Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

No. 7 Solon (8-2) at No. 2 Mount Vernon (10-0)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: First Street Stadium    

The Battle for Highway 1 will add another chapter on Friday as long-time rivals Mount Vernon and Solon meet in the postseason for the first time in more than 20 years.

Solon won the last postseason matchup between the two teams 21-20 in overtime in an opening-round contest in 2000 and Friday’s meeting has all the makings of another classic.

Mount Vernon (10-0) snapped a 19-game losing skid to its Highway 1 rival to the south with a 17-14 win over Solon at Spartan Stadium on September 2.

The Mustangs haven’t slowed down since that week two win and enter the quarterfinals the lone remaining unbeaten team in Class 3A.

Solon brings a seven-game winning streak into the quarterfinal rematch following a 48-12 win over West Delaware last Friday in its playoff opener.

Mount Vernon is seeking its first trip to the semifinals since 2016 while Solon is chasing a third appearance at the UNI-Dome in the past four seasons.

Players to Watch

Solon – Blake Timmons   

In a rivalry game between two teams that are virtually dead even on paper there is one area where Solon has a decided advantage – playoff experience.

Solon was a state semifinal team a year ago and reached the quarterfinals in 2020.

No player on the Spartan roster has played more postseason snaps than senior quarterback Blake Timmons who has played nearly an entire seasons worth of playoff games.

Friday will be the eighth career playoff start for Timmons who has passed for 785 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 470 yards and five touchdowns in seven playoff games.

This season Timmons has been a sparkplug for the Solon offense passing for 905 yards and seven touchdown and rushing for 740 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Where Timmons could be most important on Friday is on defense.

He is coming off a career-high 11 tackles in an opening-round win over West Delaware and has a team-high five interceptions this season, all coming in the past three games.

The more snaps Timmons gets at safety the better he plays and he will been critical against a Mount Vernon passing offense that is among the best in 3A.

Mount Vernon – Joey Rhomberg

Mount Vernon is among the most well-rounded teams in 3A so settling on a single player to watch is a challenge.

The Mustangs have some horses up front on both sides of the ball in seniors Clark Younggreen, Brad Vislisel and Cardell Berry.

Mount Vernon has big-time pass catchers in Evan Brase and Brady Erickson and a dynamic back in Henry Ryan.

However, in the biggest game of the year lets not complicate things – the guy to keep an eye on is junior quarterback Joey Rhomberg.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Rhomberg has been fantastic this season completing 66 percent of his passes and leading 3A in passing yards (2,218) and touchdowns (24).

Rhomberg was 22-of-44 for 209 yards and a touchdown in the regular season win over Spartans and had one of his six interceptions on the season in that game.

For Mount Vernon to breakthrough and return to the UNI-Dome look for steady night from their junior standout on what could be a challenging night to throw the football.

Keys to the Game

Solon – Keep Them in Front

In any rematch there is always the need for a few adjustments.

Solon will certainly have some tweaks to its defensive game plan for Friday’s rematch with Mount Vernon but the Spartans need to stick one thing they did well in its 17-14 regular season loss to the Mustangs – avoid giving up the big play.

Mount Vernon ran 77 offensive plays in its win at Solon in week two, the most for a Solon opponent this season, but the Spartans allowed just 3.96 on those 77 offensive snaps.

The Mustangs had 305 yards of total offense in the regular season meeting but averaged just 9.5 yards per pass completion and 4.8 yards per pass attempt while scoring a season-low 17 points.

Solon gave up yards and first downs but didn’t allow the Mustangs to get anything over the top.

Ultimately a 10-yard touchdown pass from Rhomberg to Erickson was the difference but the game plan worked for the Spartans.

Expect Solon to employ a similar plan on Friday attempting to make the Mustangs march the field with long sustained drives in what could be less than ideal weather conditions.

Mount Vernon – Simple. Stop the Run

Let’s not overthink things here.

Solon is good in the run game, Mount Vernon has been excellent at stopping the run. There is rain in the forecast.

This game could come down to who can hammer out a few more yards on the ground.

Solon has found a good balance in its run game with 210-pound Brett White (856 yards, 12 touchdowns) the physical between the tackles runner and Timmons the big-play threat.

Senior Sean Stahle is a potential X factor in the Spartan run game.

Stahle has rushed for 210 yards this season but had 111 on 19 carries in the regular season meeting with the Mustangs.

In two career games against Mount Vernon Stahle has averaged 8.5 yards per carry while rushing for 306 yards and three touchdowns and caught six passes for 109 yards.

Mount Vernon has been dynamite against the run this season holding opponents to 52.2 rushing yards per game and 2.2 yards per carry.

The Mustangs have held seven teams under 75 yards rushing and haven’t given up more than 146 rushing yards in a game this season.

Solon had a season-low 128 rushing yards in the regular season loss to the Mustangs but has been productive in the run game of late.

The Spartans are averaging 255 rushing yards per game and 7.1 yards per carry during their current seven-game winning streak. If Mount Vernon can stop the run and make Solon throw the ball on a night where conditions will likely be less than favorable that is advantage Mustangs.

Both teams – Manage the Elements

The forecast is calling for rain.

Lots of rain.

Forecasts suggest a band of showers and storms could produce anywhere from two to three inches of rain in the area setting up the potential for a sloppy night of field conditions.

Who benefits from a wet field?

That’s simple – the team that handles the conditions better.

If the weather does turn nasty turnovers, special teams miscues, dropped snaps that affect field position all become potential pitfalls for either team regardless of style.

There is also the possibility of a delay in action if lightning is present with a passing storm cell that could produce another potential distraction.

In a game that figures to be this close handling that potential adversity will likely be a key.

If the weather creates a mess the team that can play the cleaner game likely moves on.

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