Hoover vs Louisville

Canton Repository

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

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

LAST WEEK: Louisville 29, Ravenna 15; Hoover 41, Dunbar (D.C.) 22.

LAST MEETING: Louisville won, 35-21, last year.

WHAT TO WATCH: Louisville wants to improve its efficiency in the red zone after three empty trips inside the 15. Coach Paul Farrah also didn't care for two botched snaps, five dropped passes and a couple of blown coverages. "Those are all good things to learn from going into this week," he said. The Leopards piled up 435 yards on 81 plays last week with a 200-yard passer (Neal Seaman), a 100-yard receiver (Brandon Mathie) and a 100-yard rusher (Dane Mathie).

Defensively, Louisville came up with four turnovers, and six different Leopards had a tackle for loss. Hoover coach Don Hertler Jr. wants to see better overall effort from his team. "We just didn't play with the urgency and intensity we need to play with to play Louisville and to be Federal League-ready," Hertler said. "We won last week because of conditioning. That won't be the case this week."

Junior TB-LB Erick Howard (185 yards rushing) and senior QB-DB Joe Cerreta (141 yards passing) each had big games for the Vikings last week. Each team is dealing with injuries up front. Louisville C Matt Faber (ACL tear last week) is out, and Hoover is minus RT John Fleming (shoulder) and is perhaps without center Mark Wiley (concussion).

For Hoover and Louisville, it's never too early in season for a football showdown

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Chris Beaven, Canton Repository

Forget waiting for Week 10 for a great high school football rivalry.

A Friday night visit to North Canton Memorial Stadium for Hoover-Louisville will remind anyone that even in Week 2 one game can mean plenty to two communities.

"It's huge for both of us," Louisville head coach Paul Farrah said of the 7:30 kickoff. "Besides really Massillon-McKinley, it's the second-biggest rivalry in the county."

No one disputes McKinley-Massillon owning the top spot not only in Stark County, but also in Ohio and arguably the nation. But as community rivalries go in Ohio, few equal Hoover-Louisville.

"It's extremely big to our town and to our people that have been around here a long time," Hoover head coach Don Hertler Jr. said.

The two programs have played each other every year since 1924, with two matchups that first season. That makes this game No. 86. Louisville leads the series, 50-30-5, including a 35-21 win last year.

"If you're not ready to play for this game, you shouldn't play high school football," Farrah said. "You've got the same type of communities, and neither of us have big superstars who go on to play in the Big Ten. But we have great high school football players that play hard."

Few are more well-versed in the rivalry than Hertler and Farrah. Hertler has been the coach at Hoover since 1996. Farrah has run the Louisville program since 2000. Each also played in the game in the late 1970s and 1980s as all-league performers.

Hertler played for his dad, Hoover's head coach from 1960-80.

"Back then the game was later in the year, and usually for the Federal League title or at least a share of it at that point," he said. "I just remember the whole town being ready, the community pep rallies, the coaches, everything."

While Hoover had Hertler's father as coach, Louisville was led by Paul Starkey from 1965-84. Both men are in the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame.

"You'll have the old-timers Friday going back-and-forth talking about back then when you had coach Hertler and coach Starkey going against each other," Farrah said. "They were the dean of coaches back then."

Hertler threw the winning touchdown pass in the 1980 game in Week 9 against Louisville, helping the Vikings secure a share of the Federal League title.

A year later, it was Farrah and Louisville's turn to beat Hoover in Week 9 and win the league.

"I remember Paul Starkey and us winning the Federal League in 1981," Farrah said. "It was made to be the Super Bowl of the season ... which it was."

The impact on the league race no longer exists. Louisville left for the NBC in 1990 and has been a dominant team. Hoover remains in the Federal League, where it regularly wins titles. Both teams also are in different state playoff classes — Hoover in Division I and Louisville in Division II.

"But it still means a lot for bragging rights," Hertler said.

The game is now played early in the season, too, which changes the dynamics some. It no longer serves as the culmination of a title run.

"This is a good measuring stick of where we're at in Week 2," Hertler said.

"After we play Hoover, we know our weaknesses," Farrah said.

Each team won their openers last week. Louisville, last year's Division II state runner-up, held off Ravenna. Hoover, a Division I regional finalist a year ago, pulled away from Washington D.C. Dunbar.

Hoover suffered heavy graduation losses, but Farrah knows the Vikings will be a handful in their own "packed stadium."

Louisville returns enough talent to be regarded as a state title contender this season.

"Our kids understand that we're playing a team that was second in the state last year, and they have a great team again to make a run this year," Hertler said. "We have a great challenge ahead of us.

HISTORY OF LOUISVILLE-HOOVER

The two first met in 1924 — playing twice, with Louisville winning each game, 31-6 and 26-0 — and have met annually since. The rivalry has survived changing leagues and has moved around the schedule.

The two played primarily in Week 8 or 9 when they were in the Federal League together from 1968-89.

When Louisville left for the Northeastern Buckeye Conference in 1990, the rivalry moved to a date within the first three weeks of the season. Louisville leads the series, 50-30-5.

Scores from the past 15 games in the Hoover-Louisville series:

2007 Louisville 35-21

2006 Hoover 25-7

2005 Louisville 35-29

2004 Louisville 37-21

2003 Hoover 38-7

2002 Louisville 21-20, OT

2001 Hoover 28-13

2000 Louisville 21-14

1999 Hoover 35-7

1998 Hoover 31-10

1997 Hoover 30-16