SOLON — James Morris certainly knows his way to the end zone and he showed that in his latest playoff performance.  Morris rushed for five first-half touchdowns leading No. 1 Solon to a 42-7 Class 2A state quarterfinal victory Friday night over host Iowa City Regina.

The Spartans eased Coach Kevin Miller’s uneasiness about playing four games in 14 days, winning a 39th straight game and racking up 347 rushing yards.

“I thought we came out and performed admirably well,” Miller said. “I thought we played physical,” Solon Coach Kevin Miller said. “We executed pretty well.”

Solon ceased control immediately, stuffing fifth-ranked Regina’s 4th-and-1 attempt on its opening drive on its own 45 and scoring on a 33-yard Morris touchdown run. He turned the right corner and cutting back twice for the score and a 7-0 lead.  His biggest play was his final score — a 57-yard TD run late in the second to make it 35-0. Morris bounced outside, broke a couple tackles and then out ran everyone to the end zone.

“Our mindset is we’re not trying to get five yards. We’re trying to score touchdowns,” Morris said. “I think that’s reflective of how we play and it kind of shines through some times.”

Morris, who finished 161 yards rushing with 153 in the first half, ran through and around the Regals defense for three more TDs of 10, 1 and 12 yards.

“I just go out and try to play football,” Morris said. “My teammates play hard and when everybody is going hard and doing their job things gel and that’s when you get big plays.”

Quarterback Wes Sleeper gave his team a 35-0 lead and a continuous clock for the third straight playoff game with a 17-yard run in the third quarter. Sleeper ran for 90 yards and completed a 31-yard pass to Dean Klosterman on his only pass attempt.

“I think it’s pretty evident when we have Wes and James back there we have a pretty lethal combination,” Miller said, “That’s something we’re excited about as we move through the playoffs.”

Solon (12-0) faces North Fayette (12-0) in a state semifinal contest Monday, Nov. 16, at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

“I kind of had them picked on the calendar all year,” Morris said of the Hawks. “You just kind of knew those trains were going to run into each other, so it’s going to be a good ballgame.” Regina got on the board right before half when quarterback Jack Verducci hit Sean Sullivan on a 53-yard scoring pass to make it 35-7 at the half. Verducci had 125 passing yards to lead the Regals, who finished 10-2 with both losses to Solon.

“I’m extremely proud of this group of guys,” said Regina Coach Marv Cook, praising the senior class. “We’ll just use this as a building block.”