Up a class, Solon keeps churning out wins

The philosophy never wavered when Solon's move to Class 3A was announced.Do what we do, Kevin Miller said. But do it better.The result was simply more of the same. Solon wrapped up the Class 3A District 6 championship Friday, defeating Grinnell, 17-10."We weren't going to change our expectations when we moved up," Miller said. "But we knew we had to tweak some things. To compete with teams that have more depth than us, we had to develop more depth. We don't have the luxury of two-platooning."Physically, 3A football has been much more demanding. I mean this with no disrespect to the 2A teams we used to play, but now we're being forced to play a complete game."Solon (8-1 overall, 7-0 district) has been up to the challenge. Ironically, the Spartans' lone loss came in its only game against a non-3A foe. Iowa City Regina, top-rated in 2A, ended the Spartans' 42-game win streak, 21-15, in Week 2."I believe that was a blessing in disguise," Miller said. "We used it as a teaching tool. The kids took that loss personally, and they've come out with a different attitude since."Winners of the last three 2A state championships, the Spartans open the 3A playoffs Wednesday at home against DeWitt Central. The Spartans beat the Sabers, 35-13, in Week 1.

Kennedy-Xavier, playoff editionIt was a typical fall Friday night/Saturday morning for Cedar Rapids Kennedy Coach Tim Lewis.A late night, followed by quick nap at 1:30 a.m. Up by 4.There's work to do.Kennedy (5-4) won its fourth straight game -- a 52-7 rout of Dubuque Wahlert -- and earned an east-side No. 12 seed for the 4A playoffs. The Cougars' reward: A date with 5-seed Cedar Rapids Xavier (7-2) in a 4A first-rounder Wednesday."As soon as we heard the scores Friday night, we figured it was going to be Xavier," Lewis said.The 42nd Street NE rivals met on the opening night of the season, with Xavier rolling, 35-7."We're a different team now, no question about it," Lewis said. "When we look at the film, we count the number of plays -- we call them loafs -- in which a player takes a play off. That game, we had 56. We are now consistently under five."We've taken a different approach, and we've put some stuff together. Our offense is night and day from where it had been. Our schedule hasn't been as strong the last four weeks, and we've challenged the kids to play at our level."Xavier blasted Linn-Mar, 45-28, Friday.

Welcome to the partyMFL MarMac and Meskwaki Settlement will make their playoff debuts Wednesday.Despite a 23-14 loss to Sumner-Fredericksburg, MFL MarMac earned the fourth spot in Class 2A District 4. The Bulldogs (3-6) play at Waterloo Columbus (7-2) in the first round. Columbus was the 2A District 3 champion.Meskwaki (4-6) needed a victory and some assistance to make the eight-player field in its second year of fielding a program. The Warriors knocked off Twin Cedars, 52-30, Friday and claimed the fourth spot in District 5. Melcher-Dallas, Meskwaki and Twin Cedars all finished 4-3, with the first two making the playoffs based on a point-spread tie-breaker.The Warriors face top-ranked Lenox (9-0) on the road.

Quick slants* Talk about a tale of two halves: North Cedar outgained West Branch, 242-70, in the first half on the way to a 21-0 lead. Then West Branch enjoyed a 217-55 advantage in the second half and rallied for a 28-21 win to capture the 1A District 6 title at Stanwood.* Benton Community's Zach Twedt rushed for 357 yards in the Bobcats' 51-21 win over South Tama.