When Austin Solis was a student at Crown Point, he was "loud and lively." He was the life of the party as the Bulldogs backup quarterback on last year's Class 5A sectional champions.
In January, he moved in with his father in Hammond and transferred to Bishop Noll.
And everything changed.
"I have two cousins who go (to Noll) but I only see them at Christmas," Solis said. "So I guess I had someone. But when I got to Bishop Noll I became that new quiet kid.
"It was a big culture change. But after a couple days people came up to me and said, 'Are you Austin?' 'Are you the quarterback from Crown Point?' It started to change."
Warriors coach Mike Juscik said having Solis coming in early was a bonus.
"That was a big help, it got him into our offseason program early," Juscik said. "He's a phenomenal young man. He gets along with people. He's a hard worker. He fit right in right from the get-go."
Solis has talent. He did not have any varsity experience from his days in C.P., and that slowed the process for the Class A team that will host South Newton in Friday's Sectional 33 opener.
Solis played the first half in the opener against Andrean. He split snaps against Boone Grove and South Central. In Week 4 against Lake Station, Solis entered that game in the second quarter and hasn't come out since.
Through eight weeks he's thrown 93 passes and completed 53 for 700 yards and five TDs. He's also rushed for two scores.
In the Lake Station, Whiting and Calumet games, Solis completed 85 percent of his passes. Whiting had not given up more than 8 points to any team this season, except Noll.
The Warriors scored 28 against the Oilers.
"With coach (Chip) Pettit at C.P., it was mainly power running," Solis said. "We would have one, maybe two, receivers go out on each player. At Noll we run the shotgun, the option and we have 4-5 guys spread out all over the field.
"I like being here a lot more."
In last year's 32-17 loss to South Newton, also in the sectional opener in Hammond, the Warriors had five turnovers against the one-loss Rebels.
Limiting mistakes is the biggest key for Noll, which hasn't won a sectional game since 2006.
"Last year at C.P. we made a pretty deep run," Solis said of the Bulldogs sectional championship. "This year is different. I love this team. We've been playing a lot better.
"Most of our losses have come from mistakes. I think we can do it. I hope we can."
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