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Gridiron tips Comets� way against Griffs
(by Tony Lange - September 14, 2012)
Gridiron tips Comets’ way against Griffs
By TONY LANGE
After the first quarter, the gridiron seem to tip the Comets' way as Solon (2-1) scored 29 unanswered points to beat Akron Buchtel (0-3), 36-14, at Stewart Field last Friday.
The Comets started out a little slow but then came out and played well, Solon head football coach Jim McQuaide said.
"The best part was we got better as the game went along," he said. "We became more aggressive in running and getting after people, which is what we have to do to play well."
Senior running back Khoury Crenshaw got the first score of the game on a 1-yard run at the 2:56 mark of the first quarter.
But the Griffins got two quick scores on 36-yard and 15-yard touchdown runs before the quarter ended for the 14-7 lead.
The Comets' defense clicked from there, shutting out Buchtel for the remainder of the game.
McQuaide also attributed Solon's offense and special teams for keeping Buchtel off the scoreboard.
"As the game wore on, we got better offensively, defensively and special teams. We blocked a punt, we returned a punt for a touchdown. Our kick returns were really good. Our kicker has done a really good job all year," McQuaide said. "So it was all around."
In the second quarter, Darian Hicks returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown, kicker Keon Hemerlein booted a 37-yard field goal, Crenshaw had another 1-yard carry into the end zone, and senior lineman Ryan Pastor, assisted by Ben Peterson, came up with a safety.
The Comets led, 26-14, at the half.
With one second left in the third quarter, Crenshaw got his third touchdown of the night on a 21-yard rush for the 33-14 lead.
The final score of the game came with 2:57 left as Hemerlein kicked a 32-yarder through the uprights.
With 109 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns, Crenshaw had his best game of the season, McQuaide said.
"That's for sure," he said. "He ran the ball well. It looks like he's starting to feel very comfortable as far as reading blocks and making plays off of blocks, both inside and outside.
"And George Berry had a very good game on defense. He's kind of a combination of strong safety and outside linebacker, and he's very aggressive and definitely backboned our defense."
Berry ended the game with 10 tackles.
In the air, quarterback Drew Barksdale was two-of-eight passing for 13 yards.
Overall, Solon ran 53 plays for 12 first downs and 219 yards, while Buchtel ran 47 plays for eight first downs and 156 yards.
Up next, the Comets hit the road for the first time this season traveling to North Royalton (3-0) at 7 p.m. Friday for a Northeast Ohio Conference crossover game.
Solon is in the Valley Division and doesn't start league play until week six on Sept. 28 against Medina.
North Royalton is in the Metro Division.
"They have a tremendous offense," McQuaide said about North Royalton, which has scored 54 points, 38 points and 58 points in its first three games. "We'll see if we've made enough progress this week to play well and see if we can get a win our first time on the road."
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