Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Veteran Williamsburg coach Curt Ritchie saw a potential game-winning field goal in the season opener as a learning experience for his young team.

The lesson Ritchie learned on Friday – trust your first-year kicker.

Junior Alex Marovets nailed a 20-yard field goal with 1:35 left to lift Williamsburg (1-0) to a thrilling 17-14 win over Solon a battle of Class 2A powers at Spartan Stadium.

“If it had been later in the year in that moment I think I would have questioned it more but this early in the season we just decided to play it out the way you are supposed to play it out and you learn from it  and you go from there,” Ritchie explained of the late game kick. “Alex, he stepped up and it was really good to see something good happen to him because he’s got a lot of pressure on him.”

The field goal by Marovets capped a late Raider rally that saw Williamsburg score 10 unanswered points in the final six minutes.

Marovet’s kick spoiled the Solon coaching debut for first-year Spartan head coach Lucas Stanton.

“I think if we clean things up we are a quality football team no doubt about it but we just had too many silly mistakes for a first game,” Stanton said. “I don’t want to take anything away from Williamsburg, they played a heck off a football game. Curt has done a phenomenal there the last 19 years and we will be o.k. Our kids will get back to work. We aren’t going to hang our heads we’ll get this thing back in the right direction.

Solon outgained Williamsburg 152 to 84 in the opening half but the score was tied 7-7 after Williamsburg quarterback Levi Weldon hit fullback Gable Dayton for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds left in the first half.

The Spartans took a 14-7 lead with a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession of the third quarter.

Senior tailback Jackson Ryan put Solon in front breaking several tackles during a 21-yard touchdown run with 7:49 left in the third quarter.

The final five drives for Solon would produce just three first downs, 39 yards of offense and no points.

“They made some adjustments after our first touchdown drive of the second half that we didn’t really respond well to,” Stanton said. “We did some things that I think are uncharacteristic of us. Just simple mistakes on things that we haven’t been making mistakes on and late in the game that was kind of the difference.”

Trailing 14-7 the Williamsburg defense turned the tide of the game when it sacked Solon sophomore quarterback Blake Timmons on a fourth-and-eight play at the Raider 38.

“I have confidence in our kids and we believed in them,” Stanton said of the fourth down call. “It was a good call on Williamsburg’s part. They made a play and we didn’t and looking back, hindsight is 20/20 you wish you could take that back and punt the ball and pin them deep when you are up one score. As a coach that’s something you have to live with but I think that was kind of the turning point.”

Solon appeared to dodge the bullet when Lucas Kampman recovered a Weldon fumble at the Spartan 16 yard line with 9:40 to play.

However the Raider defense forced a three-and-out and Williamsburg pulled even at 14-all when Weldon found John Steinmetz all alone in the back of the endzone for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 5:57 left.

“I knew we’d get better and settle in as the game went on,” Ritchie said. “We just had to find a way to weather the storm and not make a mistake on offense and let our guys make some plays at the end.”
The Williamsburg defense forced another three-and-out on the ensuing Solon possession sacking Timmons at the 1-yard line on third down.

Solon’s punt hit a player near the line of scrimmage giving Williamsburg the ball at the 21 yard line.

After the touchdown drive to open the second half Solon had its final five drives result in three punts, a turnover on downs and an interception.

“Our defensive staff led by our defensive coordinator coach (Grant) Eckenrod is so good, I don’t even know what those guys do,” Ritchie said. “I trust him so much I can honestly say I don’t even know what they do over there but I do know that they are going to run for the ball for 48 minutes.”

Four running plays and an offsides penalty set Williamsburg up fourth-and-goal at the Solon three yard line.

Marovets split the uprights to give Williamsburg its first lead and sophomore Madox Doehrmann sealed the win when he picked off a Kinnick Pusteoska pass on the ensuing Solon possession.

If I had to pick one thing that Raider football is it’s just that toughness and grit,” Ritchie said. “I think they showed that tonight so I’m really proud of them.”

Ryan ran for 105 yards for Solon as the Spartans rolled up 177 yards on the ground and finished with a 251 to 187 advantage in total offense.
Solon was hurt by nine penalties for 60 yards.

“I feel like we shot ourselves in the foot and that’s on me as a coach,” Stanton said. “I have to get them ready better.”

                                   SOL               WB

First downs                 12                    9

Rushes-yards              40-177             27-53

Comp-Att-Int              3-10-1             11-20-0

Passing yards              74                    134

Total yards                  251                  187

Punts-avg.                   5-29.6              6-35.7

Fumbles-lost               1-0                   2-1

Penalties-yards           9-60                 5-25

Solon                            0  7  7   0   –  14

Williamsburg            0  7  0  10  –  17  

SOL – Colton Hoffman 23 pass from Blake Timmons (Brent Lumpkin kick)

WB – Gable Dayton 20 pass from Levi Weldon (Alex Marovets kick)

SOL – Jackson Ryan 21 run (Lumpkin kick)

WB – John Steinmetz 2 pass from Weldon (Marovets kick)

WB – Marovets 20 field goal

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – Solon: Jackson Ryan 9-105, Hayden Taylor 5-26, Blake Timmons 13-17, Lucas TePoel 5-14, Colton Hoffman 5-13, Jake Quillin 2-1, Kinnick Pusteoska 1-1. Williamsburg: Gable Dayton 4-23, Riley Holt 11-20, Carson Huedepohl 4-11, Levi Weldon 7-1, Team 1-(-2).

PASSING – Solon: Blake Timmons 2-8-0 60; Kinnick Pusteoska 1-2-1 14. Williamsburg: Levi Weldon 11-20-0 134.

RECEIVING – Solon: Colton Hoffman 2-37, Lucas TePoel 1-37. Williamsburg: John Steinmetz 5-94, Jake Weber 3-4, Gavin Doehrmann 2-16, Gable Dayton 1-20.

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