Solon 21, Williamsburg 14: What we learned from the Spartans' upset Iowa high school football win

SOLON — Although offensive rhythm was nowhere in sight Friday night at Spartan Stadium, drama was still in abundance from start to finish.

The evening ended with Solon pulling a Class 3A stunner, as the Spartans handed top-ranked and previously unbeaten Williamsburg its first loss of the season. The 21-14 victory keeps Solon (6-1) in the district driver's seat and should bump the Spartans even further up the RPI ladder. Williamsburg (6-1) entered with 3A's top RPI, while Solon was slotted fifth.

Eddie Johnson's 1-yard touchdown run with seven minutes and change to go served as the game-clinching score, but it was the Spartans' defense that ignited this win.

Here's what we learned from Friday night's action.

Solon's defense was the MVP on the night

With Iowa commit Derek Weisskopf, Rayce Heitman and a slew of playmakers on the Williamsburg side, Solon knew it needed a top-notch defensive effort to pull off the upset.

The Spartans got it in bunches.

The final image was a goal-line stand with the Raiders driving and down just seven points, trying to tie things up in the game's final minutes. Weisskopf spent most of the night at quarterback, along with all his other responsibilities, but his final pass of the night was batted down shortly after he blocked a punt to set Williamsburg up. Solon overcame several special teams miscues on this night.

The defensive attack, though, never wavered. It started with Barret Schade's 59-yard scoop and score off a Brett White sack, which pulled Solon even, 7-7, early in the first quarter. Cole Carney's interception midway through the fourth set up Johnson's clinching TD.

Williamsburg only got loose for one big play, a long touchdown catch. But that was it.

"We just have to embrace (that often we have to win ugly," Schade said. "We've got to play good defense and capitalize — just stop them and turn over the ball."

"This is very big."

Solon's aggressiveness shined through in a massive moment before halftime

Standing toe toe-to-toe with the top dog in 3A isn't the time to get conservative, and Solon saw that pay off in a huge way right before halftime.

Locked in a grueling 7-7 affair with less than a minute remaining until the break, it would've been easy for the Spartans to call it good and take the tie into the locker room. Solon's offense had not produced much up to that point. A reset could've easily been the main focus.

Instead, Solon smashed on the gas.

A 40-yard hookup from quarterback Tyler Bell to junior Eddie Johnson pushed the Spartans down to the Williamsburg 1-yard line, after Johnson broke several tackles on a pass over the middle and rumbled with authority.

"We were just planning on getting into field goal range," Johnson said. "But that play opened up really well. I saw the safety was way over, and my route was going to be open. It sailed right through the defender's hands and right into my hands. It was a good ball."

Solon then called its final timeout with 6.7 seconds to go. Again, not the time to hold anything back.

Instead of throwing the ball with the hope of maybe getting two cracks at the end zone, Solon leaned on its power and strength to cap this stunning scoring chance off. Sophomore Conlan Poyton took the direct snap and plowed just beyond the goal line for a hard-earned touchdown.

Had Poyton not scored, the first-half clock would've expired with Solon getting nothing. An upset like this one, however, doesn't come without some successful rolls of the dice.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: What we learned from Solon's upset win over top-ranked Williamsburg