IHSAA Football Week 7
Tonight the old man and I headed north to Solon for the marquee match-up in Eastern Iowa, a clash between two top-five 3A squads: #1 Williamsburg versus #5 Solon.
We got there insanely early — around 6:30, a whole hour before the varsity kickoff — but, amazingly, not early enough to get a seat. The stands on both sides of the field were packed, and room along the sideline fence was becoming scarce. Dad and I claimed spots on the fence at the east end 10-yard line. Behind the east end zone, a little incline was packed with fans from both sides, and also served as a grassy student section.
The atmosphere was unreal, especially for the sophomore game that was still in progress when we arrived. Solon scored deep in the fourth quarter to take a 22-20 lead. On their ensuing drive, Williamsburg marched down the field to Solon’s seven with less than a minute to go. On a sneak play to put the ball between the hash marks for a straight field goal, Williamsburg’s QB fumbled and Solon recovered on their own two. It was the most exciting end to a sophomore game I had ever seen. Then again, it was probably the only time I have seen the end of a sophomore game.
It was homecoming for the Spartans, so the band performed its halftime show before kickoff to accommodate the Homecoming Queen coronation. (The King award was apparently given earlier during a pep rally.) The varsity squads took the field and a defensive slugfest followed. Solon scored on a red zone toss play in the first quarter, but missed the PAT. Despite a somewhat porous Bears defense, Williamsburg shut them out in the second quarter. The Spartans missed a field goal at the half to leave the score 6-0.
Williamsburg’s offense was nonexistent. The Bears were totally shut down, amassing only 37 total yards in the first 24 minutes.
The third quarter was electric, especially since most of the action happened right in front of us.
Solon scored on the opening possession of the second half, but missed a two-point conversion to make the score 12-0. After a Williamsburg drive stalled, the Bears’ punter pinned Solon on their own 1-yard line. This was right in front of the crowded incline, and the Williamsburg students came alive, energizing their defense. After barely giving themselves one or two yards of breathing room, the Spartans punted and the Williamsburg returner shook and shimmied his way to the Solon 10. Now both sets of fans were making themselves heard. It became loud and rowdy down in the east side, and I had a front (fence) row seat. After two horrible play calls (runs up the middle, which the Spartans had stuffed all night), the Bears opted to pass on third down. With no receivers open, the QB scrambled to his right, our direction, and snuck past the better side of the pylon for six.
The home fans were screaming about a hold that was not called. I didn’t see it, but caught sight of a possible block in the back. Fuck it. I had no allegiance to either side, but wanted to see a good game. Blowouts are so boring, unless they are in your favorite team’s favor.
Little else happened before dad and I left at the end of the third except a Spartan interception, which was one hell of a nice play. The final score was 22-7, Solon.
It was no doubt a good game, and the atmosphere was genuine small town Friday Night Lights; it was as if all of Solon showed up to show its support. However, the parking situation was chaotic, so we got the hell out of there early. We parked on the football practice field, and, on our way through town, saw that all the side streets near the stadium and high school were lined with cars. It was great to see so many people out on a beautiful night for high school football, but I did not want to be stuck in the mini traffic nightmare after the final whistle.
We got there insanely early — around 6:30, a whole hour before the varsity kickoff — but, amazingly, not early enough to get a seat. The stands on both sides of the field were packed, and room along the sideline fence was becoming scarce. Dad and I claimed spots on the fence at the east end 10-yard line. Behind the east end zone, a little incline was packed with fans from both sides, and also served as a grassy student section.
The atmosphere was unreal, especially for the sophomore game that was still in progress when we arrived. Solon scored deep in the fourth quarter to take a 22-20 lead. On their ensuing drive, Williamsburg marched down the field to Solon’s seven with less than a minute to go. On a sneak play to put the ball between the hash marks for a straight field goal, Williamsburg’s QB fumbled and Solon recovered on their own two. It was the most exciting end to a sophomore game I had ever seen. Then again, it was probably the only time I have seen the end of a sophomore game.
It was homecoming for the Spartans, so the band performed its halftime show before kickoff to accommodate the Homecoming Queen coronation. (The King award was apparently given earlier during a pep rally.) The varsity squads took the field and a defensive slugfest followed. Solon scored on a red zone toss play in the first quarter, but missed the PAT. Despite a somewhat porous Bears defense, Williamsburg shut them out in the second quarter. The Spartans missed a field goal at the half to leave the score 6-0.
Williamsburg’s offense was nonexistent. The Bears were totally shut down, amassing only 37 total yards in the first 24 minutes.
The third quarter was electric, especially since most of the action happened right in front of us.
Solon scored on the opening possession of the second half, but missed a two-point conversion to make the score 12-0. After a Williamsburg drive stalled, the Bears’ punter pinned Solon on their own 1-yard line. This was right in front of the crowded incline, and the Williamsburg students came alive, energizing their defense. After barely giving themselves one or two yards of breathing room, the Spartans punted and the Williamsburg returner shook and shimmied his way to the Solon 10. Now both sets of fans were making themselves heard. It became loud and rowdy down in the east side, and I had a front (fence) row seat. After two horrible play calls (runs up the middle, which the Spartans had stuffed all night), the Bears opted to pass on third down. With no receivers open, the QB scrambled to his right, our direction, and snuck past the better side of the pylon for six.
The home fans were screaming about a hold that was not called. I didn’t see it, but caught sight of a possible block in the back. Fuck it. I had no allegiance to either side, but wanted to see a good game. Blowouts are so boring, unless they are in your favorite team’s favor.
Little else happened before dad and I left at the end of the third except a Spartan interception, which was one hell of a nice play. The final score was 22-7, Solon.
It was no doubt a good game, and the atmosphere was genuine small town Friday Night Lights; it was as if all of Solon showed up to show its support. However, the parking situation was chaotic, so we got the hell out of there early. We parked on the football practice field, and, on our way through town, saw that all the side streets near the stadium and high school were lined with cars. It was great to see so many people out on a beautiful night for high school football, but I did not want to be stuck in the mini traffic nightmare after the final whistle.
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