🐾 DOG HOUSE GAME TO WATCH
THE HIGHWAY 1 SHOWDOWN
Nine Miles. Two Unbeaten Teams. One Rivalry Loaded With History.
There are football rivalries created by conference championships. Others are born through playoff battles, heartbreaking losses and unforgettable finishes.
Then there are rivalries where the other team is practically right down the road.
Solon and Mount Vernon are separated by roughly nine miles along Iowa Highway 1.
About 15 minutes.
That’s it.
On most days, Highway 1 connects these two eastern Iowa communities.
On Friday, September 11, 2026, it will divide them.
Solon Spartans — 2-0.
Mount Vernon Mustangs — 2-0.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM, and after looking through the numbers, history and connections surrounding this matchup, this has all the ingredients of one of the premier games on the Iowa high school football schedule.
This isn’t just Week 3.
This is the Highway 1 Showdown.
⚔️ HISTORY SAYS SOLON
Before getting into what these teams have done in 2026, you have to understand what this rivalry has looked like.
Since 2008:
SOLON LEADS THE SERIES 17-2.
That’s domination.
But there’s an incredible wrinkle to those two Mount Vernon victories.
They both came in 2022.
Mount Vernon didn’t just finally break through against Solon that season.
The Mustangs beat the Spartans twice.
Mount Vernon won the regular-season meeting 17-14 and then saw Solon again in the Class 3A postseason.
The second meeting wasn’t nearly as close.
Mount Vernon 17, Solon 0.
Two victories over Solon in one season.
Those remain Mount Vernon’s only victories over the Spartans in this series since 2008.
Solon has since reestablished control.
2023: Solon 37, Mount Vernon 20
2024: Solon 7, Mount Vernon 6
2025: Solon 35, Mount Vernon 20
Three straight.
Now comes 2026.
And this Mount Vernon team might have enough firepower to make things extremely interesting.
🐎 MOUNT VERNON: PICK YOUR POISON
If you haven’t looked at Mount Vernon’s offensive statistics yet, here’s the number that should immediately get your attention:
85.3%.
That’s the Mustangs’ team completion percentage.
Not one quarterback.
Two.
Junior Noah Olsen has completed 16 of 19 passes for 240 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Junior Easton Reasland has completed 13 of 15 for 202 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Put them together:
29-of-34
442 yards
8 touchdowns
0 interceptions
85.3% completion rate
That’s remarkable efficiency.
And here’s what makes Mount Vernon even more difficult to prepare for:
They can run the football, too.
The Mustangs have accumulated 457 rushing yards.
That gives Mount Vernon:
457 rushing yards.
442 passing yards.
899 total offensive yards.
That’s almost perfect offensive balance.
Defensively, how do you pick what you’re going to take away?
Load the box?
They’ve thrown eight touchdown passes.
Back your safeties up?
They’ve rushed for 457 yards.
Try to pressure the quarterback?
Both quarterbacks are completing better than 84% of their passes.
Pick your poison.
🔥 HOLDEN HLAVACEK IS A PROBLEM
Then you find #6 Holden Hlavacek.
Thirteen receptions.
183 yards.
Five touchdowns.
Nearly 39% of his receptions have resulted in touchdowns.
But Mount Vernon has more than one receiving threat.
Maddox Curran has six receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns.
Luke Robinson has two receptions for 52 yards, averaging 26 yards per catch.
Tommy Rhomberg has a 42-yard reception.
Graham Yanda has a 20-yard touchdown reception.
Jakob Yock has five receptions for 48 yards.
Mount Vernon isn’t giving a defense one guy to erase.
They’re making you defend the entire field.
⚔️ SOLON: THEN THERE’S MADDOX KELLEY
Mount Vernon has balance.
Solon has one of the most dangerous individual offensive weapons we’ve looked at so far.
#4 Maddox Kelley.
The senior quarterback has completed 16 of 25 passes for 292 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Good numbers.
Then look at the rushing column.
20 carries.
269 yards.
13.5 yards per carry.
Four touchdowns.
Long of 71.
Put it together and Kelley has accounted for:
561 yards of offense
10 touchdowns
ZERO interceptions
That’s a nightmare to defend.
You can design the perfect pressure.
You can cover everybody.
You can win the first three seconds of the play.
And Kelley can escape the pocket and turn it into six points.
💥 KADEN HOEPER MAKES YOU PAY
If you become too concerned about Kelley running the football, Solon has another answer.
Kaden Hoeper.
Seven receptions.
168 yards.
24 yards per catch.
Five touchdowns.
That’s incredible production on only seven receptions.
Solon doesn’t need to throw Hoeper 15 passes.
They need you to lose him once.
That’s the problem.
Commit another defender to Kelley and suddenly Hoeper gets a favorable matchup.
Stay deep to protect against Hoeper and Kelley can hurt you underneath or with his legs.
That’s the chess match Mount Vernon faces.
📊 TWO OFFENSES THAT CAN LIGHT UP A SCOREBOARD
Look at these numbers side by side.
SOLON
481 rushing yards
312 passing yards
793 total yards
7 passing TD
5 rushing TD
0 interceptions thrown
MOUNT VERNON
457 rushing yards
442 passing yards
899 total yards
8 passing TD
0 interceptions thrown
There isn’t much separation there.
And remember:
Neither team’s quarterbacks have thrown an interception.
That makes the turnover battle Friday night enormous.
🛡️ DON’T OVERLOOK THESE DEFENSES
With all the offensive firepower, it would be easy to assume this is destined to become a track meet.
Not necessarily.
Solon has recorded:
13 tackles for loss.
3 sacks.
3 interceptions.
Mount Vernon has recorded:
16 tackles for loss.
6 sacks.
These defenses aren’t simply hanging around while their offenses score points.
They’re creating negative plays.
Mount Vernon has been especially disruptive around the line of scrimmage.
But against Kelley, aggression comes with consequences.
Lose your rush lane.
Get too far upfield.
Lose contain.
And #4 could be gone.
Mount Vernon’s defensive front doesn’t necessarily need sacks Friday night.
It needs discipline.
Keep Kelley inside.
Make him work through his progression.
Tackle him when you get the opportunity.
And don’t allow a five-yard scramble to become 50.
🐾 DOG HOUSE KEY: THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE
Everybody will talk about Kelley.
They’ll talk about Olsen and Reasland.
They’ll talk about Hoeper and Hlavacek.
I’m watching the big guys.
Mount Vernon’s defense has produced 16 tackles for loss and six sacks.
Solon’s defense has generated 13 tackles for loss.
Whichever team controls the line of scrimmage without sacrificing its ability to defend the explosive play is going to have a major advantage.
Because these offenses have shown they don’t need many opportunities.
Give either one a short field and you may be walking back to receive another kickoff.
🎙️ THE COACH SHOW CONNECTION
This matchup has another special connection for us at the Dog House.
Both programs have ties to The Coach Show.
On the Solon sideline is Head Coach Lucas Stanton, who has joined us on The Coach Show and now leads a Spartan program carrying the expectations that come with this rivalry’s remarkable history.
A 17-2 advantage since 2008 doesn’t happen by accident.
It comes from culture.
Expectations.
Development.
Consistency.
And generations of players understanding what putting on a Solon uniform means.
Across Highway 1 is another Coach Show connection.
Mount Vernon assistant coach Preston Petersen, who also heads the Mustangs’ weight program.
That second title shouldn’t be overlooked.
Friday night football begins long before Friday night.
It begins during winter workouts.
It begins underneath a squat rack.
It begins with early mornings when there aren’t any fans in the stands.
It begins when nobody is watching.
And when you see Mount Vernon producing 457 rushing yards, 16 tackles for loss and six sacks, you’re seeing some of that physical development show itself on Friday night.
That’s something we’ve always wanted The Coach Show to highlight.
Football programs aren’t built solely by the person wearing the head coach’s headset.
They’re built by entire staffs.
Head coaches.
Coordinators.
Position coaches.
Strength coaches.
And countless people working behind the scenes developing young men.
Friday night we’ll have familiar faces on both sidelines.
Coach Lucas Stanton with Solon.
Coach Preston Petersen with Mount Vernon.
Two Coach Show connections.
One rivalry.
🐾 CAN MOUNT VERNON RECREATE 2022?
This may be the biggest storyline of them all.
Mount Vernon knows Solon can be beaten.
They’ve done it.
The problem?
Since 2008, they’ve only done it during one season.
2022.
Twice.
Now Mount Vernon gets another opportunity with a team that has opened 2026 playing some incredibly efficient football.
The Mustangs aren’t entering this matchup hoping history somehow changes.
They have the personnel to try to change it themselves.
But Solon isn’t living off its history either.
The Spartans are 2-0, Kelley is accounting for touchdowns at a ridiculous rate, Hoeper is turning receptions into six points and the Solon defense is creating turnovers.
This isn’t the old king trying to protect a reputation.
Solon looks plenty dangerous right now.
🐾 THE DOG HOUSE KEYS TO THE HIGHWAY
Four things will tell us a lot Friday night: explosive plays, quarterback containment, turnovers and tackling in space.
Can Mount Vernon keep Kelley from turning broken plays into touchdowns?
Can Solon disrupt an offense completing 85.3% of its passes without opening running lanes?
Can Mount Vernon prevent Hoeper from getting behind the secondary?
Can Solon account for Hlavacek without allowing Mount Vernon’s other weapons to take over?
And then comes the simplest question:
Who makes the first mistake?
Neither passing attack has thrown an interception.
That can’t last forever.
If one defense steals a possession Friday night, it could become the play everybody talks about Saturday morning.
NINE MILES
That’s where I’ll finish.
Nine miles.
About 15 minutes.
That’s what separates Solon and Mount Vernon.
These kids don’t need a map to find each other.
These communities don’t need an introduction.
They know the history.
They know the names.
They know the colors.
And they know what this game means.
Since 2008:
SOLON — 17 WINS
MOUNT VERNON — 2 WINS
Both Mount Vernon victories came in the magical 2022 season.
Solon has answered with three consecutive victories.
Now both programs arrive at the next chapter 2-0.
Mount Vernon has an opportunity to show that 2026 could be the beginning of something different.
Solon has an opportunity to send the same message it has delivered repeatedly for nearly two decades:
Highway 1 still runs through Spartan country.
On most days, Highway 1 connects these communities.
Friday night, it divides them.
Solon vs. Mount Vernon.
Friday, September 11, 2026.
7:00 PM.
Two undefeated teams.
Two Coach Show connections.
Nine miles.
One Highway.
One rivalry.
And one heck of a Friday night football game.
🐾🏈 THE DOG HOUSE GAME TO WATCH: THE HIGHWAY 1 SHOWDOWN.
Coaching Culture In Athletics 