Solon (5-1) at Williamsburg (5-1)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Bob Murphy Stadium in Williamsburg

WAMAC rivals meet for the third time in the last two seasons in a rematch of last year’s Class 3A state semifinal.

The two teams split a pair of meetings last season with Solon winning the regular season contest 21-14 in Solon and Williamsburg winning 45-14 in the 3A semifinals in the UNI-Dome a month later.

These two rivals have played every season since 2020 with Williamsburg owning a 3-2 advantage in those contests.

Friday’s meeting will be key in the Class 3A, District 5 race which is currently led by Benton Community (4-2, 2-0) and Williamsburg (5-1, 2-0).

Players to Watch

Solon  

Ty Bell

The positive from Solon’s loss at Benton Community last week was the play of senior quarterback Ty Bell who played perhaps the best game of his career in a 21-20 loss to the Bobcats.

With Solon missing several offensive weapons including senior tailback Eddie Johnson for most of the game Bell stepped up throwing for 273 yards and a touchdown without an interception and also rushing for 15 yards and a score.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Bell has been excellent all season, throwing for 1,062 yards and nine touchdowns while completing 67 percent of his passes.

Bell has already seen the aggressive Williamsburg defense twice, throwing for 224 yards and a touchdown in the 3A semifinals last season.

Solon doesn’t need a huge statistical game from their senior signal caller but if Bell can lead the offense, take care of the ball and continue to make some plays the Spartans could have an opportunity to steal a road win.

Williamsburg

Rayce Heitman

There may not be a better or more dangerous all-around player in the state than Heitman who is capable of changing the game at any moment in any phase of the game.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior receiver/linebacker is as dynamic as they come on offense, defense and special teams.

Heitman has 39 receptions for a state-leading 746 yards and leads the state with 16 touchdown receptions.

On defense Heitman leads the Raiders with 48.5 tackles including 7.5 for loss and has an interception.

Heitman is also a threat on special teams where he averages 26.1 yards per punt return and 17.8 yards per kick off return.

Keys to the Game

Solon

Ground and Pound

With its leading rusher Eddie Johnson limited to just two carries for 19 yards Solon rushed for a season-low 111 yards on a season-low 2.8 yards per carry last week in its loss at Benton Community.

Look for the Spartans to try to get the ground game going early and often on Friday against Williamsburg.

Solon rushed for 173 yards on 3.8 yards per carry in its 21-14 win over Williamsburg last season. In the semifinal loss to the Raiders the Spartans managed just 66 yards on the ground and 2.8 yards per carry.

Williamsburg is allowing 4.5 yards per carry and 118 rushing yards per game this season so the Raiders have been stout against the run.

Solon enters averaging 206 rushing yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry this season.

The Spartans don’t necessarily need to put up 200 yards on the ground but having some success in the run game keeps the clock moving and the ball out of the hands of the dangerous Williamsburg offense.

Williamsburg

Play Your Game

Looking back at the two meetings between these two teams last season the contrast in how the teams want to play is stark.

Solon controlled the tempo and the game style in a 21-14 win at home.

The Raiders did the same in the UNI-Dome turning the game into a track meet in a 45-14 win.

Solon wants to grind this game down.

Williamsburg wants it wide open and with good reason.

The Raiders have the state’s leading passer in senior quarterback Grant Hocker who has thrown for 1,575 yards and 29 touchdowns and one of the best receivers in the state in Heitman.

Williamsburg is averaging 50.7 points and 427 total yards per game and a whopping 8.4 yards per play.

Look for Williamsburg to look to stress the Solon defense by pressing the ball down the field and attacking in the pass game as it looks to implement its style while controlling the flow of the game.

Both Teams

Value the Football

This could be the key in every game but looking back at the two games last season shows the importance of turnovers in winning what is expected to be a tight game.

In Solon’s 21-14 regular season win over the Raiders last October the Spartans forced four turnovers and returned a fumble 59 yards for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

In Williamsburg’s 45-14 semifinal victory the Raiders forced six Solon turnovers and returned a fumble 52 yards for a score.

Take out the Raiders win at the UNI-Dome last season and three of the previous four games in this series have been decided by a touchdown or less.

This game expects to be another close game.

A turnover could ultimately be the deciding factor and whichever team takes care of the ball better will give themselves the best shot of getting a huge district win.

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