Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – In his first two varsity seasons Maddox Kelley has lined up all over the football field for Solon.

Kelley has played numerous positions and filled a number of roles on offense, defense and special teams as a Swiss Army Knife option for a Solon team that is a combined 19-4 the past two seasons.

In his final season Kelley has moved to a new yet familiar position, taking over at quarterback, and has a new role as the leader of Solon squad looking to improve on a 11-1 season that ended in a state semifinal loss last fall.

“Leadership wise he has taken a step up so far and I am going to challenge him and I am going to keep challenging him to be even more of a vocal leader,” Solon coach Lucas Stanton said. “I think for us to get to where we want to go he has to continue growing every week in that.”

In two seasons as a wide receiver Kelley was among the most productive pass catchers in the state amassing 104 receptions for 1,377 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Last season Kelley was a first-team all-state selection in Class 3A after accounting for better than 1,000 yards of total offense (702 receiving, 371 rushing) and 26 total offensive touchdowns.

Kelley also returned a punt for a touchdown last season, took two of his team-high six interceptions back for scores and ranked fourth on the team in tackles.

That experience as a receiver and defensive back has only aided Kelley in his move back to quarterback where he played as a freshman.

“Knowing how the receivers run routes and understanding how to think like a wide receiver definitely helps me,” Kelley said. “I know kind of what they are thinking and what the defense is thinking and that helps a lot knowing what they are going to do and what the defense is going to do.”

In his varsity debut at quarterback Kelley did what he has done over the past two seasons – he made plays.

Kelley accounted for 355 yards of total offense and six touchdowns in a 48-14 season-opening win at Davenport Assumption on Friday.

“It is different for him being in that role but I feel like he is doing a really good job of staying positive in that role and his decision making for the most part has been really good,” Stanton said. “He can also be a little bit of a backyard football player so you don’t want to take that away from him because he wants to go out and have fun and compete and he’s going to make plays like that too we just have get him to be cerebral and think about the smart decision.”

Kelley completed 7-fo-13 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Davenport Assumption.

After two years in the weight room the now 5-foot-10, 185-pound Kelley has noticed an stark contrast in his ability to throw the football compared to his freshman season playing quarterback.

“I’m throwing farther for sure and that helps us with our fast receivers,” Kelley said. “Being able to add an extra 10 or 20 yards on those deep balls has helped and I can throw a comeback quicker and get the ball on time. Being bigger and stronger after time in the weight room has helped me a lot.”

Kelley also rushed for 189 yards and four touchdowns on just seven carries in the season-opener, scoring on touchdown runs of 71, 65, 35 and 14 yards.

Kelley’s ability to make plays with his legs was a key in Stanton’s decision to move the dynamic senior back to quarterback for his final season.

“The biggest thing from last year to this year that we really want to improve on is I want to run the football,” Stanton said. “They have to respect our run game and I think as the year went on last year people didn’t respect our run game. I think now they really have to decide what they are going to do defensively because we have guys outside too. It puts teams in a predicament.”

Last season Solon averaged 114 rushing yards per game on 4.4 yards per carry with Kelley running for 371 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Behind the 189 yards from Kelley the Spartans rushed for 292 yards while averaging 13.9 yards per carry in the win over Davenport Assumption.

The 292 rushing yards were the highest total since the Spartans rushed for 332 yards in a 55-2 win over Central DeWitt on September 13 of 2024, a span of 20 games.

“We ran the ball a lot better and that was one of our keys,” Kelley said. “I think we have a really good pass game, we have a lot of receivers we can throw it to so it’s just our line stepping up and our running backs which has been awesome. I think if we can continue doing that teams won’t know how to prepare for us.”

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