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Comets tarred by late-game stakes
(by Tony Lange - September 07, 2012)
Comets tarred by late-game stakes
By TONY LANGE
Like a left-handed jab to the face, the Comets appeared to be wearing down Glenville (1-1) last Friday at Stewart Field as Solon's George Berry scored a touchdown at the 2:18 mark of the third quarter.
Solon (1-1) led, 17-16, at that point.
That jab only woke a sleeping giant, however, as the Tarblooders followed up with a powerful cross, hook and uppercut combo that knocked the Comets out cold.
Glenville's Marshon Lattimore took an 80-yard run into the end zone the very next play after Berry's touchdown.
Lattimore then caught a 41-yard touchdown pass.
And then his teammate Herbert Walker ran 35 yards for a touchdown.
Those three scores unfolded in less than six minutes as the Tarblooders drove a stake into the Comets for the 40-17 win.
Glenville stepped it up late in the game, Solon head coach Jim McQuaide said.
"They played very well; we did not," he said. "The game was on the line, and it could have gone either way. They stepped up and made a lot of plays and took us out of the things that we wanted to do."
Backing up to the first quarter of the game, Glenville came out with a 6-0 lead after failing on a two-point conversion attempt.
At third-and-seven on their own 48, the Comets looked as if they'd answer right back, but a wide, wide open Darian Hicks sprinting down the sideline was overthrown, and the Comets came up empty.
Later in the quarter, Berry gave Solon a 7-6 lead, however, with an 11-yard slot catch from Drew Barksdale.
In the second quarter, the Tarblooders regained the lead on a fourth-and-seven 35-yard touchdown pass followed by a two-pointer for the 14-7 favor.
Before halftime, the Comets had a chance to tie things up as Khoury Crenshaw was wide open on a slant route into the end zone, but a pass his way was two steps ahead of his reach and the Comets had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Keon Hemerlein
While Solon's quarterback-receiver timing was off on more than one potential touchdown play, McQuaide said it was not any specific area that cost the Comets just their fifth home loss in their last 50 games at Stewart Field.
"You can go at any aspect - offense, defense, special teams," he said. "There's things everywhere that we have to get better at and we need to keep improving. Glenville isn't the only tough team on our schedule."
In the third quarter, the Comets got backed up in their own territory and gave up a safety during a bobbled punt, allowing the Tarblooders to take a 16-10 lead.
Solon then answered with that left jab, but the rest was a black-eyed blur for the Comets.
Glenville outgained Solon, 473 yards to 175 yards.
Leading Solon's defensive effort, John Sensibaugh tallied 18 tackles.
"We got a good lesson," McQuaide said. "Their backs were up against the wall, and now we've got our backs against the wall. So we've got to do the same thing to Akron Buchtel in week three as they did to us."
Solon hosts the Griffins at 7 p.m. Friday.
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