The Solon varsity football team lost yet another game this past week against Cleveland Heights in their homecoming match-up. Overall, the team has gone 1 – 6 to start their 2023 campaign, with their only win being against Mayfield in their fourth game.
The first seven games of the 2023 season, the Comets took on Olmsted Falls, Strongsville, Shaker Heights, Nordonia, Mayfield, Mentor and Cleveland Heights. Throughout all seven games, the team scored a total of 94 points, which equates to roughly 13 points per game. Junior Luke Kormuth is entering his first year as the starting quarterback on the varsity squad, and he has faith in the offensive game plan.
“I think Coach Voigt knows what he’s doing, he makes good play calls, he knows the game,” said Kormuth. “We, as players, gotta go out there and execute.”
The Comets give up an average of 33 points per game, but senior linebacker Ian Goldfeder is more focused on just being on the same page as a defense.
“We just gotta make sure that as the leaders of the defense and the signal callers we have to make sure everybody knows their responsibilities on all the plays,” Goldfeder said. “We gotta make sure we keep our defense disciplined.”
The cause of the team’s record could be attributed to a plethora of things, but Kormuth believes it starts at the team’s practices.
“We gotta start practicing like how we wanna play,” Kormuth said. “Sometimes we have really good practices, but other times we have really lackluster practices. We kinda just need to bring the energy to practice, and I think if we just bring the energy to practice, we’ll bring energy in games too.”
Apart from a few standout juniors in Luke Kormuth, safety / wide receiver Braeden Springer and others, the core of this team is formed by this year’s senior class. Harley Barmen, Brian McQuaide, Max Thompson and Ian Goldfeder just to name a handful. Defensive specialist coach Joseph Bubonics has been with this program for several years now, and still believes in the team, especially the seniors.
“These guys are great,” Bubonics said. “The time I’ve spent around these guys growing up with them has shown they give every ounce of their energy to this program and they will leave a legacy, whether it’s a record, a lasting relationship, or a positive influence on the rest of the guys. The seniors are tremendous at what they do, and we’re definitely going to miss them after this year.”
Regardless of this undesirable start, some coaches and players believe they can turn this season around and finish strong.
“We’re just gonna keep doing what we preach to our kids, and stay consistent in trying our best,” Bubonics said. “I think we’re catching some momentum and hopefully [we’re] on the upswing of things. I’m looking forward to the back half of the season with things trending in a positive direction.”
The Comets take on the Euclid Panthers this coming Friday, Oct. 6.
