United defense sparks Hoover

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Chris Beaven, fridaynightohio.com

NORTH CANTON They began the high school football season with a

number of question marks.

Playmakers and leaders were gone from all areas of the Hoover Vikings

defense. Only a handful of starters returned.

But here it is Week 12 — only 16 Division I teams across Ohio remain

— and the Vikings are into the second round of the playoffs with their

defense playing a big role.

“The main thing is they’ve played well together,” Hoover head coach

Don Hertler Jr. said. “There’s not a ton of All-Ohio type guys ... but

they’ve played well together.”

That unity has the Vikings (10-1) playing their best defense of the

season entering the regional semifinals Saturday. They play

Twinsburg (9-2) in a 7 p.m. game at Fawcett Stadium.

Twinsburg enters with a versatile spread offense capable of

putting up big numbers.

“They’ve got outstanding speed ... and they run and pass well, so that’s a big challenge for us,” Hertler said.

Twinsburg’s offense averaged 36 points a game over the final five games of the regular season before

beating Amherst Steele, 20-11, in the first round. Overall, the Tigers are averaging 26 points per game.

Quarterback Cory Eden leads their offense with 992 yards rushing and 1,336 passing. He did injure his right

shoulder in the first series last week and missed the rest of the game. The Tigers hope to have him back

Saturday. Running back Dion Johnson (818 yards rushing) and Nick Nero (549 yards receiving) are other

leaders.

“They were one of the most physical teams we played all season,” said GlenOak head coach Scott Garcia,

whose team beat Twinsburg, 14-7, in Week 1.

Hoover is known for its physical play, too, especially on defense. The Vikings have allowed 14.8 points

and 217.3 total yards per game. But those numbers are even more impressive the last three weeks

— 8.0 points and 168.7 yards per game.

“Our kids, since midseason, have started playing better football,” Hertler said. " (Linebacker) Tim Hartzell

since about Week 3 has really become an outstanding defender for us.Dom Boyle was injured early and

played through it and has been very solid. Our three secondary guys are all seniors who have been pretty

battle tested — Joe Cerreta, Jake Mann, Jeff Meek.”

Hartzell is part of a strong group of linebackers which also features Roman Musisca, Jordan Witt and

Erick Howard. Hertler also said secondary depth has been a plus, with Travis Moldovan and Dan Nettleton stepping up.

Collectively, Hertler sees a defense that’s “gained confidence.”

“The experiences of seeing a lot of different things throughout the

season,” Hertler said, “going from the spread to wing-T, they’ve seen

an awful lot of stuff, and they’re prepared for it by the time we get to

this point of the season.”

Another key to their success is just being coachable.

“They’re trying to do what they’re coached to do,” said Hertler, who has

a veteran defensive staff led by coordinator Glen Cummings. “Our staff

figures out how people will attack them and they adjust, and our kids

take what’s given to them and go execute the plan. ... We’ve got pretty

good quickness and we use that.”

After that, it comes down to fundamentals.

“We’ve become a decent tackling team,” Hertler said. “You’ve got to be

able to pursue and tackle. Then with that, we emphasize you doing your

1-in-11 job. Everybody’s got to do their job to make it work.”

NETWORK

Hoover High School senior DB Joe Cerreta surveys the field against Canton Mckinley earlier in the regular season.

Hoover High School senior DB Jeff Meek covering some real estate.

Hoover High School senior DB Jake Mann #23 picks off a Canton Mckinley pass.

Hoover Vikings Football

Hoover Vikings Football

Twinsburg Tigers Game Preview