Hoover vs D.C. Coolidge

Canton Repository

SITE: North Canton Memorial Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

RECORDS: Coolidge 0-0, Hoover 1-0.

LAST MEETING: Hoover won, 38-18, last year.

WHAT TO WATCH: Hoover does not know a whole lot about Coolidge, which may have several top college prospects. Hoover coach Don Hertler Jr. said his team was preparing to face NG Marvin Austin (6-3, 295), who some publications rank as the nation’s second-best recruit. But Hertler thinks Austin has transferred to another Washington D.C. school. Hertler believes two other top prospects — RT Lamar Milstead (6-6, 280) and S-WR Wayne Ouzts are still with Coolidge. Milstead has committed to North Carolina.

Coolidge won D.C.’s city league title last year, going 7-2 with its only losses coming to Hoover and Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha.

The Vikings must be prepared for anything. More importantly, they must focus on their game. Hertler did not care for his team’s performance last week, despite Hoover making big plays in special teams to break the game open. He wants to see his Vikings more aggressive, making more hustle plays and shutting down the run on defense. The presence of junior WR-DB Matt Wakulchik was encouraging. A preseason injury limited him to just four practices prior to the opener. “He got his legs under him a little,” Hertler said, “and ran the show in the secondary and gave us a few snaps at wideout.” Hertler liked QB Jared Wackerly’s debut as a starter. “He made some good decisions and went through his reads well,” Hertler said. “It’s something to build on.”

McKinley, Hoover know they must improve before heading into Federal League play

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Chris Beaven, Canton Repository

BIG RETURN McKinley’s Will Sheeler looks upfield en route to a 57-yard punt return in the second quarter of Saturday’s win against Toledo Start. McKinley hosts Hamilton (Ont.) Waterdown on Friday night, a team that is playing its first game of the season.

Repository Bob Rossiter

They enter Friday night expecting anything and everything from their opponents.

That’s the mind-set Brian Cross and Don Hertler Jr. — head coaches at McKinley and Hoover, respectively — need to take as their high school football teams prepare for some unknowns from opponents visiting from outside Ohio. McKinley hosts Hamilton (Ont.) Waterdown, and Hoover hosts Washington, D.C., Coolidge. Each visitor is opening its season, meaning McKinley and Hoover will have done little scouting.

Cross and Hertler, though, know what they expect when each game kicks off at 7:30.

“We have to worry about ourselves and come out ready to play,” said Cross, whose team opened with a 49-21 rout of Toledo Start last week.

Hertler felt the same, though, he is more emphatic about it after what he thought was a lackluster win by Hoover in Week 1. The Vikings beat Central Catholic 35-12.

“I didn’t think last week we played hard, aggressive Hoover football,” Hertler said. “We got outhustled. We made plays and won the scoreboard, but we didn’t play very well from an execution standpoint.”

ROOM TO IMPROVE

Cross was far happier with his team. The Bulldogs ran well with their first string, hit big plays in the passing game and dominated on defense.

But that does not mean the veteran coach is close to being satisfied. He wants to see improvement in several areas throughout in practice.

“For one, we’ve got to block to the whistle,” Cross said. “We want to work on our short passing game, and maybe some things you don’t get to work on enough, your two-minute offense and prevent defense.”

Working on a passing attack in a game that turns into a rout can be difficult. The Bulldogs led by 42 points in the third quarter last week, and they have routed Waterdown in the past.

“You’ve got to (throw some),” Cross said. “You don’t go for the home run, but you work on the short passing game, receivers reading coverages and the quarterback reading coverages. It’s all about timing, reading coverages and throwing the ball on time.”

As for the offensive line play, with four new starters up front, Cross thought the Bulldogs were solid.

“They were aggressive, and I was happy to see that,” he said. “For the most part, their technique was good. There’s little things to work on, and the only way to work on those is through playing, getting in those game situations where you get those different looks.”

Cross hopes to see his team come ready to play every week, regardless of the opponent.

“These kids know we’ve got a bull’s-eye on our back,” said Cross, whose team went 12-1 last year.

“We’ll get everyone’s ‘A’ game. They know that, they understand that. We have to play more intense and more focused week after week.”

HUSTLE, HUSTLE

Hertler pins the blame for the Vikings less-than-stellar game on practices last week.

“We were still in two-a-day mode,” he said. “We were not hustling around the way we have to hustle around. That’s the way we have to play to be successful. We have to be as physical as possible, and we just didn’t do those kind of things.”

Yes, Hertler is happy his team won. But he more concerned about effort and attitude than wins and losses.

“We have to get better because we’re not Federal League ready yet,” he said. “We’ve got to find more players. We have to develop a better team attitude and work hard to do that.”

The good news, though, is Hertler thinks his players get the message.

“The kids have responded well this week,” he said. “Our kids are pretty aware of what we expect. After they saw the tape, they know we didn’t play the way we need to play.”

Hoover won by making big plays against Central. Seth Allman returned the opening kick for a touchdown and scored on an interception return. The Vikings also scored on a blocked punt and a 32-yard TD pass.

“But they ran the football on us,” Hertler said. “With the way we play defense, we have to stop the run and force people to throw. We made a lot of mental errors, and just not many hustle plays ... and we weren’t as fundamental on either side of the ball.”

Like McKinley, Hoover knows it will get the best each of its opponents has to offer. And like Cross, Hertler said his players must respond.

“If we’re going to be a good football team, we need to come ready every Friday and maintain that every Friday no matter who we’re playing,” Hertler said. “We need to develop consistency. And I’ll be real disappointed if we didn’t come ready to play after some of our breakdowns last week.”

NETWORK

Hoover Vikings Football

Hoover Vikings Football

D.C. Coolidge Game Preview