Solon rallies to stun Stow football on the road

For one half, Stow-Munroe Falls football seemed to have things in order against Solon.

The contest Sept. 2 at Stewart Field proved to be a tail of two halves, however, and the Comets had the last word.

A 42-yard field goal by Solon's Aaron Titlebaum as time expired gave the Comets a 17-14 win over the Bulldogs (1-2). The loss came after Stow lead Solon (2-1) 14-0 at the half.

Football:Barberton shuts down Stow football

Bulldogs coach Martin Poder said the Comets were a worthy opponent.

"I think that trey're well coached," he said. "Even with the new coach, I think he's doing a great job. They're putting them in the positions to win. They have a couple dynamic receivers. Our kids responded well to limit their big plays."

After being shut out the previous week vs. Barberton, Stow got a bit of luck to open the scoring in the first quarter.

Quarterback Jacob Harrington lofted a deep ball which Brayden Gabele pulled down and turned into a 36-yard touchdown on Stow's opening drive.

"We were very fortunate on our first score. it was a 50/50 ball," Poder said. "Brayden Gabele went up and made a play. After getting shut out against Barberton, it was good to see the kids respond that way."

Things got even better for Stow later in the first quarter when Harrington hit Zach Huff open for a 65-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0.

"The other one was executed very well," Poder said. "Zach Huff took it 60 yards to pay dirt."

After committing four turnovers vs. Barberton, Harrington had solid game against the Comets. The freshman went 8-of-16 for 164 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 17 yards on 10 carries.

"I keep saying from a maturity perspective, Jake is doing just fine," Poder said. "He had a couple mechanical issues where the ball went high on him. He doesn't need to win games for us. If he can throw two touchdowns and not commit any turnovers, we'll have a chance to win."

The problem for Stow was their inability to get the run game going, as the Bulldogs finished with just 57 yards rushing. Jack Smith led the Bulldogs with 28 yards rushing on 10 carries.

"Our issue is going to continue to be we need to get consistent play on offense," Poder said. "Solon was pretty much in their base defense early, allowing us to do some things. The more they were able to read us, the more pressure they put us. The inexperience of our offensive line kind of showed."

The good news for Stow was the Bulldogs' defense was even better against the run, limiting the Comets to minus-7 yards rushing. Stow also got the lone turnover in the game, when Alex Barry picked off Solon quarterback quarterback Charlie Bubonics.

Up 14-0 at the half, Poder said his defense was nearly faultless until a big play got Solon back in it.

Bubonics hit Brian McQuaide for a 75-yard touchdown pass with just over four minutes to go in the third quarter.

"it was almost close to being a 50/50 ball for them," Poder said. "They got into the end zone. It was probably the only time we allowed them to hit a big chunk play in the game."

According to Poder, the rest of the contest was a bit of a rerun of the Barberton game.

"We kept putting our defense in tough positions and they kept responding," he said. "We were having way too many three and outs in the second half. They scored a touchdown on a very short field.

That touchdown came on a six-yard run from E.J Taylor, tying the game at 14-14 early in the fourth.

Despite Solon having the momentum, Stow had a chance to win it late.

"We got some momentum right at the end on our last drive," Poder said. "We were about 10 yards away from field goal range, which would have given us a chance to get out of there with a win."

However, Stow was unable to convert on fourth and e at the 38-yard line, given Solon the ball back with under a minute left. The Comets were able to drive to the Stow 24 to set up the game-winning field goal.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Solon rallies with last-second field goal to beat Stow football