They have met on the football field 50 times in the past but only one game matters when Solon makes the short bus trip down the road to Twinsburg Friday night. The Comets and the Tigers will renew one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in the area with computer points, a possible NOC Valley Division crown and a lot of pride on the line. Solon, ranked 13th in the state poll, is coming off a 44-20 loss to unbeaten Mentor, snapping the Comets' 20-game home winning streak. Twinsburg once again had its offense in high gear in a 42-21 rout of Brunswick and is tied for the division lead with …

The unstoppable offense against the unyielding defense. A battle for first place in the NOC Valley Division. A 26-game regular season unbeaten streak. And enough computer points to virtually guarantee a top seed in Division I, Region 1. Other than that, there's not much on the line when Solon hosts Mentor in what many are calling the Game of the Year at 7:15 Thursday night. The contest will be televised live on Fox Sports Ohio. This is the one the fans were talking about during the summer. A game pitting the high-flying Cardinals, ranked third in the state poll, against the stout defense of …

The fun and games are over. It's time to get down to business for the Solon football team. The unbeaten Comets, coming off a 48-0 conquest of Normandy, begin defense of their NOC Valley Division title Friday night at Medina. Solon has cruised through its first five games but the second half of the schedule is full of potential pitfalls. "We told our guys that was kind of like the pre-season," said Comet head coach Jim McQuaide of the first five games. "Now we have to start defending that championship. We've won it the last two years and we don't want to give it up." Solon is ranked fourth in …

The first time Darian Hicks returned a punt in a varsity football game he lost five yards. He's been making up for it ever since. Hicks, Solon's talented junior cornerback, wideout and kick returner, has already put together a season's worth of highlights in just a month of games. The elusive 5-10, 170-pound junior has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and just missed his fourth against North Royalton Friday night. Hicks returned a kick 91 yards for a touchdown in the Comets' dominating 62-20 victory and set up a touchdown with an 80-yard kick return. A talented athlete who is a standout…

Little things mean a lot during the course of the high school football season. "When you reach this point in the season you sometimes lose attention to detail," said Solon head coach Jim McQuaide. "We have to make sure we pay attention to the little things." A lot of Northeast Ohio football fans are paying attention to the Comets, who take an unbeaten 3-0 mark into Friday night's homecoming contest against North Royalton. Solon, ranked 11th in the Division I state poll, is coming off an impressive 28-2 win over visiting Akron Buchtel last week as the Comets continue to take care of business…

You would be hard-pressed to find an Ohio high school football team with a tougher first three weeks of the season than Akron Buchtel. The Griffins opened the season at Massillon and then went on the road to play at Steubenville. The week three opponent? None other than Solon, which brings a 22-game regular season win streak into the game along with an 18-game home winning streak. Buchtel, a Division III state finalist last year, lost 25 players to graduation, but the athletic Griffins remain a serious threat to the Comets on Friday night. "They were in the state finals last year, I don't …

Editor's Note: Every Wednesday during football season, stop by Solon Patch to read our newest entry in "Comet Corner: Football Edition." The weekly column by Barry Goodrich will focus on the players and their accomplishments as the Comets season rolls on. Have ideas for the column? E-mail Editor Chris Mazzolini at chrism@patch.com. At 6-3 and 270 pounds, it's easy to notice Solon senior center Austin Stock. In fact, Stock is getting noticed by such teams as Michigan, Michgan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford, North Carolina State, Harvard, Air Force, Cincinnati and Purdue. "…

It was definitely not business as usual for the Solon volleyball team last season. The Lady Comets, traditionally one of the top Divsion I programs in the state of Ohio, endured a tough 9-15 season that came to a close with a district semifinal setback at the hands of Brecksville-Broadview Heights. A key injury and an inexperienced lineup made for an uphill battle for Solon. The Lady Comets have become accustomed to success over the years. Head coach Missy FitzGerald led the team to the state Final Four in both 2000 and 2006 and the program has also produced several NCAA Division I standouts…

This has been a sensational summer for Solon senior Matt Smoral. Smoral pitched Thursday night for the Midland Redskins in the Connie Mack World Series. The Redskins, 12-time winners of the event, will play again tonight with hopes of reaching Saturday night's championship game in Farmington, NM. Smoral will then catch a flight to San Diego, where he will be one of just 46 players selected to play in Sunday's Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park. His parents will be on hand to witness him pitch as he caps off a week to remember. The All-American Classic will be televised by the CBS…

Solon cross country coach Stephen Cerne is a big believer in the old adage "It's not where you start, it's where you finish." That could well be the motto for the 2011 Comets, who just may have one of the best, if not the best, teams in school history. Solon lost just one runner from last year's team that placed 13th in the state in Division I after fourth place finishes at both the district and regional events. Following Cerne's coaching philosophy of hanging back at the start of each race and finishing with a flourish, this season's Comet team has good reason for high hopes. "To be honest, …

Solon's version of the PGA Tour's Qualifying School gets under way Monday morning at Grantwood Golf Course when potential Comet players will tee off for the first of four rounds. Players who can consistently score well will make it to the varsity and junior varsity teams. Monday's first round of nine holes will be followed by three straight 18-hole rounds to determine the top players for the 2011 season. "We usually get about 30 kids trying out and we keep about half of them," said seventh-year head coach Jeff Aker. "It's very competitive. We base it mainly on scores but also grade level. It …

After being baked by an unrelenting summer sun, Solon's soccer team will be ready to turn up the heat on its foes this season. Solon's varsity and junior varsity teams have enjoyed a successful summer and are ready for the upcoming regular season. The Comets participated in tournaments at Jackson High School, Bowling Green State University and Canfield in addition to regular strength, speed and agility drills. There were no lazy days spent reclining in hammocks and sipping on lemonade for these players. "This is what we do every summer," said varsity head coach Ryan Conner. "We have had a …

The Solon Stars swim club was slated to host the prestigious USA Swimming Summer Speedo Championship Series Sectionals in 2012, but when Michigan could not hold the 2011 event, the Stars came to the rescue. The Solon club, under the direction of Mike Davidson, will host the meet July 21-24 at the Cleveland State University natatorium. And it will be no small feat to run the event, which will draw between 550 and 700 swimmers from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Not to mention one swimmer who will be coming all the way from Mexico. "Normally this is…

Bob DiBiasio has seen it all in his 32 years with the Cleveland Indians. Good times, bad times and times that challenged the loyalty of Cleveland sports fans. DiBiasio, the Tribe's longtime vice president of public relations, was there for the glory days of Jacobs Field when the Indians sold out entire seasons instead of select games. He was there at the old Municipal Stadium on nights when the vendors made more noise than the fans. Today, with the team a half game out of first place in the American League Central Division, the Solon resident still has his work cut out for him as the Indians …

Solon athletic director Mark McGuire is one of the lucky ones -- not only does he oversee one of the state's top programs, he has also avoided the dreaded pay-to-play scenario that has found its way into many high schools throughout Northeast Ohio. A recent across-the-board agreement that freezes pay raises for Solon teachers and  those holding supplemental contracts has kept Comet athletes out of the pay-to-play controversy. Solon is one of just four of the 18 Northeast Ohio Conference schools without a pay-to-participate requirement ranging from $50 to $660 per sport. That $660 figure is …

Calling Bob Patton a winner is not only a compliment, it's also a fact. The 39-year-old Patton is the new head coach of the boys' basketball team at Solon and that is good news for Comet hoops fans. Wherever Patton has played and coached, winning basketball has been a part of the equation. Patton was a high school standout while playing for his father's Youngstown Liberty teams. In 1990, he was named Mr. Ohio Basketball as he led Liberty to the Division III state finals. From there, Patton went on to play for Stanford, which promptly won the NIT in 1991. The following season, Stanford made …

The moment A.J. Hicks had worked for his entire high school career had just vanished. One of the favorites to win the Division I state shot put title, Hicks had fouled on his first two throws and then failed to place in the event. But there was one more moment to come. And it would provide Hicks and those assembled in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium a memory for a lifetime. After assuring himself of the state title in the discus, Hicks let loose with a throw that carried through the late spring sky in Columbus. After the discus had landed, he heard an official saying the number 200. As in 200 …

For the record, this just might be the best track and field team in Solon High School history. The Comets are not only deep but possess great individual talent. The team's 18-year dual meet winning streak remains intact and several school records have already been broken or are in jeopardy. Solon seems destined to win this week's Division I district meet at Ravenna and the Comets will be a force at next week's regional meet at Austintown-Fitch. So far, so good. "There have been no surprises and that's a good thing for us," said head coach Dan Iwan. "The guys have been doing a good job of …

My first tee shot of the golf season ended up on the driving range at Grantwood. Not to worry -- a mulligan was immediately granted by my playing partner. The second shot stayed in bounds but there were several more to follow. The scorecard was a secondary consideration during my round at Grantwood, a course I have played many times over the years. Grantwood has always been a favorite of Solon residents and golfers from all over Northeast Ohio and Wednesday's near-80-degree temperatures under a sunny sky brought out a large turnout of players. Grantwood is both affordable and a challenge for …

The high school tennis season is really two seasons – one with a state team tournament and another with an indivdiual competition. And Solon's netters are experiencing the best of both worlds this spring. The unbeaten Comets (10-0) are currently ranked No. 8 in the state among all Division I teams. They have already advanced with two wins in the state team tournament by eliminating Massillon Perry and Avon. Solon also has a team that figures to make plenty of noise at next week's sectional tournament, when it will have the added benefit of home court advantage. Today, the Comets will go after…