Matt Coss

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Brett White played minimal snaps on offense during the regular season for Solon’s football team.

That was by design given White was coming off a torn labrum in his shoulder last fall and the amount of energy the linebacker exerts on defense.

“We knew at some point, we were going to start using him a bit more on offense,” Solon coach Lucas Stanton said.

Friday was that time.

White hauled in five receptions for 114 yards — including two pivotal catches on the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter — as Solon erased an eight-point deficit to squeak past West Delaware 36-35 in a thrilling Class 3A state quarterfinal at Spartan Stadium.

Solon (10-1) advances to play Williamsburg (10-1) in a semifinal contest on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Williamsburg outlasted Mount Vernon 38-35 in a quarterfinal.

“We never backed down from this fight,” Solon senior rush end Ben Kampman said. “Everyone stepped up. We showed a bunch of resiliency.”

Defense has carried Solon for much of the season, evident by just 11 points allowed per game.

Its offense played the lead role in helping the Spartans reach the semifinals for the third time in five years.

White was at the center of that.

“Once the playoffs came, Brett said, ‘Give the ball to me, I want to make a play,’” Solon junior quarterback Tyler Bell said. “Of course, I’m not going to say no to that. He’s just a specimen, a freak of nature out there.”

The Baylor baseball commit was in the backfield last year and rushed for 922 yards and a dozen touchdowns.

Before Friday, White had five receptions for 149 yards this season.

“This week, I just said, ‘Let it loose and you can give me the ball whenever you want,’” White said. “(Tyler) just found me a lot tonight. I’ve never run routes like that before. I just wanted the ball today.”

“He’s a dynamic athlete,” Stanton said of White. “Quite honestly as good of a running back as he was last year, he’s even better in space and has great hands. You can really put stress on a team when you’ve got a guy like him out in space.”

Bell completed 18 of 24 passes for a career-high 286 yards and two touchdowns — a stark contrast to 70 days ago when he connected on only 5 of 23 throws for 9 yards in a loss to Davenport Assumption in his first start.

“(Tyler) looked like an absolute stud tonight,” said back Conlan Poynton, who had two rushing touchdowns. “He was looking untouchable and throwing great passes. He really progressed in his leadership this year, from Week 1 to now.”

Bell completed his first seven throws and 14 of 16 in the opening half to help Solon take a 27-21 lead at intermission.

The signal caller had completions go for 23, 25, 26, 42 and 65 yards in the first two quarters.

“At times, I’m not sure how much Tyler believed in himself earlier this year,” Stanton said. “The coaches have always believed in him and knew what he could do. His teammates have picked him up too.”

Solon needed every ounce of that offense to stave off a West Delaware squad anchored by do-it-all quarterback Brett Yonkovic.

Yonkovic, a junior, compiled nearly 500 yards of offense in last week’s first-round playoff win over Davenport Assumption.

He was dynamite again with four rushing scores, a passing touchdown and 362 yards of offense.

West Delaware (7-4) scored on five of six possessions at one stretch to snatch a 35-27 lead with 4 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“He’s the best player we’ve played — him and Derek (Weisskopf of Williamsburg),” White admitted. “He was just throwing darts all over the field and he’s just so elusive.”

The Spartans didn’t wilt.

Grant Knipper booted through a 20-yard field goal with 9:50 left to trim Solon’s deficit to 35-30.

On the ensuing kickoff, West Delaware fumbled the return and Solon senior Keenan Kruse pounced on it at the Hawks’ 36-yard line.

“I told our guys a long time ago, I feel like we’re destined,” Stanton said. “When you work hard and stay consistent with what you do and don’t panic when you get in those situations, the ball happens to bounce your way.”

Solon capitalized.

On third and 8 at the Hawks’ 34, Bell found White for a 20-yard reception.

Then on a fourth and 6 at West Delaware’s 10, Bell and White hooked up for an 8-yard completion to extend the drive.

Poynton finished it with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to pull Solon in front with 6:45 left.

“Chemistry goes a long way with these guys,” Bell said. “I have so much faith in all these guys, and they have really helped me come this far.”

The passing game was a must as Solon was limited to 94 rushing yards on 35 attempts.

“We couldn’t really run the ball so we had to figure out a way,” White said. “It says a lot about how much we’ve grown as a team. Beginning of the year, that definitely would not have happened.”

After what White called an ‘embarrassing’ performance on defense for three quarters, Solon returned to its stingy ways when it mattered most.

The Spartans forced a punt on the Hawks’ ensuing possession and then turned them over on downs with less than 2 minutes remaining to secure the win.

“Keeping pressure on (Yonkovic) was pretty important,” Kampman said. “The best coverage is a good pass rush.”

West Delaware, which had six offensive plays go for 25 yards or more, collected only one first down on its final three possessions.

“Towards the end of the game, our defense was really starting to click on all cylinders,” Stanton said. “It looked more like our defense.”

Now, Solon rides a 10-game win streak and a confident offense into a rematch with Williamsburg.

The Spartans nipped the Red Raiders 21-14 last month.

“We’ve been through ups and downs this whole season,” Poynton said. “We’ve just continued to believe in one another and it has us in the UNI-Dome.”

                                      WD                 SOL

First downs                13                    16

Rushes-yards             39-113             35-94

Comp-Att-Int             11-21-0           18-26-0

Passing yards             269                  286

Total yards                382                  380

Punts-avg.                  5-34.2              6-30.0

Fumbles-lost              3-1                   2-0

Penalties-yards         1-1                   2-10

West Delaware         7        14        14        0  –  35

Solon                          14        13          0        9  –  36

SOL – Conlan Poynton 1 run (Grant Knipper kick)

SOL – Eddie Johnson 25 pass from Tyler Bell (Knipper kick)

WD – Brett Yonkovic 26 run (Christian Timmerman kick)

WD – Yonkovic 18 run (Timmerman kick)

WD – Yonkovic 3 run (Timmerman kick)

SOL – Brett White 65 pass from Bell (Knipper kick)

SOL – Johnson 2 run (kick failed)

WD – Cash Hauser 53 pass from Yonkovic (kick failed)

WD – Yonkovic 10 run (Yonkovic run)

SOL – FG Knipper 20

SOL – Poynton 1 run (run failed)

Individual statistics

RUSHING — West Delaware: Brett Yonkovic 27-99, Macoy Roling 7-11, Haze Seibert 2-7, Memphis Voelker 1-1, Team 1-(-1), Conrad Smith 1-(-4). Solon: Eddie Johnson 13-57, Conlan Poynton 19-41, Team 3-(-4).

PASSING — West Delaware: Yonkovic 10-20-0, 263 yards; Keagan Jackson 1-1-0, 6. Solon: Tyler Bell 18-24-0, 286 yards; Poynton 0-2-0, 0.

RECEIVING — West Delaware: Seth Jackson 6-96, Conrad Smith 2-92, Cash Hauser 2-71, Memphis Voelker 1-10. Solon: Brett White 5-114, Nash Kotar 5-68, Grant Knipper 5-62, Johnson 3-42.

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