High school football: Comets cruise to 2nd straight shutout

Sep 19

*Sandy Creek junior Mayson Drake (56) and senior Dylan Tennant (76) celebrate a tackle during a 32-0 victory over Pulaski in a varsity football game on Saturday.*

By JOSH ST. CROIX

PULASKI — Sandy Creek varsity football coach Matt Soluri has stopped taking attendance at practice, simply trusting the commitment and consistency of all 37 players.

He can also count on the undefeated Comets to always show up on gamedays.

Sandy Creek rode a dominant defense with its second straight shutout to beat host Pulaski, 32-0, in a Section III Class D North-West matchup on Saturday afternoon.

The neighboring Oswego County foes played their second divisional matchup of the past decade and first since 2023 in the renewal of a classic rivalry.

“I would love to play this game every year,” Soluri said. “I think there’s mutual respect there.”

Pulaski coach Paul Monnat added, “It’s just fun to be able to compete with them. We see these guys all the time, and the boys like it too. It’s just an energy game, and that’s the best part of it. They get to play against their buddies, play against rivals, and kids they’re going to see the rest of their lives.”

Sandy Creek (3-0 overall, 2-0 league) was fresh off a 36-0 victory over Altmar-Parish-Williamstown last Friday, marking its first back-to-back shutouts since the first two games of the 2022 season.

The Comets have also scored 30-plus points in all three games thus far.

“I think we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit at times offensively, but I’m super proud of the defense,” said Sandy Creek junior quarterback, Grady Soluri. “As a quarterback, just to see the defense ball out and shut teams down is awesome to see.”

Grady Soluri found senior receiver Chase McCarty for a 29-yard touchdown pass to give Sandy Creek the early 8-0 edge in the first quarter.

The Blue Devils (0-3, 0-2) came through with a fourth-down stop in the redzone early in the second quarter to stay within a one-score deficit, but they were ultimately unable to capitalize. Junior running back Corey Hemingway scored on a one-yard touchdown run and punched in the two-point conversion to extend the Sandy Creek lead to 16-0 approaching halftime.

Pulaski junior David Priest returned a punt to midfield to spark some momentum midway through the third quarter, but Sandy Creek senior Dakota Balcom forced a fumble that was recovered by classmate Cole Zehr on the first play of the possession.

Zehr finished off the ensuing Sandy Creek drive with a short touchdown run and caught the two-point conversion from Soluri to extend the lead to 24-0 with 3:12 left in the third. Trey Hunt added a 15-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to provide the exclamation point.

The Comets combined for 281 rushing yards and three scores on the ground. Zehr and Hemingway each delivered 10 carries for 92 yards to lead the way.

“The pass wasn’t as open as it has been,” Matt Soluri said. “We struggled a little bit. We picked up the blitz really well, and we ran the ball between the tackles really well, so I’m proud of my guys for responding against a tough opponent in a good atmosphere and pulling out a win.”

The Sandy Creek defense forced a turnover on downs in the redzone early in the fourth quarter to preserve the shutout.

Senior linebacker Brodi Martin finished with 11 tackles and Zehr added nine in the victory.

“I think what’s really been helping us is using our speed, getting low, and we’re not afraid to tackle,” McCarty said.

“I’m thankful we’re 3-0,” he later added. “That makes us proud, but we still got five regular-season games coming, so we just got to keep playing well.”

Pulaski showed signs of progress from its youthful team that includes 12 sophomores, seven of which started Saturday, among its 25 players.

Soluri credited the physicality of the Blue Devils in their best defensive effort of the season.

“I’m just proud of the fight,” Monnat said. “We’re super young, and we’ve kind of been a little hesitant at times, but today I was proud of how we came out and fought. We just kind of ran out of gas. I know (Sandy Creek) is going to be one of the tough ones in Class D, and our guys knew it all week.”

The Comets have already shown the ability to win in a variety of ways with its consecutive shutouts following a record offensive performance in a 36-26 victory over Herkimer in the season opener. Grady Soluri threw for a school-record five touchdown passes and senior receiver Anderson Stanton hauled in four TD catches, also establishing a new school record.

According to the Section III stats website, Soluri is tied for third among all Section III players in TD passes (8) and ranks fifth in passing yards (526) after Saturday’s win. He leads Class D in passing yards and is second in TDs through the air. McCarty and Anderson each have four TD catches and are among five players tied for fifth in all of Section III.

Sandy Creek will host Hannibal (1-2, 0-1) at 7 p.m. this Friday aiming to extend its unbeaten start.

“We have it written on our whiteboard, 0-0,” Grady Soluri said. “You’re 0-0 each week. Enjoy it tonight, and when Sunday comes, you’re 0-0 and on to next week.”

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