Spartans pull away from Assumption, 38-20

SOLON - Nothing fancy and nothing tricky.

The Solon Spartans' kickoff return success came down to this:

'Those guys are just athletes,” Solon Coach Kevin Miller said.

Brandon Kramer returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, and Connor Ham added a 77-yard scoring return as third-ranked Solon downed Davenport Assumption, 38-20, in a Class 3A first-round playoff football game Wednesday night at Spartan Stadium.

The Spartans (9-1) held Assumption to 20 second-half yards after enduring a first-half shootout. They'll play in Monday's second round at No. 7 West Delaware (9-1).

Kramer took the opening kick at the 12-yard line and went straight up the middle of the field, untouched.

'I saw all that green in front of me, so I just ran through it,” he said. 'I was just hoping nobody would catch me. It was awesome.”

Assumption (5-5) matched the Spartans score for score through most of the first half behind its passing game. Joe Argo completed 15-of-20 passes for 205 yards before halftime, hitting on three touchdowns. But the Spartans blocked the PAT attempt after the third touchdown, maintaining a 21-20 lead.

Then it was Ham's turn.

The track and field star got around the left corner and outran everybody for a 28-20 lead that stood at halftime.

Yeah, those guys are just athletes.

Ham added touchdown runs of 5 and 3 yards, helping the Spartans overcome Assumption's early offensive onslaught.

'We weren't fundamental in the first half,” Miller said. 'The tempo they played at, we weren't accustomed to. We were playing on our heels.”

But the Spartans adjusted, and eventually prevailed.

'We came back out (after halftime) with the mentality to be more physical, and that's exactly what we did,” Kramer said.

Assumption Coach Wade King said, 'Early on, we took what they gave us. But it doesn't mean much if we can't take care of the kicking game. They made some good adjustments, and we didn't have an answer for that.”

In addition to his big start, Kramer added 132 rushing yards on 23 carries. Ham ran for 57 yards.

Brandan Childs made it a two-possession game with a 30-yard field goal with 9:36 left in the game, then Nathaniel Christensen capped the scoring with a 3-yard TD run with 3:42 to go.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com