in both those games it’s been huge as a motivator to keep us focused on the weeks when football becomes a grind or it’s tough in the middle of the season,” Coons said. “That’s what you look at to get to the games we are in now.”

Coons and Miller will get a shot at some UNI-Dome redemption on Thursday when second-ranked Solon (11-0) takes on No. 7 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (10-1) in a 3A semifinal at 8:30 p.m.

“It’s really nice to at least have an opportunity at some redemption there,” Coons said. “We are going to do everything that we can to try to win this game and have a better memory than from two years ago because it still doesn’t sit well with me to this day.”

Coons and Miller were sophomore starters the last time the Spartans reached the UNI-Dome.

A nightmarish start turned into a 35-0 halftime hole that Solon could never climb out of against the eventual state champion Saints.

The sting of that loss never full disappeared for two of the leaders of this year’s Solon team.

“We felt like we were the best team in the state and to go there and get beat like we did really left a bad taste in our mouths,” Miller said. “We just want to finish the job this year since it’s our last and I think we have a good chance to do it.”

Solon faces a stiff test from a familiar looking foe in its return to the UNI-Dome on Thursday.

The similarities between Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Solon stand out starting on offense.

Both teams feature three-year starters at quarterback that are already the most prolific passers in program history.

The teams each feature dynamic playmakers at receiver and running back in balanced and high-scoring offense.

“You can see a lot of similarities between us when you watch them on film,” Miller said. “They aren’t that big but they are fast, they have a really good quarterback so I think we matchup up really well. They have a lot of speed and they have played some really good teams as well.”

The Sergeant Bluff-Luton offense runs through 6-foot-8 senior quarterback Daniel Wright, a three-year starter who has passed for 6,712 and 76 touchdowns while going 30-4 as a starter.

Wright has had this best season as a senior, completing a 3A-best 69.6 percent of his passes for 2,681 yards and 30 touchdowns with just four interceptions.

His counterpart Miller has thrown for 1,960 yards and 23 touchdowns this season and has back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances in the postseason.

“He’s an accurate quarterback and het gets the athletes the ball in space quickly and that’s what we try to do,” Miller said. “Daniel and I have talked at games and he’s a great guy and I feel like it will be a challenge to stop him.”

Both quarterbacks have plenty of options around them.

Wright has three receivers with more than 39 receptions led by 5-foot-9 Deric Fitzgerald who leads 3A with 69 receptions and ranks fifth in 3A with 846 yards.

A pair of 6-foot-2 targets, senior Carter Schumacher (46-750) and Jacob Imminig (39-447) have combined for 15 touchdowns.

The Warriors have been balanced while putting up 384 yards and 37.7 points per game.

Sergeant Bluff-Luton is nearly perfectly split between run and pass plays, running the ball 330 times and attempted 321 passes on the season.

“They are explosive on offense, they have guys that can get yards after the catch,” Solon coach Kevin Miller said. “They don’t throw the ball down the field, it’s what they do after the catch that impresses you and they rush the football with a great deal of effectiveness.

Solon has its own receiving duo in Coons and fellow senior Jace Andregg.

The 6-foot-4 Coons has caught 50 passes for 797 yards and nine touchdowns and Andregg has 38 receptions for 467 yards and seven scores.

The Spartans also have a weapon in the backfield in senior Seamus Poynton who has rushed for 620 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns.

“Watching the film they spread the ball out to their athletes the same way we do,” Coons said. “Their offensive is really explosive and they have a really good team and I think we do too but I think they pass the ball well, they have a good offensive attack so I think it will be a good matchup.”

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