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Mentor continues mastery over Comets
(by Steve Novak - September 11, 2008)
Mentor continues mastery over Comets
By STEVE NOVAK
Fans who went to Jerome T. Osborne Stadium in Mentor to see a good high school football game last Friday night weren't disappointed. The already well-established rivalry between Solon and Mentor was scheduled for its annual appearance. The fact that the game was decided by only two points was a testament to how closely the two teams were matched.
Mentor earned a 26-24 victor over the previously undefeated Comets, largely by virtue of a second-half surge. The Cardinals trailed Solon, 17-13, at halftime, but a touchdown pass in the third quarter and a two-yard score in the fourth period gave Mentor the win.
The win was the fifth consecutive for the Cardinals over the Comets, including post-season contests in 2006 and 2007. The Comets haven't beaten Mentor since a 34-17 triumph in the regular season in 2005. The victory was Mentor's 15th straight at home.
For Solon (2-1), it was the first loss of the season, after opening with wins over Canton McKinley and Massillon Jackson. Solon heads into Week 4 facing Mayfield, which also is 2-1, and went four games deep into the playoffs last season. The Wildcats lost to Olmsted Falls last week, 21-14.
Solon coach Jim McQuaide said his team has three tough games behind it already this season, and said that can only help to keep his team ready when it travels to Mayfield at 7:30 p.m. Friday night in a nonconference game.
"Look at the first three games," he said. "We're 2-1, and we played three pretty good teams. Now we go on to Mayfield. This is a huge game coming up, but we have to get back on track."
More than anything else about the Mentor game, McQuaide said he was surprised about the divergence between his team's ground game and the passing attack.
"Anyone would have guessed beforehand that we would be more effective with our running game," he said. "Instead it was just the opposite. They shut down our running game, but we threw the ball well."
Solon quarterback Jake Voigt almost had his second 200-plus yardage game in a row. Last Friday, Voigt completed 15 of 23 passes for 196 yards. One of the tosses was a 20-yard TD strike to Brian Meyerson in the fourth quarter to make it 26-24.
Brian Meyerson gained 67 yards on four catches and Eric Smoloff added 47 yards on three passes.
Juan Lemus rushed for 57 yards on 10 tries and Kyle Hammonds added 38yards on 10 attempts.
McQuaide singled out the defensive work of linebackers Joe Janasek and Tony Davidson. Janasek had 20 tackles and Davidson was right behind with 17 tackles.
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