Hoover vs Hudson

Regional Quarterfinal

Canton Repository

SITE: North Canton Memorial Stadium, 7:00 p.m.

RECORDS: Hudson 9-1; Hoover 10-0.

LAST WEEK: Hudson 20, Ravenna 12; Hoover 19, Jackson 7.

LAST MEETING: First meeting.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Hudson is making its second straight playoff appearance. Hoover qualified in last year, losing to Massillon in a first-round game at Memorial Stadium.

WHAT TO WATCH: Hudson and Hoover are similar teams. Neither team has a star player or bonafide major Division I college recruit. Hudson will run out of many formations and sets offensively and primarily uses a 4-3 front. The Explorers have, at times, played a 50 defense. Teams that have fared well against Hoover ran a 4-3 defense this year.

Hudson lost some of its better players through graduation, and it took half of the season for head coach Tom Narducci to get a handle on the identity of his offense. Hudson will look to run the ball first and throw when it wants to rather than when it has to.

This will be best defense the Explorers have faced this season. Hoover is giving up about a touchdown a game. The Vikings have excelled in forcing offenses into obvious passing downs and defending the situation well. Hudson will look to get the ball in the hands of RB-WR Brett Bucvic, who has 1,400 yards running of total offense. RB Doug Beattie gets most of the carries and has gained about 750 yards on the ground.

The Explorers have thrown the football just 95 times this year. FB Ben Fertic is another player Hoover must be aware of. Hudson will use any combination of Fertic, Beattie and Bucvic in the backfield.

The Explorers survived scares against Barberton and Ravenna the last two weeks. However, Hudson's defense has held five opponents to a touchdown or less and has two shutouts to its credit.

Hoover will look to stay balanced. The Hoover offense is just about split 50-50 in run production and passing yardage. The Vikings will look to get the ball in the hands of RB Alex Ramsey, but many teams have been keying on him the last half of the season. That has opened the door for RB Mike Wright to run quick trap plays. Wright can play full back, and it gives the Vikings two options to run the football. QB Sam Cerreta has taken games on his shoulders in the fourth quarter and won them. His two main targets are WRs Brian Drukenbrod and Kyle Watts. If the pass defense takes away those options down the field, Hoover will look underneath routes to TEs Chaz Keeney and FB Chris Zaluski.

Hudson has to account for Ramsey on defense, too. He is the team's leading tackler at linebacker and is a play-maker. Watts doubles as a defensive end and has 18 sacks this season.

Hoover players enjoyed the team's first 10-0 season since 1975, but many of these players remember the feeling and the looks on the faces of last year's seniors after losing a first-round home playoff game to Massillon a year ago.

NETWORK

Hoover Vikings Football

Hudson Explorers Game Preview