Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Throughout the non-district portion of its prep football schedule, Solon looked equally dominant on both sides of the ball.

As district play commenced Friday night, neither the Spartans’ high-powered offense nor its stingy band of defenders showed any signs of slowing down.

“I was really pleased with how we executed,” Solon Coach Lucas Stanton said after the Class 3A third-ranked Spartans blitzed West Burlington, 56-0 in the District 5 opener at Spartan Stadium. “We wanted to start fast and keep it on and I was really pleased with that.”

Solon (5-0, 1-0 District 5) could not have started much faster than it did by scoring just 18 seconds into the contest when junior Sean Stahle fielded the rolling opening kickoff at his own 12-yard-line and raced 88 yards for a touchdown.

“It wasn’t supposed to go to me, it was supposed to be a reverse to my other player,” Stahle said. “It worked. The ball was rolled, so I just picked it up and went with it.”

Stahle’s score merely signaled what was to come as the Spartans found the end zone five times in the first quarter and twice in the second.

Junior quarterback Blake Timmons ran for a score on his only rush of the game and added a pair of touchdown passes, one to Colin Werner for 42 yards and a second to Carson Miller for 58.

Stahle’s second score of the game, a 31-yard rush, punctuated the 35-0 Solon first quarter.

“Our goal coming out today was just dominate from the first snap of the ball,” said senior lineman and team captain Gage Marty. “I think we accomplished that.”

Tailbacks Michael Pipolo and Mac McCarty each added second-quarter touchdown runs as the Spartans’ lead ballooned to 49-0 at halftime.

Solon reserve quarterback Brayden Ruskey accounted for the only score of the second half with a 14-yard touchdown toss to Quinton Heineman on fourth down.

“We really wanted to get our secondary guys in because we care about our teammates,” Pipolo said. “Those guys work really hard on scout team and we wanted them to get in and score some touchdowns.”

On offense, Solon exceeded its season average by collecting 486 yards of total offense, the fourth time in its five games that the Spartans have eclipsed 450 yards.

Timmons threw for 164 yards, while Pipolo and Stahle each ran for 59.

On defense, a Solon defense that has limited its first four opponents to 210 yards a game held West Burlington (0-5, 0-1) under a hundred.

“Coaches came in with a great game plan,” said Pipolo, who was one of three Spartans to intercept a West Burlington pass on defense. “Our linebackers were making a ton of plays, lots of tackles and we had some turnovers. … We were making big plays.”

Seniors Logan Sieverding and Brandon Hoit also recorded interceptions for the Solon defense, which also posted four sacks. Senior defensive end Lucas Kampman contributed a sack and a half, while Marty added a solo sack.

The Spartans’ kickoff coverage unit also forced a fumble.

Solon continues district play next Friday with a trip to Washington (Iowa), which earned a 15-point win on the Spartans’ home field last season.

“Washington, they get up for this game,” Stanton said. “That has kind of developed a little bit of a rivalry, so they are going to be up. It is at their place, so we are going to have to continue to win those critical downs and take care of the football.”

                                     WB                 SOL

First Downs                6                      16

Rushes-yards              12-12               36-277

Comp-Att-Int              11-30-3           11-14-0

Passing yards              83                    209

Total yards                  95                    486

Punts-avg.                   2-31.0              1-51.0

Fumbles-lost               1-1                   0-0

Penalties-yards           1-5                   7-75

West Burlington        0   0  0  0  –  0

Solon                               35 14 7  0  – 56

SOL – Sean Stahle 88 kick return (Brent Lumpkin kick)

SOL – Blake Timmons 11 run (Lumpkin kick)

SOL – Colin Werner 42 pass from Timmons (Lumpkin kick)

SOL – Carson Miller 58 pass from Timmons (Lumpkin kick)

SOL – Stahle 31 run (Lumpkin kick)

SOL – Mike Pipolo 60 run (Lumpkin kick)

SOL – Mac McCarty 1 run (Lumpkin kick)

SOL – Quinton Heineman 14 pass from Brayden Ruskey (Lumpkin kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – West Burlington: Caden Schwenker 1-(-4), Hayden Vandenberg 6-(-2), Kenyon Baker 5-18. Solon: Blake Timmons 1-11, Sean Stahle 3-59, Mike Pipolo 2-59, Mac McCarty 7-47, Michael Purdy 2-7, Tino Longo 15-35, Brayden Ruskey 4-44, Logan Sieverding 1-16, Fischer Harrison 1-(-1).

PASSING – West Burlington: Hayden Vandenberg 9-24-2-75, Caden Schwenker 2-6-1-8. Solon: Blake Timmons 6-8-0-164, Brayden Ruskey 5-6-0-45.

RECEIVING – West Burlington: Jackson Riley 1-11, Xavier Jenkins 1-(-1), Carson Chiprez 4-23, Kobe Twillie 3-42, Dylan Kipp 1-3, Landen Whitmore 1-5. Solon: Sean Stahle 1-24, Trin Eidahl 2-27, Grant Gerdin 1-13, Colin Werner 1-42, Carson Miller 1-58, Ryan Rasmussen 2-17, Zeb Kleinsmith 1-14, Quinton Heineman 1-14.

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