North Canton Hoover 21, Nordonia 14 (OT)

Vikings find a way to turn back Knights

North Canton wins statistical battle, needs overtime

to earn victory

By Tom Gaffney Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Sunday, Nov 11, 2007

MASSILLON: It was a game of keepaway, as much

as it was of football.

North Canton Hoover ran 83 offensive plays to just

43 for Nordonia, which would suggest a rout.

But the Knights used every ounce of collective energy

in their bodies to force an overtime that did not appear

to be a realistic possibility most of the game.

North Canton (10-2), though, got a 4-yard touchdown

run in the first overtime by Phil Howard to edge

Nordonia 21-14 on Saturday night in a Division I

regional semifinal at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

''We were in the red zone so many times, but we

couldn't push it in,'' Vikings senior lineman James

Georgiades said. ''We will take it any way we can get it.''

Nordonia (10-2) never led in the game and was

statistically overmatched, but it used a late drive to force

the overtime. The Vikings got the touchdown run by Howard in the first extra session and then stopped Nordonia on its possession.

''We didn't play our best game. They moved the ball all night long,'' Nordonia coach Jason Hall said. ''Our defense was on the field forever. But our kids are fighters. They never gave up.''

North Canton needed five overtimes last Saturday to edge Toledo St. John's 40-33 in the first round of the playoffs, coming back from a 16-0 deficit. This time, the Vikings were the ones that had to regain the momentum after Nordonia's score.

''It's one of those years right now,'' said Vikings coach Don Hertler Jr., whose club will play Brunswick in a regional final Saturday at Byers Field in Parma. ''Our kids keep plugging. We have kids who make plays.''

Vikings senior Matt Wakulchik was the night's biggest playmaker, scoring one touchdown and kicking two field goals. He also had 11 pass receptions for 122 yards and had 124 yards on six kick returns.

Nordonia, trailing 14-6, forced the overtime when it drove 73 yards in five plays to score a touchdown and then made the two-point conversion.

The tying drive came when the Knights got the ball at their own 27 with 2:37 remaining. Quarterback Aaron Pankratz completed four passes on the march, including the final one for a touchdown of 13 yards to Zak Alders with just 1:08 remaining.

That made it 14-12, and Nordonia tied it on a pass from Pankratz to Brian Vollmer, who caught the ball just inches over the goal line before going out of bounds.

''We controlled a lot of the clock, but we did everything but score,'' Hertler said. ''Give Nordonia credit. They kept fighting and did what they had to do.''

The first half was an exercise in futility for North Canton, which had a 41-16 edge in plays yet led only 8-0 at the break.

The Vikings were inside the Knights' 15-yard line five times, yet could net only two field goals and a safety. The failed drives included a missed field goal and a lost fumble.

The most important one was a goal-line stand in the first quarter when the Nordonia defense stopped the Vikings four times inside the 3. The drive ended on the six-inch line and, two plays later, North Canton went ahead 2-0 on a safety when linebacker Kevin Dahl tackled Nordonia fullback Luke Batton in the end zone.

The only points for North Canton in the dominating first half were field goals of 42 yards and 34 yards by Wakulchik.

North Canton carried over the momentum into the second half — with the same results — when it drove to the Nordonia 29 and 22, but lost the ball on downs both times.

Nordonia cut it to 8-6 early in the fourth quarter on a 28-yard pass from Pankratz to Ryan Clark, but a two-point conversion pass failed.

North Canton got the touchdown back soon after that on a 13-yard pass from quarterback Jared Wackerly to Wakulchik. But the extra-point kick failed.

North Canton finished with a 350-255 edge in total yardage. Wackerly completed 19 of 34 passes for 227 yards.

For Nordonia, Pankratz completed 13 of 27 passes for 194 yards. Clark caught six passes for 105 yards.

Source: Akron Beacon Journal

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