Matt Coss

Your Prep Sports

DAVENPORT – For three-plus quarters, Solon’s defense did about everything it could to keep its team in the game.

It limited Davenport Assumption to a pair of first-quarter field goals.

It recorded a goal-line stand.

It scored a defensive touchdown.

It blocked a punt.

The offense, however, never could generate any consistency and the defense yielded two long scoring runs late as Assumption collected its first football win over Solon in seven meetings Friday night in the season opener, 34-7.

“We just never got in a rhythm offensively,” Solon coach Lucas Stanton said. “We just spent too much time on the field defensively. At some point, the psychological factor starts to creep in a little bit after you’ve been out there for so long.”

In Solon’s three wins over Assumption the past two years, the Spartans averaged 33 points and 241 rushing yards.

The Knights flipped the script on a humid night at Jack and Pat Bush Stadium.

Assumption senior back Angelo Jackson had 33 carries for 221 yards and three touchdowns, including scoring runs of 50 and 21 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

“This was a team and game we looked at as almost revenge,” said Jackson, whose Knights are coming off a 4-5 season. “They really took it to us last year. When we saw the calendar and this game as our opener, this was a chance for us to get some momentum going into the season.

“They’re a great program, so this is a great Week 1 win for us.”

Assumption rushed for 301 yards and finished with 408 total yards.

Solon, meanwhile, mustered only six first downs and 113 total yards.

Junior Tyler Bell made his first varsity start at quarterback for Solon.

He completed only 5 of 22 passes for 9 yards, but Stanton said there was plenty of blame to go around for the offensive shortcomings.

“We can’t have blown assignments,” Stanton said. “We’ve got to do everything we can to help him out too. It can’t just fall on one guy.

“I’m sure (Tyler) is going to beat himself up, but it isn’t all on him.”

Assumption marched inside Solon’s 30-yard line on each of its first three possessions but managed only two Billy Moore field goals from 43 and 34 yards, respectively.

Solon stuffed Jackson on the 1 on three consecutive plays late in the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, the Spartans captured the lead.

Senior defensive end Ben Kampman, who had seven sacks a year ago, sacked and poked the ball loose from Assumption backup quarterback Braylon Thomsen.

All-stater Brett White picked it up and darted 33 yards for a touchdown.

Grant Knipper’s extra point gave Solon a 7-6 advantage.

“We felt like that might have been the play that could give us a little spark on offense as well,” Stanton said.

It didn’t happen.

Jackson had a 47-yard touchdown run with 1:36 left in the second quarter as Assumption regained the lead.

The shifty Jackson had six runs go for 10 yards or more.

“Giving up what we did in the run game is uncharacteristic of us,” Stanton said. “We have some things we’ve got to fix. We’ve faced this type of offense plenty of times, so there is no reason why that should have happened.

“As hard as we played on defense tonight, to have those two or three letdowns like that, it just can’t happen. It was disappointing.”

Trailing 13-7 late in the third quarter, Will Cusick blocked a punt and the Spartans started at the Knights’ 20.

They couldn’t convert it into points as they missed a 35-yard field goal try.

“When you play a good football team, you have to take advantage of those small opportunities,” Stanton said.

Solon had one last crack to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter.

The Spartans drove to the Knights’ 38 before a procedure penalty and a sack halted the drive.

On the ensuing play, Jackson ripped off a 50-yard touchdown run to extend it to a two-possession contest.

“Give (Assumption) a lot of credit because they were ready to play and we weren’t,” Stanton said.

Stanton said there will be a lot of self-reflection between now and next Friday’s home opener against Clear Creek Amana.

“We’re going to have to watch a lot of this film and learn from those mistakes big-time,” he noted. “(CCA) is a good football team, but it is more about us looking in the mirror at what we’re doing, fixing mistakes, being willing to learn from mistakes and taking some hard coaching, too.

“I know it is only one game, but essentially it is gut-check time.”

                                  SOLON                DA

First downs                 6                      18

Rushes-yards              29-104             45-301

Comp-Att-Int              4-22-1             8-16-0

Passing yards              9                      107

Total yards                  113                  408

Punts-avg.                   7-37.7              4-25.0

Fumbles-lost               3-2                   2-1

Penalties-yards           8-60                 9-75

Solon                              0    7   0    0  —    7

Dav. Assumption       6   7    0   21  —  34 

DA – FG Billy Moore 43

DA – FG Moore 34

SOL – Brett White 33 fumble recovery (Grant Knipper kick)

DA – Angelo Jackson 47 run (Moore kick)

DA – Jackson 50 run (Moore kick)

DA – Jackson 21 run (Moore kick)

DA – Colin Patterson 25 fumble recovery (Moore kick)

Individual statistics

RUSHING – Solon: Barret Schade 9-54, Eddie Johnson 5-31, Nash Kotar 1-8, Brayden Moore 3-6, Tyler Bell 9-3, Cole Carney 1-2, Milo Ashbacker 1-0. Assumption: Angelo Jackson 33-221, Jake Timmons 10-86, Keaton O’Neill 1-5, Braylon Thomsen 1-(-11).

PASSING — Solon: Bell 5-22-1 9 yards. Assumption: Timmons 8-16-0 107 yards.

RECEIVING — Solon: Kotar 2-10, Moore 1-1, Johnson 1-(-1), Carney 1-(-1). Assumption: Bauer Caspers 3-56, Dominic D’Aprille 1-40, O’Neill 1-11, Jackson 3-0.

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