Andrew Soliz is in his era.
Those aren’t his words. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to the Dayton senior hybrid linebacker/defensive lineman, you’d be impressed with how humble and personable Soliz is. Soliz is all about the Broncos and what he can do to contribute to the team.
But last week was one Soliz will surely never forget.
On Tuesday, Soliz gave his first-ever media interview for this article about the impact he has made on the field this season. On Friday, he was chosen again to talk about a thrilling 33-6 win over Splendora where the defensive front put on an out-of-this world performance.
Let’s just say, it was a nightmare for the Wildcats quarterback. And Soliz was a major author of that pain.
Soliz totaled three sacks, hurried the quarterback five other times, and had six total tackles for loss on 11 stops as the Broncos broke up a four-game losing streak in front of a proud homecoming crowd.
Soliz did a lot of the damage hobbled by a foot injury that briefly took him out of the game in the third quarter. He later returned and, quite honestly, didn’t miss a step.
“He’s one of the toughest kids in our program,” Dayton coach Jerry Prieto said. “There’s nothing that’s going to keep him out of practicing. There’s nothing that’s going to keep him out of a game. He’s been one of our more solid performers.”
As a team, Dayton had 11 sacks and an eye-popping 27 tackles for loss against Splendora.
“They moved my position from playing middle linebacker to I’m more of an outside or a hybrid,” Soliz said during his interview three days before the Splendora game. “It’s really the game plan the coaches have given us and the help of the defensive lineman is why I’m getting a lot (of pressure in the backfield).”
AN EARLY LOVE OF FOOTBALL
Soliz grew up in Houston and moved to Dayton, to his recollection, around 6 years old. His older brother Isaac played at Klein Forest in early 2010s and his father, Isaac Sr, also played the sport in his youth.
“He threw me in and I guess I fell in love with the sport,” Soliz said of his dad. “And I have yet to put it down.”
Soliz was thrusted into organized youth football and hasn’t stopped since.
“Started when I was 6 years old and played DYFL until I was 13, and then got into middle school ball,” Soliz said. “I played all of middle school and freshman year I was on varsity.”
All the while, Soliz rarely missed a Broncos home game growing up. There are some sentimental memories of some early Friday night lights before ever suiting up in the purple and white.
“I loved when we were able to run through the tunnel as kids,” he said. “We ran through with the varsity players, which always meant the world to me. They were like NFL players. But once I got to do it, it just makes me think about how much I love playing for Dayton.”
Soliz has moved around positionally. He’s been a running back, full back and a receiver growing up.
The previous Dayton coaching staff saw enough in Soliz to love that he made varsity as a freshman and he made seven tackles against Lake Creek in his debut.
“It was very interesting,” Soliz said. “They brought us over from the eighth grade and we were practicing with the varsity. I beat out one of the juniors to play at linebacker. It was an eye-opener. Especially the speed of the game once they threw us in there. We either had to catch up, or they’re gonna move us back down.”
A ROCKY START TO VARSITY
Soliz started his first two games on varsity, but the season for him personally went off the rails.
Against Montgomery, he suffered a concussion. When he returned from that, Soliz recalled playing a game against Crosby before tearing his ACL against Barbers Hill. Season over.
His knee recovered to put together a strong sophomore year on defense.
“I had a very good sophomore year,” Soliz said. “Finished second-team All-District.”
According to MaxPreps, Soliz had 95 tackles (two for loss) that year.
Last year as a junior, Soliz’ production dipped. He totaled 54 tackles as opposing teams game-planned to move the ball away from him.
Dayton senior Andrew Soliz (34) flexes his bicep after making a play against Splendora last Friday. (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)
SENSATIONAL SENIOR YEAR
Dayton made a coaching change between Soliz’ junior and senior years. That situation can always be a little nerve-racking. Senior year is an important time and trying to prove to a new coach can cause some anxiety.
Luckily, Prieto and his staff came in impressed and ready to make a move that has benefited the team and made for an even more productive Soliz on the field.
“We thought coming in with the defense that we ran, this kind of hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker position would be a good fit for him,” Prieto explained. “And it has. He’s done a great job. Has made a lot of tackles and a lot of tackles for loss. He’s been one of the huge leaders of our defense.”
Through eight games, Soliz is fifth on the Broncos in tackles with 89 (a team-high 23 for loss), 14 sacks, 28 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.
Earlier this season, it was pointed out that Soliz was leading the state in sacks. He had four in consecutive games against Porter and Montgomery and three total the previous two games to start his senior year. Soliz has sacked the quarterback in seven out of eight games.
“I like to stay humble about it,” Soliz said. “I just like to see every week if I can get better than the week prior. And if I don’t, I just look at other stuff like more film or go harder in practice. Anything to make me better the following week.”
Prieto grinned when asked about seeing Soliz and the Dayton Broncos on the Texas leaderboard.
“It’s just a testament to his work ethic,” Prieto said. “He works his tale off and plays hard. It was really cool to see him at the top of that, though.”
Soliz, who also plays baseball for Dayton, wants to play college football someday.
“College is my plan,” Soliz said. “Hopefully if I do get a scholarship to play at the next level, I will play the hardest that I can.”
Prieto can see Soliz being a good fit somewhere.
“He’s a program kid,” he said. “If he decided to go play somewhere, he’s gonna go work hard in whatever they ask him to the best of his ability.”
When interviewed for this story last Tuesday, Soliz and the Broncos had three games left. The Splendora game and now West Fork Thursday night and defending state-champion Port Neches-Groves at home in Week 11.
The playoffs are out of reach at this point as it’s been an intense year of major injuries for the Broncos already tasked with playing in one of the toughest districts in Class 5A Division II. But Soliz has shown grace and maturity with what’s left of his senior year of football.
“It’s not going as I planned, but there’s still a lot we can do,” Soliz said. “I’m just making sure we are able to win these last few games, especially the PNG game, but that’s going to be a hard one. I just want to be a pillar for a team, be a leader that everyone can look to and if they notice I’m going hard in practice, everybody else will be able to feed off the same energy.”
Dayton senior Andrew Soliz on his pass rush against Splendora last week. (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)
