Demons welcome Spartans to town

WASHINGTON - It should be a classic high school football game Friday when Solon comes to Washington for a Class 3A District 6 showdown.

The Solon Spartans are ranked No. 4 and the Demons are at No. 8.

Each team has already played a ranked opponent and won. Solon overcame Davenport Assumption Sept. 20 in a 17-13 home win. The Demons downed Liberty 38-31 in Iowa City Sept. 13. Neither team has lost a game although Washington has a forfeit to a non-district team on its ledger.

There is two common opponents as each team has played Marion and West Liberty. Solon defeated WL 48-7 at home while Washington scored a 42-20 road win before a forfeit for using an ineligible player changed it officially to a 2-0 loss. Washington won the first game of the season at Marion 27-6. Solon won at Marion the third week 44-0.

Solon's AJ Coons is second in the district in receiving yards with 472, but Washington's Ethan Hunt (346) and Zac Stout (304) are third and fourth.

Coons also leads the district in punt return yards with 136 on eight tries for an average of 17 per return.

Washington's Luke Turner leads the district in rushing touchdowns (12) and yards (617) on 61 carries while Solon's top two rushers are ninth (Seamus Poynton) and 10th (Cam Miller). Wyatt Stout of Washington is third with 409 yards on 68 rushes. He is second in TDs with eight.

Washington's offense is second in Class 3A with 2,197 yards and Turner is responsible for 1,484 of those yards. Solon's passing offense is sixth in 3A with 1,089 yards while the Demons are 14th at 930 yards.

Miller leads the district in yards passing with 1,080. He has 12 touchdowns and two interceptions on 61 of 98 passing. Turner is third on 53 of 90 passing for 867 yards with nine TDs and five interceptions.

Defensively, Solon's Jax Flynn leads the district in total tackles (40.5) and is second in interceptions with three. Washington's Kasen bailey has two picks. Dillon Sanders is the Demons' leading tackler with 27.5, eighth in the district. Washington's Bryan Martin is sixth in the district with five solo tackles for loss. Washington's Zayne Laws and Solon's Jace Andregg each have two solo sacks which is third in the district.

The Spartans have averaged 37.8 points a game while allowing 6.8. Only Assumption scored more than once.

Washington averages 43.6 points a game and allows 15.

The winner will have a clear hold on the race for the district title, while the loser can only hope it accumulates enough points in the RPI system to make the playoffs.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association will publish its first RPI ratings after Week 6.