September 18, 2026

Walt Doerschuk, Canton Repository

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Nolan Bonner, Hoover fend off Louisville in tense rivalry showdown

NORTH CANTON — Amid a little bit of chaos and confusion late in the fourth quarter on Friday, Sept. 18, the Hoover Vikings, appeared to be calm. 

Senior quarterback Nolan Bonner’s 6-yard touchdown run with 2:40 left in the game helped seal Hoover’s 27-18 high school football win over Louisville.  

On the scoring play, Bonner took a shotgun snap, ran to the right, crossed the goal line and lost the ball. Louisville fans and players clamored for a moment that the fumble happened before Bonner scored. Hoover’s special teams unit had already made its way onto the field as the officials held a lengthy debate. A touchdown was eventually ruled.

“No, he was across,” Hoover head coach Brian Baum said. “I was actually really surprised as soon as he crossed over. He did fumble once he was crossed so I was really shocked they even questioned it.”

“It was hard to see what happened there,” Louisville head coach Jake Adkins said. “Obviously they fumbled. Hard to see what happened there and they came away with it.”

The 104th meeting between the two rivals was tense throughout in front of a packed crowd at Memorial Stadium. Louisville took a 16-13 lead into halftime. But Hoover snatched some momentum right before the break.

Junior receiver Elijah Fryson got behind the defense and hauled in a 43-yard touchdown pass from Bonner with six seconds left in the second quarter. 

“We were playing for a field goal honestly,” said Baum, whose team started its drive at its own 16. “We were trying to get three and then Bonner found Fryson. That was huge.”

It was the second touchdown pass of the night for Hoover, who entered the game with just one passing touchdown all season. Bonner, in his first action as a quarterback since Week 1, threw for 125 yards in the first half. Bonner broke the thumb on his throwing hand in the opener and was limited to strictly being used as a ball carrier while playing with a cast the past three weeks.

“He can throw and run and make good decisions,” Baum said. “He did a good job using different receivers. I think we had five or six guys catch the ball. Him using different receivers is huge because now you have to cover the entire field.”

The Vikings grabbed a 20-16 lead with 5:28 left in the third quarter on Bonner’s 9-yard touchdown run. Louisville cut it to 20-18 when a high snap on a Hoover punt attempt went out of the end zone for a safety. The Leopards also scored on a safety in the second quarter.

Louisville jumped out to a 14-0 lead early. Caden Kortis returned the opening kickoff to the Hoover 34, and junior tailback Lucas Neff scored on a 4-yard touchdown run less than 2 minutes into the game. Then, with 2:53 left in the first, Ryan Rush beat his man one-on-one on a post route. Junior quarterback Cody Zahler connected with the junior receiver for a 40-yard touchdown. 

“We had to stay consistent with what we were doing,” Baum said. “I like the way our defense was flying around. We had to settle down because they did a nice job. Louisville is a good team. They’re coached well. They’re real physical.” 

Louisville (3-2) finished a stretch of three straight road games before it returns home to face Lake on Sept. 25.

“It was disappointing,” Adkins said. “I thought our kids played really hard. A lot of respect for North Canton. I thought they played extremely hard. It was just a good football game back and forth and unfortunately we just came a little bit short.” 

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Source: Canton Repository