Hoover Tradition
Hoover Vikings Football
Hoover Vikings Football
NETWORK
Metropolitan League Championships - 3
Federal League Champions - 21
Metropolitan League
1941, 1947
1950
Joined Federal League in 1968
1968
1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979
1980, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
1995, 1997, 1998, 1999
2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008
* See Federal League page for league history
OHSAA Playoff Qualifier - 17OHSAA implemented Harbin Point System in 19721972: 1 team per Region, 4 teams per Division statewide.1980: 2 teams per Region, 8 teams per Division statewide.1985: 4 teams per Region, 16 teams per Division statewide.1999: 8 teams per Region, 32 teams per Division statewide.Years Qualified1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 19891995, 1997, 1998, 19992000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008. 2009
Associated Press State Poll - 7
Ohio AP Poll implemented in 1999
Year (Rank)
1999 (13)
2001 (8), 2002 (14), 2003 (4), 2007 (12), 2008 (8), 2009 (8)
HOOVER VIKINGS TRADITION
"To newcomers unfamiliar with local tradition and interest that surrounds the Vikings, this fall madness over a group of schoolboys is a source of some wonderment. To those who have been around longer, it is no surprise. It is an ingrained part of the Stark County sports scene...A typical Friday night between early September and and late November will find 8,000 or more townspeople gathered to watch the Hoover Vikings do battle with rivals like Louisville, Jackson or GlenOak." A new rivalry has formed between Hoover and a recent addition to the Federal League, Canton McKinley. it's not uncommon for that game to draw 13, 000 spectators.
"In cold or rain they come. Normal people you meet in supermarkets during the week or in church on Sunday morning become football crazies every Friday night.
Football frenzy seems to build from year to year. From late August to mid-November the whole town is awash in orange and black...Every store front seems to display a Viking poster and everyone in town is wearing T-shirts, jackets, caps and scarves in school colors. And they're not all students. The tiniest toddlers and graybeards alike are caught up in the excitement of Hoover football.
If the fans come out to see the Vikings play football, they are doubly entertained by the halftime show...The quality of both North Canton and visiting school bands is astonishingly high if applause is any indication. Add to this the perpetually in motion cheerleaders, the Viking mascot, the banners and the student body which welcomes the team on to the field, and Friday night excitement is complete. Yet for all the color and excitement, the most important reason for local enthusiasm boils down to one thing - winning!
With a well established reputation as a perennial powerhouse, the Vikings are always regarded as a threat in the Federal League...and prime contenders for a playoff spot.
Maybe another championship trophy will be added to the collection, maybe not. In any event, most townspeople can hardly wait until another chapter unfolds in the Viking story...And like all the many years that have gone before, there are sure to be moments to savor which will become part of the Viking tradition."
Sources: Excerpts from the book, GO VIKINGS! written by, James P. Holl, Canton Repository, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch
