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Comets close in on perfect regular season
(by Tony Lange - October 27, 2010)
Comets close in on perfect regular season
By TONY LANGE
Playing its last home game of the regular season at Stewart Field, Solon polished up the defense again. With a dominant first half, the Comets cruised to a 36-6 victory over Medina last Friday in Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division matchup.
The Comets, who have won 19 straight regular-season games, improved to 9-0 overall and 4-0 in the division, heading into Friday night's showdown at Pat Catan Stadium in Strongsville. The Mustangs are 3-1 in the division and 6-3 overall.
The Comets also remain in second place in their region behind Cleveland Glenville in the computer rankings.
Medina (7-2, 2-2) had 22 offensive plays in the first 24 minutes of action, but gained only 10 yards.
Solon definitely executed, head coach Jim McQuaide said. Medina was averaging 33 points per game and its tailback had rushed for 1,300 yards. Solon held him to just seven yards on his first 16 carries, he said.
"We worked very hard to stop their running game," McQuaide said. "When you're stopping someone from running the ball the way they have all year, there were many times when we had nine, 10, 11 guys around the ball, which that is when we play the best. The defensive coaches and players deserve a ton of credit. They totally dictated the tempo of the game."
Thie season, the Comets' defense has held opponents scoreless in 26 of 36 quarters. They have shutout opponents in the third quarter.
Offensively, the Comets are averaging 7.5 yards per play.
Leading rusher Kyle Hammonds carried the ball for 143 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns against Medina. His performance catapulted him into the 1,000-yard club. He is averaging eight yards per carry with 14 touchdowns this season. He also has 17 receptions.
Anthony Restifo and Khoury Crenshaw also scored touchdowns against Medina.
Restifo's score came on a second-quarter pass from Chris Humphrey. Crenshaw found the end zone on an 85-yard run in the fourth.
Humphrey was three of four passing for 30 yards. The Comets had 292 rushing yards.
However, it all revolved around the defense, McQuaide said.
"We had great field position," he said. "We downed three punts inside their five-yard line, which helped us change the game-field position. It was just a good effort. Medina was 7-1 coming in."
The punting teams set up the Comets' third-quarter safety by Nate Hoff. Medina had the ball inside its two-yard line, McQuaide said.
"It started by Vince Hill, our defensive tackle," McQuaide said. "He started it and other guys joined in on the tackle, but he initiated the safety. He just made a good run and played his position and tackled the guy in the backfield and he was approaching the line of scrimmage."
Leading receiver for the Comets was Cory Stuart with four catches for 37 yards. George Berry had 10 tackles.
Medina scored in the fourth quarter.
The Comets are looking to repeat another undefeated regular season.
"We're going to be 10-0," McQuaide said. "Being 10-0 one time is a great accomplishment. This is going to be 10-0 two years in a row, which I think is a pretty big deal, especially for our seniors to leave saying that their varsity junior and senior years that they were undefeated. That's a fantastic accomplishment to be the outright champs of our league."
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