Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Grinnell (4-3) at Class 3A No. 7 Solon (5-2)  

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Spartan Stadium

The regular season is coming to a close which means the postseason is right around the corner.

Before playoff football kicks off for all classes in a few weeks there are district titles to be clinched and postseason spots up for grabs.

Solon (5-2) is among the teams that can lock up a district title on Friday with a win over Grinnell in its regular season home finale.

Both teams are unbeaten in Class 3A, District 5 play which makes Friday’s meeting at Spartan Stadium a big one.

Players to Watch

Solon – Brett White

The easiest way to keep an eye on White is to simply follow the ball.

Whether White is playing linebacker on defense or in the offensive backfield he is almost always involved in the action.

A year after leading the Spartans in tackles as a sophomore White has become a key piece of the equation on both sides of the ball this fall.

White is still the Spartans top tackler, making 57.5 tackles including 7.5 for loss from his inside linebacker spot.

This season he has added running back to his duties rushing for a team-high 710 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 9.2 yards per carry.

Grinnell – Brady Coffman

Grinnell rotated quarterbacks last season and had six different players complete a pass in a 6-4 campaign.

This fall sophomore Brady Coffman seized the quarterback job early and has brought stability behind center for the Tigers.

Coffman has emerged as a dual-threat playmaker accounting for 1,058 yards and 11 touchdowns in seven games.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Coffman has completed 47 percent of his passes while throwing for 745 yards and seven touchdowns and has rushed for 313 yards and four touchdowns.

Coffman has gotten better as the season has progressed.

In three district games Coffman has thrown for 405 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 225 yards and two touchdowns.

Keys to the Game

Solon – Hammer Away

There is no need to make this more complicated than it needs to be.

Solon has had success this season when it runs the ball.

The Spartans averaged a respectable 174 yards per game on the ground during a 1-2 start to the season rushing for at least 128 yards in all three of those games.

During its current four-game winning streak Solon has bumped that number up to 265 rushing yards per game while posting at least 207 yards in every game.

The power running game for the Spartans that has been so successful has been led by the 210-pound White who is averaging 109.5 rushing yards per game in the four consecutive Spartan wins and has seven touchdowns in that span.

Toss in the quickness of senior quarterback Blake Timmons and an improving offensive line and the Spartans have a well-rounded ground game.

Grinnell has been solid against the run this season holding foes to 133 rushing yards per game but Solon rushed for 335 yards on 34 carries against the Tigers a year ago and will look to keep its ground game going on Friday.

Grinnell – Hang Around   

Obviously, the Tigers need to keep the game close if they are going to pull the upset but there is more too it than meets the eye.

First, Grinnell showed last season it has the capability to play with Solon.

The Tigers led for much of the first half, trailed just 14-10 at halftime and the 35-17 final was the only district game for Solon the past two seasons decided by less than 20 points.

This is a new year and new teams but the same plan can work for Grinnell to stay in the game.

The longer Grinnell hangs tough in this game the more the momentum shifts to the visitor’s sideline and the pressure mounts on the home team.

That means Grinnell needs to pull out all the stops in the first half starting on defense where it needs to slow the Solon running game.

In four wins this season the Tigers have allowed just 14 first-half points but has been outscored 98-0 in the first half of their three losses.

Grinnell needs to limit possessions and keep this game within striking distance early to have a shot to spring the upset late.

Both teams – Turnovers  

Staying with the not overthinking it theme turnovers are the ultimate game changer.

Both of these teams have been fairly solid in taking the ball away this season with Solon forcing 15 turnovers (including 10 interceptions) and Grinnell forcing opponents into 11 turnovers.

Tonight is forecasted to be the coldest night of the season so far.

Cold hands can lead to dropped balls, errant passes and opportunities for takeaways.

If Solon can avoid turnovers it should have a good chance to clinch a district title.

Conversely, the more turnovers Grinnell can forced the odds of an upset go up.

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.