North Canton Hoover, Mr. Football too much for Lexington

September 12, 2009

Carl Hunnell, Mansfield News Journal

LEXINGTON -- Erick Howard had an awful taste in his mouth after North Canton Hoover lost

to rival Louisville last week.

Ohio's reigning Mr. Football replaced that taste by taking 48 big bites out of the Lexington

defense Friday night, rushing for 278 yards and three TDs in a 41-20 nonleague win before

a crowd of about 3,500.

His hunger was especially noticeable in the second half when he carried the ball on 32 of

Hoover's 37 offensive plays for 156 yards as the Vikings (2-1) rallied from a 20-7 deficit.

The vast majority of the runs were simple blasts between the tackles, following his fullback

and an offensive line that denied the Minutemen any penetration.

"I was not happy with how I played in the first half (18 carries, 121 yards),"

the 5-foot-10, 210-pound power back said. "We had to fight through it. My offensive line did

a great job of opening holes ... I love those guys. They would die for me and I would die

for them."

Howard, who has 4,416 rushing yards in his career, said he never got tired against the

Minutemen (2-1), despite also playing middle linebacker.

"I think feeling tired is just mental weakness," said Howard, who led Hoover to the Division I state semifinals last year. "And I don't think I am a mentally weak person."

Lexington coach B.J. Payne saw his team's 12-game regular season winning streak snapped, dating to a week 10 loss to Ashland in 2007. A Stark County native who starred at Massillon Washington High School, Payne wanted to get a team like Hoover on the schedule. The Vikings have been a playoff participant seven times this decade.

The evening started well for the Minutemen, who built a 20-7 lead on the strength of TD passes of 55 and 83 yards from quarterback Courtney Avery to wide receiver Kenya Coombs and a 22-yard scoring run on a counter by Shaquille Jefferson.

But the Vikings returned the kickoff after the third score to the Lexington 39 and used 11 plays to score on a sneak by quarterback Brett Tulodzieski with just 11 seconds remaining.

Hoover took the lead for good at 21-20 when it took the second-

half kickoff and marched 68 yards on six plays, capped by a 12-

yard Howard run.

"In the second half, they just wore us down," Payne said. "They

play the physical kind of football we like to play. Erick Howard is

obviously a dangerous player. He has proven that for the last

three years.

"It was a humbling experience. For some reason, we did not have

a good week of practice ... It proves we're not invincible."

Avery completed six of 16 passes for 192 yards, though he was

just 1-of-7 for 16 yards in the second half. The Minutemen rushed

for just 20 yards on 20 attempts.

"It's a learning experience," Payne said. "We will start healing

tomorrow as a team. That will start by looking at the film from

tonight and working to correct our mistakes."

Hoover coach Don Hertler Jr., whose Vikings are 110-42 since he

took over in 1996, said his team is improving.

"We came into tonight as an average team, but I think we got

better," said Hertler, whose squad ran off 11 straight wins last

year after a loss in Week 2 to Louisville. "We hit some big plays

tonight with our quarterback and our receivers. Erick ran the ball

hard and our offensive line did a great job the whole game.

"Defensively, in the second half, we didn't give up any big plays. That's the way we played defense last year."

Hertler said Lexington will learn from the loss.

"I think they have an outstanding team here. We lost last week and it made us a better football team tonight. This game will make Lexington a better team next week and down the road," Hertler said.

Lexington will need to get better fast. The Minutemen open their Ohio Cardinal Conference schedule at Orrville, picked in the pre-season among the league favorites.

Game Notes: Brett Tulodzieski finished 6-of-14 for 114 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also had two rushing TDs.

A.J. Sarbaugh had two catches for 73 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings.

Box Score

Hoover Vikings 7 7 13 14 41

Lexington 14 6 0 0 20

L-Coombs 55 pass from Avery (Hassman kick)

H-Howard 29 run (Sarbaugh kick)

L-Coombs 83 pass from Avery (Hassman kick)

L-Jefferson 18 run (kick failed)

H-Tulodzieski 1 run (Sarbaugh kick)

H-Howard 12 run (Sarbaugh kick)

H-Tulodzieski 28 run (kick failed)