The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Euclid struggles in loss to Solon
Mistakes and missed opportunites put Euclid in a 19-point hole halfway through the second quarter at Solon.
That was too much to overcome Sept. 23 in a 33-13 loss.
The Euclid offense finally generated momentum and drove into Comet real estate.
The Panthers faced a fourth down at the Solon 8, and Euclid coach Jeff Rotsky and staff went to a gadget double-pass play, from Noah Mitchell to Arquon Bush to Jovon Owens, who stood alone in the back corner of the end zone. Euclid was on the board, and close to clawing back into the game.
Then a flag arced out of a referee’s hand, the causation of which was a determination Bush was not behind Mitchell when he caught the first pass. As a result, his pass to Owens was an illegal forward pass, Euclid’s touchdown was negated and Solon took over on downs.
Bush appeared to be behind Mitchell on the initial pass, a theory seemingly confirmed by replays shown on the Comets’ large video scoreboard planted behind the end zone in which the play in question occurred.
Solon followed with a scoring drive that put the Comets in control en route to a victory in a matchup between two Greater Cleveland Conference teams.
“The fact that was a touchdown off the board and that killed us,” Rotsky said. “It was a touchdown. It was a touchdown, it was clear on the board it was a touchdown. It was a touchdown.”
But Euclid, Rotsky said, won’t make excuses. Despite the misfortune, the Panthers put themselves into their hole with turnovers. Solon extended its lead to 13-0 when Bush fumbled a screen pass which Ryan McCurry returned 50 yards to the end zone.
“We can’t turn the ball over in the first half,” Rotsky said. “We can’t fumble the ball, we can’t lose the ball.”
The Panthers were the Comets’ homecoming opponent, a team of a higher caliber than most a school would schedule for the occasion. Solon coach Jim McQuaide also didn’t carry the same attitude most teams may carry into a homecoming game when virtually guaranteed a win against a cupcake, as the Comets lost to Euclid last year.
“We have a great deal of respect for them,” McQuaide said. “We were very nervous — they beat us last year and they’re very explosive this year.”
McQuaide credited his team’s explosive scoring plays, spurred by Euclid’s turnovers on offense and missed defensive assignments, for staking the Comets to an early lead which the Panthers never threatened.
Euclid righted itself out of halftime and forced a pair of Solon three-and-outs to start the third quarter. In between, Mitchell put the Panthers on the board with a touchdown pass to Owens on fourth down. After Joe Bubonics threw his third touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, Reggie Wilkerson’s 7-yard run capped the evening’s scoring with nine minutes to play.
Solon’s explosiveness was limited in the second half, as the Panthers secured tackles better and continued to stifle the Comets’ running game. If Euclid played like it did in the first in the second, Rotsky said, the game may have proceeded differently.
At the regular season’s midpoint, Rotsky hopes the team which showed up in the second half is the one he sees for the rest of the year.
“That’s how we better play or else it’s going to be a long year,” Rotsky said.