Offseason work produced long-awaited Demon victory

SOLON - It was a fierce determination that provided final satisfaction for the Washington High School football team Friday when it rolled to a 33-18 win over Solon.

The 2020 football schedules were released March 26 and it was that day that Sept. 4 was noted on a lot of Demon players' phones and coaches' calendars. Solon needed payback for rallying from a 20-7 deficit at Case Field last season in a 35-20 win.

'It hurt more after last year when we had them at halftime and they came back on us,” Washington head coach James Harris said. 'We had a score to settle. It didn't just happen this week, but I will say we had one of our best weeks of practice ever.”

'They have been check-marked on my calendar,” senior Trashaun Willis said Aug. 7. 'I am just tired of them beating us, standing in our way. We are going to play a full four quarters against them this year.”

Washington almost did exactly that, except for the Spartans scored a touchdown with 46 seconds remaining or the score would have been 33-10.

Solon has stood in the way because it has been in the Demons' district, but that was not the case in 2020. District game or not, Solon was a chip that needed knocked off the Demons' shoulder and that chip went flying Friday in the 33-18 victory.

The first game of the season was a win over Class 4A Bettendorf 19-10, but the Demons were not able to gain a first down until under 4 minutes remained in the first half. Against Solon, the second play of the game was a Demon first down on an 11-yard run by Wyatt Stout.

'Beating Solon was more important than Bettendorf because we have not beat them in a long time,” senior Reece Mayer said. 'It feels good. We came together well. When guys would go down, other guys would rise up. We had guys come in and do the job. We were just ready to play.”

Getting ready to play at a high level means knowing the opponent.

'In order to come out here and ball, you have to be in the film room,” Willis said. 'We watch film every day. You have to study it if you want to be good.”

Willis had 6.5 tackles as did Stout, who also had a sack. Reece Mayer and Zayne Laws had two sacks each.

'I just work on getting around the lineman and getting to the quarterback as quick as I can,” Mayer said. 'I just have to be more physical than them. I did tons of work in the offseason, just grinding every day.”

As a running back, Wyatt Stout has witnessed the difference in offensive lineman Kael Adam.

'He is a stud. He spent a lot of time in the offseason perfecting his craft. He really improved his game and it is showing,” Stout said.