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As defense delivers, Comets blank Knights
(by Tony Lange - October 20, 2010)
As defense delivers, Comets blank Knights
By TONY LANGE
Back at Stewart Field last Friday, the Solon Comets (8-0, 3-0) treated themselves to another win for Senior Night with their 45-0 triumph over Nordonia (2-6, 0-3). They held the Knights to just 138 yards and seven first downs.
Each week, the Comets' locker-room goals always start with playing good defense, head coach Jim McQuaide said. "We expect our defense to play well, we expect our defense to lead the way, and I think we've done that."
In the Nordonia game, the Comets did a good job of limiting penalties, which was a change from the previous week, when flags colored the field yellow. Solon did what it was supposed to do, McQuaide said.
"That's our biggest challenge right now is, we want to work to get better," he said. "In everything we do, there is something we could do better."
Starting the scoring for the Comets was Cory Stuart, who caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Chris Humphrey in the final minute of the first quarter. Stuart finished with two catches for 26 yards.
Tres Barksdale also had two catches for 15 yards, but Stuart's score was the only passing touchdown of the night.
The way that the offense is set up, is anybody can make a play at any time, McQuaide said. Solon always wants to be balanced throwing the ball and running the ball, but, if something is working, the Comets will take advantage that route.
Through week eight, the Comets have 969 rushing yards and 2,061 passing yards.
"We haven't had anybody complaining about not getting the ball enough or not scoring enough," McQuaide said. "If one guy scores, we all score," he said.
"We don't look at it as one guy hasn't scored enough. If they're covering Tres, then that means Cory is open. If they're covering Cory, then AJ Hicks is open," he said. "That's how we do it."
The Comets call a passing play and don't guarantee the ball is going to go to a specific guy. They always have options available on every play, McQuaide said.
In the second quarter, the Comets scored four touchdowns. Humphrey had two of them. The first was on a 45-yard fumble recovery. The second was a 49-yard run with 10 seconds left in the half.
Kyle Hammonds scored on a 5-yard run. He rushed the ball 100 yards on five carries. He has 870 rushing yards on the season.
Ryan Schwenke, who plays full time in the defensive backfield, added to the second-quarter end-zone rally on a 7-yard run.
Jovon Johnson and Nick Davidson are also full-time defensive standouts who split time with Schwenke at fullback, McQuaide said. "Since they're all very good players on defense, we try to use them all instead of using just one guy," he said. "So Ryan's been playing more each week, and he's part of that set of three guys that do very well for us at offense."
Alex Knight added a 23-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Khoury Crenshaw scored on a 3-yard run in the fourth.
With the victory, Solon remains the front-runner of the Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division at 3-0. Medina and Strongsville, both at 2-1, are Solon's final two opponents.
Having an 8-0 overall record at this point doesn't count for much, McQuaide said. "We haven't clinched anything," he said.
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