Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Anticipation builds as Solon and Mentor face off in Game of the Year
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 Comets, ranked 10th. A loss won't end either team's season but a win just might propel the victor to even greater heights. Solon beat Mentor 31-21 …
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Solon begins quest for third straight Valley Division title
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 current Division I, Region I computer rankings behind St. Edward, Mentor and Cleveland Heights. The Comets are 11th in state poll but all of that …
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Darian Hicks getting his kicks with many happy returns for Comets
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 long jumper, high jumper and sprint relay competitor for the Solon track and field team, Hicks has been running wild every week. "He's got great …
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Comets Coach Jim McQuaide wants players to keep paying attention to details
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. "We made some plays in all three aspects of the game," said McQuaide, whose team is riding a 23-game regular season win streak and a 19-game home …
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Solon winning streaks on the line as Comets host Akron Buchtel
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 care what division it was," said Solon head coach Jim McQuaide. "They're a very good team and have some outstanding players. Massillon and Steubenville …
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Solon's Austin Stock worked out with Pro Bowler and former Brown LeCharles Bentley to prepare for his senior season
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. "My top three right now are Michigan State, Penn State and North Carolina State," said Stock. "After that it would be teams in the Ivy League or …
Friday, August 12, 2011
Solon hurler Smoral gaining national recognition in Connie Mack and All-American Classic
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 College Sports Network at 8 p.m. Sunday. "This is the best summer I've had," Smoral said from New Mexico before he took the mound against a team from…
Friday, August 5, 2011
The 2011 Comets just may be one of the best, if not the best, teams in school history
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, I think we have a shot to win the state championship," said Cerne. "We've got 10 or 11 guys in the mix and our top four or five are as good as anybody…
Friday, July 29, 2011
Hopefuls for Solon golf team must survive four-day, 63-hole qualifying test
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 usually comes down to a shot or two, just like a regular tournament." Aker knows something about the pressure golf can bring for players of all ages. …
Friday, July 15, 2011
'It's unbelievable,' said McQuaide. 'Here's a guy who has done a tremendous amount of things for Ohio high school football and this was just a way to thank him for that.'
All Jim McQuaide wanted to do was pay tribute to former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel. Little did he know that his idea would morph into a statewide debate on the merits of the man who led the Buckeyes to Big Ten dominance before being brought down by scandal. McQuaide, Solon's varsity football head coach, thought it would be fitting to honor Tressel on the opening night of the 2011 high school football season by having coaches wear white shirts and ties (sweater-vests optional). The idea became an organization-wide reccomendation by the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association, which inducted Tressel into its Hall of Fame July 7. Tressel had been active in OHSFCA clinics and banquets which helped to raise scholarship funds …
