LJ FB: Playmaker Award

Viking receiver Diego Solis (5) begins to flip
in the air, holding onto the reception,
after safety Jake Hadzicki makes contact
for Del Norte Sept. 13.
(Photo by Julian Tucker)

By Ed Piper

We continue with our unofficial awards at midseason for the Viking football team.

"PLAYMAKER" AWARD

Diego Solis brings excitement when he is in the game. His presence equals anticipation. He provides a spark. What is Solis going to do?

Whether he is playing quarterback, receiving passes, or even running the ball on offense, or if he's playing in the backfield on defense, the junior often finds a way to have an impact, to change the course of the game.

And he is reckless in stirring things up: In snagging passes, he will sacrifice his body, lunging and stretching, sometimes being hit in the air. I have in my mind an image of Diego flying through the air, the pass reception tucked safely in his hands, his legs now sticking straight up as one or two tacklers hit him at an angle. It's almost scary how he exposes himself to contact this way.

I know that Solis was mightily disappointed when, almost suddenly, he went from being a dependable passer to throwing repeated interceptions during 7-on-7 competitions last summer. On two successive weekends, in the Hilltop passing tournament, then the big tourney held at Southwestern College over a Friday-Saturday, he began plopping normally-carefully-considered passes into the hands of opposing players.

Diego Solis
(Photo by Ed Piper)

He shook his head after this happened several times, not understanding why he suddenly could not be accurate in targeting his passes.

That resulted in not only Jackson Stratton, the Vikings' other quarterback, alternating possessions with him. Now it meant Jackson took the reins full-time, and this had to be very disappointing to Diego, who had worked so hard, been such a spark during his sophomore season last year.

But he found a way to contribute in other aspects of the game. That was through becoming an extremely-useful multi-use player. He resumed playing defense, which he hadn't done after his triple collarbone fracture against Christian High in October 2018. He also began being inserted as a receiver on offense, sometimes scripted into carrying the ball.

One of the big plays combining his talents this season was a touchdown pass he threw after two reverses deposited the ball in his hands. It caught La Jolla's opponents completely off-guard. It showcased Diego's versatility and ability to contribute, even while not sharing time at quarterback the way it looked like he would until that fateful pair of weekends last June.

Against Scripps Ranch Sept. 20 in week five, the Vikings lacked a little of that spark that Diego could provide. He was limited in playing time by an ankle injury he sustained the week before in a 15-7 loss to Del Norte.

In that heart-breaking defeat to the Nighthawks, Stratton, with time running out, fired a long bomb in Solis' direction. Diego, who has good speed as well as leaping ability, got his hands on the pass in the end zone. Briefly, he seemed to have possession. But then, as he hit the ground with a defender closely covering him, the ball squirted loose as the game ended.

His dad said Diego thought he should have caught the ball, which could have tied the game with a two-point conversion. There might have been "some" defensive pass interference, and Diego was also distracted by activity near him around the perimeter of the end zone.

In any case, it would have been a spectacular catch, and it would have been trademark Solis. Sudden, unexpected, game-changing, exciting. Anything to make his team's outcome better.