Too much Howard as Hoover beats Perry

Friday, September 18, 2009

Todd Porter, Canton Repository

Photos by Canton Repository, Scott Heckel

NORTH CANTON There aren’t many fool-proof defenses to stop Erick Howard. But there

is one way to keep Ohio’s reigning Mr. Football in check.

Keep the Hoover High School senior running back off the field.

Perry didn’t do that Friday night. In fact, the Panthers gave Howard two extra possessions.

They might as well have taped his highlights, too.

Howard’s night ended early with 238 yards and three touchdowns as Hoover beat Perry,

35-7, at North Canton Memorial Stadium. Howard, who carried the ball 48 times the week

before, carried it just 23 times and didn’t play in the fourth quarter of the Federal League

opener for both teams.

He did enough damage before halftime.

“You can’t turn it over, and that’s something we’ve been going through,” said Hoover

head coach Don Hertler Jr., whose team didn’t turn it over Friday night. “We took

advantage of their turnovers and scored twice in the last six minutes of the first half to

get it under control.”

Under control or put it away?

Howard had 201 yards and three touchdowns at the half for

Hoover (3-1, 1-0). The Panthers (2-2, 0-1) turned the ball

over twice in Hoover territory and was its own worst enemy

— other than Howard — in the first two quarters.

“I’m not saying we would have, but possibly if we don’t turn

it over, they weren’t stopping us on that first drive ... maybe

we have 12 more plays,” Panther head coach

John “Spider” Miller said.

Perry moved the ball on the ground during its first drive to

Hoover’s 35 after a 19-yard run by Caleb Laps. But the

Hoover’s Tyler Mann recovered a fumbled on the next play,

and the Vikings took over.

The Panthers had to know what was coming. Hoover gave

the ball to Howard eight straight times for 66 yards, his final

carry a 5-yard TD run.

After trading punts, Hoover came out far ahead in field

position and took over its first possession of the second

quarter at the Panther 44. Howard ran off tackle for 7 yards,

then he broke off a counter run for 37 yards and a 14-0 lead.

Perry answered ... sort of. The Panthers drove to the

Hoover 15 thanks in large part to a 40-yard run by Laps

On second-and-11 from the 16, Howard delivered a jolting blow to a receiver to jar the ball loose. Dan Nettleton recovered.

What came next? Howard right. Howard left. Howard up the middle.

He broke off a 47-yarder that would’ve went for 83 had Lepear Smith not tripped him up. Howard, a bit winded, still carried three straight times. On fourth-and-2 from the Perry 28 — after a Hoover timeout to give Howard some oxygen — he hit for 26 yards. On the next play, he scored from the 2.

Hoover got the ball back with 1:40 left before halftime and didn’t waste a second. Quarterback Brett Tulodzieski found Jordan Witt for a 34-yard screen pass. Tulodzieski faked a handoff to Howard, then threw a perfect 30-yard TD pass to Nettleton for a 28-0 lead.

The Vikings started the third quarter with a taste of what may be to come. Hoover mixed the run and pass for a methodical 77-yard TD drive. Tulodzieski completed two passes. Howard bit off chunks of 16, 17 and 10 yards. Tulodzieski kept the ball and scored from the 7 for a 35-0 lead.

It was a balanced attack. Tongue firmly in cheek, Hertler smiled.

“Yeah, I listened to the people who said I ran Erick too much last week,” Hertler said.

Apparently so did the Panther offense. They gave it back to the human highlight film.

Game Note: Erick Howard's 238 rushing yards against Perry puts him unofficially at

698 rushing yards for the 2009 season and 4,656 rushing yards for his varsity high school career.

Box Score

Perry Panthers 0 0 0 7 7

Hoover Vikings 7 21 7 0 35

H—Howard 5 run (Sarbaugh kick)

H—Howard 36 run (Sarbaugh kick)

H—Howard 2 run (Sarbaugh kick)

H—Nettleton 30 pass from Tulodzieski (Sarbaugh kick)