Ending a long and frustrating losing streak was nice for the Solvay football team. Taking those small steps and turning them into giant leaps back toward prominence would be much nicer.
The 2-6 record that the Bearcats put up in 2013 might not have seemed like much, but that followed a winless 2012 campaign. And there’s enough returning for the Bearcats to do better this fall.
Not only are participation numbers up for head coach Matt Shutts, so is participation in off-season programs, which helps created more cohesion and flow when practices started on Aug. 18.
Shutts said that, since last November, between 45 and 50 players on the varsity and JV teams did regular work in the weight room. And that better conditioning is what he hopes will translate into better play, especially in the second half of games.
“We have to be focused and mentally strong for four quarters,” said Shutts. “Our strength and speed is the best we’ve had in years.”
One of the Bearcats’ intentions is to go back to the blue-collar ground game that made it so famous in decades past. To do that, a big and tough offensive line is needed, along with health – not once in Shutts’ first three seasons has the same five players started consecutive games on the line.
Lining up on the right side of the line is 6-foot-4, 360-pound guard Jake Hook and 6-foot-1, 240-pound tackle John Dippold. It’s no secret that the Bearcats want to run behind Hook and Dippold, who could overpower opposing defensive linemen.
But the rest of the line is imposing, too, starting with sophomore guard Joe Hook, Jake’s “little” brother, who checks in at 320 pounds and has combined to squat, dead-lift and bench-press nearly 1,200 pounds in weights, best among the team. Joe Miczan, at 283 pounds, also starts at tackle, while sophomores Brett Pidkaminy and Mike Cimino could split time at center.
Though Brandon Franklin played at quarterback in 2013 before Nick Cometti replaced him in mid-season, he moves to running back this fall, lined up with fullback Jeff Honsinger in the “Veer” offense behind junior Colin Lucio, who takes over at quarterback and could start the next two years. Mike Yaizzo and Brandon Bamba play at the receiver spots, with Sam Okhman in at tight end.
On defense, Solvay will employ as many as five linebackers or defensive backs, depending on the situation. Franklin and Garrett Lee could play at safety or move up to linebacker coverage, joining Okhman in the middle.
A rotating defensive line will involve Cimino, Miczan, Jake Hook and John Dippold, with John’s younger brother, Jake, starting as a sophomore at free safety between the cornerback tandem of Yaizzo and Dustin Harris.
Unlike some teams, the Bearcats’ two biggest games come right at the start. Marcellus is the opener, with the Tom Anthony Memorial Cup at stake again, and another big rival, Westhill, follows on Sept. 12.
Both the Mustangs and Warriors have to visit Earl Hadley Stadium, which for so long was the dreaded “Pit” that few visiting teams ever could win in. If Solvay can restore that home aura and then follow it up with other solid perfomances, a long-awaited return to the playoffs could prove in order.
Shutts said Solvay can not get “over the hump” unless it wins one of those rivalry games, each of which has belonged to the opposition in recent years. Few other teams in Central New York have so much at stake in early September.
