Rayce Heitman scored 3 TDs in the Raiders’ revenge victory
K.J. Pilcher
CEDAR FALLS — Revenge and a return to the finals.
This time, Williamsburg’s ballhawk defense and big-play pass offense was too much for Solon.
The third-ranked Raiders forced eight turnovers and Derek Weisskopf passed for four touchdowns, including two to Rayce Heitman, to avenge their only loss of the season and defeat No. 2 Solon, 45-14, in a Class 3A state football semifinal game Saturday night at the UNI-Dome.
“We knew we were going to meet them in the playoffs somewhere,” Weisskopf said. “Beating them my this much is a great feeling. Like (Williamsburg) Coach (Curt) Ritchie said a couple days (ago) in the lockerr room, we were ready for this rematch.
The rematch with Solon may not have been circled on the calendar but it was one the Raiders anxiously awaited.
“We’re usually good with revenge games,” Heitman said. “We show them how much better we got and just go win it. Get another week.”
Williamsburg (11-1) advances to the 3A championship game against Sioux City Heelan (11-1) here Friday at 1 p.m. The Raiders were the 2A runner-up last year and are making their fourth finals appearance.
“You can’t miss that feeling too much,” Heitman said. “It’s a great feeling to be back in the state championship for the second year in a row.”
Ritchie said he believes the teams that won the first game is at a disadvantage. The Raiders have had an edge in rematch games.
“The big thing is we learned from the first time,” Ritchie said. “We made some changes. The guys stuck together. They were willing to accept it and take ownership of it and get better. That showed tonight.”
Williamsburg struck first, capitalizing on good field position. The Raiders went 55 yards on seven plays. Heitman ran a sweep left for a 1-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead. The score was set up by a 36-yard pass from Weisskopf to Heitman.
Weisskopf’s arm put Williamsburg up, 14-0, in the opening minute of the second quarter. Braylon Wetjen got behind a defender, who got turned around, and Weisskopf delivered the throw on the mark for a 68-yard TD.
“Everything in the middle of the field was working, so we were definitely targeting there,” Weisskopf said.
Turnovers and big plays powered Williamsburg to a 24-0 halftime lead. Specifically, the Raiders parlayed two Solon fumbles in the last six minutes of the second quarter into points.
Weisskopf had two interceptions, while Heitman and Kellen Cockrell had one apiece.
“We found a way to get eight turnovers,” Ritchie said with a laugh. “Obviously, that’s a huge thing. It changes any ballgame.”
The second of three total Spartan first-half fumbles gave the Raiders the ball at Solon’s 37. Three plays later, Weisskopf and Heitman connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass. Weisskopf pump-faked on Heitman’s double move. Heitman jumped and caught the ball in the back right corner of the end zone, sneaking one foot just in bounds as he caught it.
“Derek threw a perfect ball,” Heitman said. “I went up and got it. Thought I got it in, looked over at the ref, signaled in and it was great news.”
Weisskopf missed a lot of the long passes in the first meeting, but he completed 12 of 19 passes. He seemed to place it where his receivers were the only ones to reel in the ball. Weisskopf said he threw to Heitman more than any other game.
“Being friends, our team bonding is great,” Heitman said of his rapport with Weisskopf. “I think this is the closest our team has ever been with each other. Having that is phenomenal and makes us really close together, knowing what we need to know.”
The pair hooked up for an 18-yard TD pass in the back of the end zone and Weisskopf added a 75-yard TD pass to Wetjen in the fourth.
Weisskopf threw for 366 yards. Heitman had 165 yards on six catches. Wetjen added 158 on four receptions.
“It was awesome,” Weisskopf said. “You’ve got to stay humble, obviously, about it. I am thankful for the line to give me plenty of time and thankful for Rayce, Braylon and all the receivers, going up and getting the balls. It’s a great feeling.”
After exchanging punts, Solon took over at its 33 with 31 seconds left. Tyler Bell hit Grant Knipper for a 17-yard gain, but Wetjen chopped at the ball during the tackle. Cockrell recovered the loose ball at midfield with 23 seconds before the half.
Weisskopf hit John Eichhorn for a 41-yard pass that led to Logan Rethwisch’s 26-yard field goal with two ticks before the break.
Solon’s Conlan Poynton scored on a 5-yard TD run late in the third to put the Spartans on the board. Tyler Bell hit Grant Knipper for a 78-yard scoring strike with 6:08 to go in the game.
Bell finished with 224 passing yards, including six passes for 139 yards to Knipper.
Even though it wasn’t the finish the large group of Solon seniors wanted, they still managed a second trip to the semifinals in three seasons and entered Saturday with a 10-game win streak.
“It was fun,” White said. “Coming in (this season), we really didn’t know any expectations, especially after the Mount Vernon win and beating them (Williamsburg) in the regualr season. Honestly, I think they’re going to win it all now. It was fun to go out and compete.”
The Spartans closed the season 10-2. Solon Coach Lucas Stanton was proud of the effort but Williamsburg was the better team Saturday.
“I told them at the end tonight doesn’t define who they are as a team and who they are as people,” Stanton said. “You look back at Game 1 and where we went from there. They grew so much as individuals and as a team.
“They had some great battles with teams throughout the year. We were able to win some gritty games, so I think that speaks to their character. We have a bunch of tough kids and tonight wasn’t our night.”
WILLIAMSBURG 45
SOLON 14
AT UNI-DOME
WILL SOL
First Downs 15 13
Rushes-yards 38-82 26-69
Passing yards 366 224
Comp-att-int 12-20-0 15-25-4
Total yards 448 293
Fumbles-lost 1-1 5-4
Punts-avg. 5-36.0 2-39.5
Penalties-yards 6-40 6-40
Williamsburg 7 17 0 21 -- 45
Solon 0 0 7 7 -- 14
WILL – Rayce Heutman 1 run (Logan Rethwisch kick)
WILL – Braylon Wetjen 68 pass from Derek Weisskopf (Rethwisch kick)
WILL – Heitman 19 pass from Weisskopf (Rethwisch kick)
WILL – FG Rethwisch 26
SOL – Conlan Poynton 6 run (Grant Knipper kick)
WILL – Heitman 18 pass from Weisskopf (Rethwisch kick)
WILL – Wetjen 75 pass from Weisskopf (Rethwisch kick)
SOL – Knipper 78 pass from Tyler Bell (Knipper kick)
WILL – Cael Moore 52 fumble return (Rethwisch kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Williamsburg: Nile Sinn 15-34, Weisskopf 9-28, Grady Wetjen 6-11, Dylan Weisskopf 5-7, Heitman 3-2. Solon: Poynton 15-61, Eddie Johnson 6-21, Brayden Miller 1-9, Bell 4-(-22).
PASSING – Williamsburg: De. Weisskopf 12-19-0-366, Heitman 0-1-0-0. Solon: Bell 15-25-4-224.
RECEIVING – Williamsburg: Heitman 6-165, B. Wetjen 4-158, John Eichhorn 1-41, Clayten Steckly 1-2. Solon: Knipper 6-139, Johnson 2-27, Brett White 2-17, Nash Kotar 2-13, Jace Janssen 1-16, Oliver Owens 1-15, Poynton 1-(-3).
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