Arguably the biggest win of the regular season for the Washington Demon football team (7-2 overall) came on Sept. 25 against the Solon Spartans (5-4 overall). Washington’s rushing attack of sophomore Ryan Reighard and senior Jack Giardino collected 315 yards and scored four touchdowns, propelling the Demons to a 28-14 non-district victory over the Spartans. To keep their season alive, Washington will have to beat Solon again tonight at Case Field in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

A switch at quarterback has propelled Solon into the playoffs as senior Brandon Childs has taken a majority of the snaps under center since the week 5 loss to the Demons. Solon finished the regular season winning three of their final four games, averaging 31.5 points per game during the stretch.

Solon head football coach Kevin Miller said the quarterback switch was made when his team was still trying to find their identity, “We made that move to go with Brandon (Childs) just because we feel he does give us a dimension at the quarterback position that allows us to run the football.” Miller said, “We can utilize his speed to attack the edge or throwing the football as well.”

Since taking over as the Spartans signal caller, Childs has amassed over 860 yards of total offense and scoring 12 touchdowns. The senior has also had success against the Demons in the past. Childs was the starting quarterback when Solon edged Washington, 28-17 last season at Spartan Stadium. He completed five of his 10 passes for 84 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory.

Washington’s defense will try to rebound after allowing 123 yards rushing to Davenport Assumption quarterback Joe Argo. Argo found the endzone on three separate occasions, assisting the Knights in a 33-24 victory over Washington and clinch the district 5 championship. The only quarterback to rush for more yards than Argo did against the Demon defense was Pella senior quarterback Noah Clayberg. The returning all-state quarterback for the Little Dutch rushed for 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 42-24 victory over the Demons in week one of the regular season.

The Class 3A playoffs are set to kickoff this evening at 7 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage from Case Field begins with the Washington Hy-Vee Pregame Show at 6:30 p.m. on FM 106.1 and KCIIRadio.com.