Solon tops Benton Community in 2OT with clutch kicking and goal-line stands

SOLON — It took two overtime periods to determine a winner.

Ultimately, a combination of “ice in the veins” and a huge goal line stand were the difference at Spartan Stadium.

Class 3A No. 7 Solon (5-1) defeated Benton Community, 16-13, in a double-overtime thriller Friday night in a pivotal District 5 battle.

Benton kicker Caleb Gessner connected on a 26-yard field goal to give the Bobcats a 13-10 advantage in the first overtime period.

Solon’s offense stalled at the 5, forcing Grant Knipper to make a 22-yard field goal to extend the game.

He did.

“It felt relieving,” Knipper said. “We needed it.”

The Spartans then started with the ball in double overtime. Benton’s defense again held strong, stopping Solon at the 8.

Knipper lined up for a 25-yard field goal this time.

Money.

“He just makes plays happen,” Solon Coach Lucas Stanton said. “To make those kicks you have to have some ice in your veins.”

“I’m just trying to stay locked in the best I can,” Knipper said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of things that can go wrong, but you just have to stay focused.”

Trailing by 3, Benton elected to go for the win on fourth-and-goal from the 2.

Solon’s defensive front stuffed the Bobcats right at the goal line to seal the win.

“They’ve (defense) given it their all, not just this game but all season,” Knipper said. “It’s amazing.”

Knipper almost didn’t have an opportunity to make the game-winning kick.

With 12.6 seconds left in regulation, Benton possessed the ball at Solon’s 5. On third-and-1, the Spartans defense forced and recovered a fumble, sending the game to OT.

“Defensively, I’ve probably been quoted saying this before, I stole it from Coach (Phil) Parker at Iowa, but we talk about all the time — ‘We don’t care who started the fire, we just go put it out,’” Stanton said. “That’s the mentality we’ve always had on defense.”

Offensively, it wasn’t pretty for either team.

Benton forced the Spartans into five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumble recoveries), while Solon forced and recovered three fumbles.

“We overcame a lot of self-induced things tonight, not to take anything away from Benton,” Stanton said. “They’re a really good football team. But you just can’t do that. You can’t give them gifts and have silly penalties.”

Stanton knows turnovers and penalties are something the Spartans will have to clean up before next week’s matchup against No. 1 Williamsburg.

“We have to play better complementary football,” Stanton said. “We’re going to stress taking care of the ball.”

Eddie Johnson had the loan touchdown of the game for Solon — a 6-yarder to tie the game at 10-10 with 7:59 left.

Knipper accounted for the rest of the Spartans’ points going 3-for-3 on field goals and 1-for-1 on PATs.

“I wanted to do it for my team,” Knipper said. “My team trusted me, I trusted them. We got it done.”

Solon 16, Benton Community 13 (2OT)

AT SPARTAN STADIUM

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: BENTON 12, SOLON 7

Passing yards: BENTON 75, SOLON 88

Comp-att-int: BENTON 7-14-0, SOLON 9-19-3

Fumbles-lost: BENTON 5-3, SOLON 2-2

Total yards: BENTON 226, SOLON 194

Punts-average: BENTON 6-33.17, SOLON 4-26.75

Penalties-yards: BENTON 3-15, SOLON 4-40

SCORING SUMMARY

Benton 0 3 7 0 3 0 — 13

Solon 3 0 0 7 3 3 — 16

SOLON — Grant Knipper 36-yard field goal

BENTON — Caleb Gessner 30-yard field goal

BENTON — Carson Bruns 9 run (Caleb Gessner kick)

SOLON — Eddie Johnson 6 run (Grant Knipper kick)

BENTON — Caleb Gessner 26-yard field goal

SOLON — Grant Knipper 22-yard field goal

SOLON — Grant Knipper 25-yard field goal

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Benton: Carson Bruns 28-100, Owen Tjelmeland 2-(minus 13), Brenden Heying 21-63, Easton Pfiffner 2-7, Team 1-(minus 6). Solon: Conlan Poynton 18-71, Eddie Johnson 7-34, Tyler Bell 3-(minus 4).

Passing - Benton: Brenden Heying 7-14-75-0. Solon: Tyler Bell 9-19-88-3.

Receiving – Benton: Easton Pfiffner 4-57, Jace Biery 1-6, Owen Tjelmeland 2-12. Solon: Nash Kotar 1-4, Grant Knipper 4-45, Brett White 2-33, Conlan Poynton 1-6, Cole Buffington 1-0.