Solon football off to another strong start in Ohio

The Solon football team came within a point last season of emerging from the large shadow Glenville (Cleveland) cast over northeast Ohio.

While nobody is disputing that the Tarblooders have earned their spot at No. 13 in the Xcellent 25 High School Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard after also being a fixture last year, the Comets again are showing that they belong among the state's elite.

With a 48-14 victory last Thursday over Mayfield, Solon improved to 6-0 and is second in the Division I, Region 1 computer ratings behind Glenville. The Comets have a member of Ohio State's 2010 recruiting class in senior tight end Darryl Baldwin, but it was junior Ohio University recruit Kyle Hammonds who led the way last Friday.

Hammonds rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 10 attempts to lead an offense that also included Chris Humphrey's 113 yards and three scores on just five rushes.

"Our offense is awesome, and it starts with a great front," Hammonds told the Cleveland Sun News. "They make it easy for us. And Chris in the backfield takes a lot of pressure off me."

The Comets won their first 12 games last season before falling to Glenville 28-27 in the Region 3 championship game. The Tarblooders beat Washington (Massillon) 31-17 in a state semifinal but lost to Davidson (Hilliard) 16-15 for the title.

Solon has never won a state title but has been in the playoffs 10 of the last 11 seasons, including 2000 when it was the state runner-up. Coach Jim McQuaide has been the Comets' coach since 2003. Solon plays three teams with winning records over the final four weeks.

Mayfield has made four consecutive playoff appearances and fell to 4-2 with the loss.

"We came in here in ’08 and ’06 and failed to score a point (against Mayfield),” McQuaide told the Sun News. “We had to prove that we could move the ball.”

2. Darby turnaround continues: After going 3-6 last season, Hilliard Darby improved to 6-0 last Friday with a 21-6 victory over Upper Arlington (Columbus). The Panthers' defense intercepted three passes and recovered a fumble while limiting the Bears to 55 yards rushing. They've found success this season despite having several players play on both sides of the ball, including quarterback/cornerback Matt Allen. Darby plays host to perennial area-power Coffman (Dublin) on Friday and closes the regular season Oct. 29 at Davidson (Hilliard).

3. Eastmoor, Watterson crush foes: Both Eastmoor Academy (Columbus) and Bishop Watterson (Columbus) moved one step closer to contending for Division III, Region 10 playoff berths with dominating wins last Friday.
Eastmoor, which was the 2008 state runner-up, beat South (Columbus) 82-3 to improve to 3-2. Derick Rudolph rushed for 109 yards and scored four touchdowns. Watterson bombed Greenville 72-0 a week after having a bye to move to 4-1. The Eagles outgained the Green Wave 461-37.

4. Glenville improves to 6-0: With a 51-12 victory over John F. Kennedy (Warren) last Friday, the Tarblooders have outscored their last four opponents 185-25. Quarterback Cardale Jones attempted 10 passes, with four going for touchdowns for Glenville (Cleveland), whose opponent on Friday, Lincoln West (Cleveland), is 0-6.

5. Aurora edges West Geauga: During the second half of a 17-14 win over previously unbeaten West Geauga (Chesterland) last Friday, Aurora allowed just 26 yards of offense including (minus)-9 rushing.
The Greenmen improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Chagrin Valley Conference-Chagrin Division with the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS
* Zach Sedivy, Strongsville: With starting quarterback Austin Pritchard suspended, the Mustangs turned to Sedivy last Friday and he delivered in a 34-14 win over Medina. Sedivy went 8-for-11 passing for 130 yards and three touchdowns. It was Strongsville's 22nd consecutive win over the Bees. "What a great effort by that kid," Strongsville coach Russ Jacques told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The team didn't flinch, and we had all the confidence in him."

* Elijah Scott, Bexley (Columbus): In a 42-21 win over Lakewood (Hebron) last Friday, Scott rushed for 381 yards and touchdown runs of 12, 55, 57, 60, 12 and 67 on 22 carries. The rushing total was a school record for the Lions, who improved to 3-3.

* Zach Bermejo, Northwood: Bermejo finished with a school-record six touchdowns as the Rangers rolled to a 43-13 victory over Hilltop (West Unity) last Friday. Bermejo ran for 179 yards and four touchdowns and had three receptions for 73 yards, including a 35-yard scoring pass. Bermejo also scored on an 84-yard kickoff return.

COMING THIS WEEK
* Steubenville at Washington (Massillon), football: The Tigers, who lost 13-3 to the Big Red a year ago during a season in which they ended up being Division I state semifinalists, are 5-1. Steubenville was a state semifinalist in Division III last year and is off to a 6-0 start.

* Groveport-Madison at Pickerington Central, football: Central has outscored its first three opponents in the Ohio Capital Conference-Ohio Division 113-2 and is 5-0 overall, but should face its biggest test when it meets Groveport-Madison on Friday. The Cruisers are averaging 29 points and are off to a 5-1 start.

* Dublin Coffman at Archbishop Alter (Kettering), girls volleyball: A pair of state powers will meet at noon Saturday when the Coffman volleyball team travels to Archbishop Alter. Coffman was the fourth-ranked team in the Division I state poll and was the state runner-up last year. Alter was sixth in Division II in the latest state rankings.

RECRUITING NEWS
After adding Brionte Dunn from GlenOak (Canton) and Kyle Kalis from St. Edward (Lakewood) to its 2012 recruiting class over the past month, Ohio State has continued to stay busy with offers to high school juniors. According to ScoutingOhio.com, the Buckeyes have offered scholarships to Chris Wormley of Whitmer (Toledo) and Jacoby Boren of Pickerington Central. Wormley is a 6-foot-4, 225-pound defensive lineman who also has offers from three other Big Ten schools. Boren (6-1, 250) is a defensive lineman who is the younger brother of current Buckeyes Zach Boren and Justin Boren. … Stow-Munroe Falls senior soccer player Vickie Havas will play for Northern Arizona University, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Havas is a four-year starter at forward for the Bulldogs who had nine goals as a freshman, 28 as a sophomore and 28 last season. She has 13 goals this season for the Bulldogs, who were 8-2-2 after beating Tallmadge 6-1 on Sept. 27.

BRIEFLY
Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls) girls soccer coach Dino McIntyre captured his 300th career victory last Saturday when his team beat Jackson (Massillon) 2-0 in a non-league game between two teams ranked in the top 10 in the latest Division I state poll. … Hathaway Brown (Shaker Heights) defeated defending state field hockey champion Bishop Watterson (Columbus) 2-1 last Saturday but lost to Worthington (Thomas) on the same day. After last Saturday, Watterson was 8-1-2, Hathaway Brown was 9-1-1 and Thomas (Worthington) was 11-0-1. … At the Midwest Meet of Champions last Saturday at Hilliard Bradley, La Salle (Cincinnati) finished first (107) in the boys race and Medina was second (115). Rockford (Mich.) was first (102) and Magnificat (Rocky River) was second (105) in the girls race.

Jarrod Ulrey covers Central and Northern Ohio for MaxPreps.com. He covers prep sports for ThisWeekSPORTS.com and can be reached at julrey@thisweeknews.com.