The Washington Demons are headed to the UNI Dome tonight for the state semi-finals. Washington has powered through the regular season, shutout Pella and will face Solon tonight.
The Demons have been led by the rushing attack all season, moving themselves up to first in the state in yards and touchdowns, and being the last remaining team in the top five in rushing. A big part of the rushing game is Alex Coker, who has 1,428 yards and 25 touchdowns, but the Demons showed against Oskaloosa and Pella that Coker isn’t the only guy you have to stop. Daryn Seibelius will tuck and run with 745 yards and eight touchdowns, Tanner Knupp has 551 yards and 14 touchdowns and Carl Sivels has 515 yards and seven touchdowns, plus being inside the dome means perfect conditions for running or passing.
The defense for Washington continues their dominance, shutting out the Pella offense and all season long giving up just an average of less than a touchdown a game. The first team defense has pitched shutouts against Pella, Oskaloosa, Carlisle, Fort Madison, Mount Pleasant and Keokuk. This is thanks to the gang tackling the Washington is known for, placing them second in tackle assists, first in assisted tackles for a loss and first in sack assists.
Solon comes in with a history of the Dome. Their quarterback Jacob Black runs the offense, going 61-110 this season with 1,109 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions, he is also the leading rusher with 23 touchdowns and 1,319 yards. Solon has another rusher with over 1,000 yards in Brandon Kramer with 1,114 yards. A three headed attack is what the Solon offense brings, a somewhat similar attack to Pella from last week, but this is the first time Washington will face an efficient quarterback at passing and two rushers with over 1,000 yards.
Defensively Solon has 12 fumble recoveries, 15 interceptions and three touchdowns off of those interceptions, so the Demon offense will need to take care of the ball when they have it.
Demon head coach Randy Schrader said this game, like most, will come down to the offensive and defensive lines of the Demons getting the bigger push.
“It’s the same thing, our upfront against theirs, our offensively line which we think is pretty good, against their defensive line which I know they think is pretty good,” Schrader said. “Their offensive line likes to hang their hat on that physical run game, versus our defense and our kids flying to the football. For six seconds we have to have reckless abandon to the football, on offense and defense, and if we can do that we have a chance to be competitive.”
You can show your support for the Demons today in style, by going out to the industrial road and cheering on the buses as they leave for the Dome. Please be out there by 3:15 this afternoon if you plan to attend.
Washington and Solon play tonight at the UNI Dome with an 8:21 scheduled kickoff. This game will be broadcast right here on AM and FM KCII and KCIIradio.com under radio plus with pregame at 7:50 and kickoff at 8:21. You can also listen to us at the game with our new mobile app, just search KCII in your android or apple app store. The one to count on for today’s local sports coverage is AM and FM KCII and KCIIradio.com.