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Solon extends home win streak to 20
(by Tony Lange - September 22, 2011)
Solon extends home win streak to 20
By TONY LANGE
Solon (4-0) routed North Royalton (1-3) last Friday at Stewart Field, a 62-20 triumph that allowed the Comets to extend their home-winning streak to 20.
Starting running back George Berry helped the Comets get out to an early lead with his 2-yard rushing touchdown and a fumble recovery touchdown in the first quarter. He had 67 yards on six carries in the game.
"He did a good job on both sides," head coach Jim McQuaide said. "He's been starting at linebacker all year long and now he's stepping in at running back. He's a young guy who continues to get better each week."
Also scoring in the first quarter, Cory Stuart caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Kramer.
Kramer was 7 of 10 passing for 117 yards and three touchdowns.
In the second quarter, North Royalton struck first with a 53-yard touchdown run to make it a 21-7 ballgame.
Darian Hicks and Ryan Schwenke quickly turned the momentum back in the Comets' favor. Hicks returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards and Schwenke caught a 5-yard pass to convert Solon's short field into a touchdown.
"That touchdown was a big play in the game, because they had scored to make it 21-7," McQuaide said. "That touchdown that Ryan had, North Royalton had a chance to get back into the game and that kind of stopped that."
Twenty seconds after Schwenke scored on offense, he ran an interception back 46 yards for another touchdown. Nine seconds after that, Justin Kresevic scored a touchdown for Solon on a 15-yard fumble recovery.
Those three touchdowns in less than 30 seconds gave the Comets a 42-7 heading into the half.
To open the second half, Hicks returned the kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. It was his third kickoff return for a touchdown this season. In four games, he has 383 yards on six kickoff returns, which is a 63.8-yards average. Not to mention, he has six receptions for 34 yards on offense and nine tackles and one interception on defense.
"He's been a great weapon for us," McQuaide said. "He's a great defensive player and a good receiver. He's made a lot of plays up to this point in the season."
McQuaide said that special teams are a part of practice just as the offense and defense are and the Comets have certain types of returns they work on each week.
Also in the third quarter, Cameron Bell scored on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Kramer.
Brandon Byrd capped off the scoring with a 67-yard touchdown run in the fourth.
"A lot of players were able to contribute to the win," McQuaide said. "If we can get other guys in the game, we would like to do that."
With big kickoff returns, the Comets' offense gained 154 yards rushing and 117 passing to outdo North Royalton 271 yards to 188 yards of total offense.
"Our defense and entire team came out very, very aggressive," McQuaide said. "We worked all week at taking the action to the opponent and dictating the action and I thought that was one of the strengths of the game is that we came out very aggressive and played our game."
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