Green 21 - Hoover 19

September 13, 2024

Canton Repository

NORTH CANTON — Sometimes it’s a game of inches.

The inches the Green High School football team didn’t concede made a huge difference Friday night.

A successful two-point conversion stop with five seconds left helped the Bulldogs hold off Hoover 21-19 in a wild Federal League opener at North Canton Memorial Stadium.

Green stopped Hoover on the conversion try after quarterback John Collins’ touchdown run brought the Vikings to within two.

“I think it was crucial we had a timeout to be able to collect ourselves before that two-point conversion,” Bulldogs head coach Mark Geis said. “We saw what they lined up in, and we were pretty confident what we could see out of it.”

Collins drove Hoover downfield after a great Rhon Bruce punt pushed the Vikings inside their own 35. He did it in just over a minute.

Momentum was on Hoover’s side when Collins scored. Moments later, it was snuffed out on the conversion attempt.

“Just hats off to our guys in answering the call,” Geis said. “It’s tough as a 16, 18-year-old kid to say we got to win the game after you give up a score.”

Green (3-1, 1-0) needed one more defensive stop after Hoover recovered the onside kick. Pressure from the Bulldogs prevented a last-second Hail Mary.

The Bulldogs trailed 10-7 at halftime, but forged ahead for good in the third quarter on touchdown passes from Tyson Hunka to Evan Reed and Anthony Fortunato. Hunka also threw a TD pass to Antonio Martin, who saw his first action of the season on the heels of a serious knee injury.

Fortunato’s touchdown was highlight-film worthy. He caught a short screen pass, reversed his field and raced 46 yards down the left side.

“I cut back and saw no one but my boy, Antonio Martin,” Fortunato said. “He was blocking for me and there was no one there to tackle me. He really made that play for me.”

Fortunato’s impact also was felt on defense late in the fourth quarter. He made a great read on a perfect route run by Hoover and came up with an interception to preserve Green’s 21-13 lead.

“We know what he’s capable of,” Geis said. “Sometimes he gets a little overshadowed because there’s usually a guy on the other side named Antonio Martin, but we know Anthony’s very capable.”

Martin’s return makes a formidable Green offense even more dangerous. It didn’t take him long to make an impact. He out-jumped a Hoover defender to snag a 34-yard touchdown pass from Hunka to open the scoring.

Seeing Martin suited up and ready to go did wonders for the Bulldogs.

“It boosts our morale a lot,” Fortunato said. “Every time Antonio steps on the field, we know we have a chance to win.”

Martin was targeted eight times. He finished with six catches for 57 yards.

“When you have that kind of guy lined up on your team, you’re going to be a confident football team,” Geis said. “He’s not as in shape as some of the other kids are because he just came back in the last couple of weeks practice-wise.

“He makes a great play on the touchdown and has a huge block on the sideline for Anthony. Schematically-wise, he’s very good. He’s ready.”

Collins scored both Hoover touchdowns. Paul Koskovich also kicked a pair of field goals for the Vikings (2-2, 0-1).

AJ Dolph was a workhorse out of the Hoover backfield. He rushed for a game-high 144 yards on 23 carries.

GREEN 21, HOOVER 19

Green – 7 – 0 – 14 – 0 — 21
Hoover – 0 – 10 – 0 – 9 — 19
G—Martin 34 pass from Hunka (Noirot kick)
H—FG Koskovich 34
H—Collins 5 run (Koskovich kick)
G—Reed 59 pass from Hunka (Noirot kick)
G—Fortunato 46 pass from Hunka (Noirot kick)
H—FG Koskovich 32
H—Collins 10 run (Run failed)
TEAM STATS
G — H
First downs — 12 — 21
Rushes-Yards — 24-75 — 46-250
Comp-Att-Int — 13-22-1 — 9-19-2
Passing Yards — 260 — 62
Fumbles-Lost — 2-2 — 1-0
Penalties-Yards — 6-46 — 10-49
Total yards — 335 — 305
Records — 3-1, 1-0 — 2-2, 0-1

Source: Canton Repository