Howard is Stark County Player of the Year

NORTH CANTON Just as Erick Howard and his determined eyes must do when holes open before him, the Hoover High School junior can run where the opening is supposed to be, or he can improvise and choose another path.

Howard has been making these kinds of decisions all his life. It’s only been in the last year that he seems to be hitting the right ones.

Howard led Hoover to one of its most successful football seasons in school history. He carried the ball 404 times for 2,387 yards. He scored 34 touchdowns, 31 on the ground. He was the team’s third-leading tackler with 98, playing about half of the defensive snaps.

At running back and linebacker, he excels at both. He is The Repository’s 2008 Stark County Player of the Year.

On the field, Howard is 210 pounds of fury, but it is a controlled fury now. He is not running from his past but running toward his future.

Off the field, he is a 17-year-old good-natured kid who has found his will in life but still searches for his way.

What he did this fall for the Hoover program is unmatched in Stark County history. On Tuesday, he was named Ohio’s Mr. Football, an award given to the state’s best player. Stark County is an area of Friday night legend, yet Howard is the first from the county to earn that honor.

And to think, none of it almost happened — more times than people may even know.

DIFFICULT BEGINNINGS

When Howard was in the eighth grade, he got in a fight. He had a brush with the law. He was kicked off the football team. That’s when he first met Vikings head coach Don Hertler Jr.

“We never were on good terms from that day,” Howard said. “We always fought and argued. We cussed at each other. We mixed it up. We’ve been through it all. No matter how much I hated him or put him down, he always stuck by me. I didn’t understand that until my sophomore year.

“He asked me to play varsity for him when I was a freshman. I told him no. I told him, ‘I don’t want to play for you, period.’ I was going to leave Hoover.”

Howard’s older brother, Phillip, helped provide a path for his younger brother. But more and more, Erick Howard came back to Hertler.

“For him to stand up for me and have my back, and here I am kicking dirt in his face, one day I realized maybe he does care about me more than just a football player,” Howard said. “He cares about me as a person.”

NEARLY A SEASON LOST

It was in August that Howard realized the full extent of Hertler’s concern.

Two days before the Vikings were to attend a camp at Mount Union College, Howard’s mother, Ruth, told him they were moving to Seattle. Howard’s older sister was pregnant, and her husband was being deployed to the Middle East.

“My mom told me to enjoy my last moments with my team,” Howard said. “I couldn’t help but cry. You know the term: Home is where the heart is? I didn’t want to leave. I love the guys on this team.”

The day after Howard turned 17, he was on a plane to Seattle. It took him less than two weeks to realize it wasn’t where he wanted to be.

“(His new school) had four coaches, and only two of them showed up the majority of the time,” Howard said. “I knew if I were to live there, I’d probably go back to my old ways and start to not care about school again and run wild.”

Howard called his mother, who was still in North Canton. He begged her to let him stay at Hoover. She wasn’t budging — not at first.

Howard’s father, Ben, died in an industrial accident when Erick was 8. This tragic event shaped the way Howard lashed out when he was younger.

In 1998, Ben Howard moved his family out of Cleveland to make a better life for them in Stark County. A year later, he was dead.

“I was too young to truly understand,” Erick said. “When I got to be 11, 12 and 13, I realized how much I needed him. I started to rebel. I hid my feelings. I changed inside. My attitude was real bad. I was like ‘I hate everybody.’ ... If you’d have looked at me funny back then, I would’ve gotten in your face and been like, ‘Is there a problem?’ ”

Now, few things irritate him.

“It’s so much easier to be a nice person and a happy person,” Howard said. “When I realized that, it was like a weight was lifted off me.”

COMING BACK HOME

When Howard was 12, he left home for two days.

Ruth Howard filed a missing person’s report, but Erick came home.

“I told her then I would stay on the right path and never put myself in a situation where it wasn’t a controlled environment,” Howard said.

So as Erick continued to ask to come back from the West Coast, Ruth Howard eventually agreed. His teammates, led by senior Dave McCarthy, pitched in — $5 here, $10 there — and raised the money to buy their running back a one-way ticket back.

There was one stipulation. He couldn’t stay with a friend.

“She said there was only one person, and it was coach Hertler,” Howard said.

Hertler is single and doesn’t have children.

“I’m not going to lie. He wasn’t my first choice or my ideal person,” Howard said.

Why?

“Because of curfew,” Howard said. “I was used to a midnight curfew on school nights and 2 in the morning on weekends.”

That changed. A lot has changed at Hertler’s house.

Howard’s curfew is two hours earlier now. He has to attend school. He has to improve his grades. He has to get a job during the offseason. He has to respect Hertler’s home and the people in it.

Hertler didn’t know a thing about having a teenager stay for an extended time. Hoover administrators called the Ohio High School Athletic Association to work within the framework of an emergency residency issue. Hertler called Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel for advice.

“Coach Tressel suggested the idea of a contract,” Hertler said. “So we put everything in writing.”

And there are consequences if expectations are not met.

“He gets shipped back to Seattle,” Hertler said.

OPEN-DOOR POLICY

Howard and Hertler know people snicker about the arrangement. He understands the perception that he only opened his home because Howard is a standout player.

What people don’t know is Hertler has taken in many other players. Players who aren’t stars.

“I look at all my players that need me as one of my kids,” Hertler said. “... I’m probably not going to have children of my own. ... If Erick would have been injured in the first game and not able to play, he still would have been at my house.

“I have a clear conscious, because we’re doing this for the right reasons. We don’t care what people say outside. There are going to be haters out there. I know where he wants to go, and I’m trying to help him get there. He has the physical ability. It’s whether he does the other things that will determine if he gets his college paid for.”

Hertler and Howard aren’t attached at the hip. They don’t even ride to school together.

“I give him his space. The most important thing is to let Erick be Erick,” Hertler said. “It’s been enough of an adjustment for everybody. I’m not here to try to take the place of his family members. I’m here to provide some basic necessities he needs for a short time. ... I don’t want to be with him 24-7, but in my house, he’s been a joy.”

They don’t eat dinner together very often. Howard has an after-school program on Mondays. During the season, he watched film and ate with other players at an assistant coach’s house.

“On Wednesday, I go to dinner with my dad, so I guess he ate leftovers,” Hertler said. “We tried to have Sunday dinners, but that didn’t work out all the time.”

The situation isn’t permanent. Ruth Howard still has a home in North Canton. She plans to return in early 2009.

MORE THAN FOOTBALL

During the season, there were protections so as not to blur the player-coach line. The schedule also kept them busy.

“Now real life starts,” Hertler said. “What people need to understand: This isn’t a happy ending because of what he did this year in football and what we did as a team and how important he was to that. It’s got to be a happy ending five or 10 years from now. The test will be where is he in five or 10 years. ... All I’ve asked him is that when he gets there and he has his education and his own place is that he does this for someone else one day.”

Staying with Hertler has allowed Howard to learn time management and the importance of an education.

The first grading period of this year, Howard received four B’s and two C’s.

“That was the first time I saw a B on my report card since the fifth grade,” Howard said. “(Ohio State offensive coordinator) Jim Bollman came to North Canton once, and he told me Ohio State wouldn’t even look at me because of my grades. That stuck with me.”

Howard’s grade-point average is up to a C-average. He is planning to take a college entrance exams early next year.

Howard has matured since he hated Hertler in the ninth grade. He keeps finding the holes and running through the right ones.

“I realized when I came back and was going through workouts that I really have a chance to make it,” Howard said. “Why am I going to stop it? I stopped hanging out with some friends because they were stealing stuff. ... What if that had been me with them? I’m in jail, and I don’t want that life for myself. It’s not worth jeopardizing my future, that stupid stuff, and that’s something I can control.”

DIVISION I-II

Offense

Pos. Name, school Ht Wt. Yr.

WR Zach Hatchett, GlenOak 5-11 172 Sr.

WR Brandon Mathie, Loiusville 6-2 185 Sr.

TE Adam Steiner, GlenOak 6-2 211 Sr.

OL Dillon Miller, Lake 6-3 275 Sr.

OL Corey Street, Louisville 6-1 215 Sr.

OL Dom Boyle, Hoover 6-0 210 Sr.

OL Erik Carlson, Jackson 6-4 251 Sr.

OL Aaron Williams, GlenOak 6-2 270 Sr.

QB Neal Seaman, Louisville 6-2 200 Sr.

RB Erick Howard, Hoover 5-10 210 Jr.

RB Monterae Williams, McKinley 5-10 183 Sr.

RB Caleb Laps, Perry 6-0 187 Jr.

RB J.T. Turner, Massillon 6-2 180 Sr.

K-P A.J. Sarbaugh, Hoover 6-0 185 Jr.

Defense

Pos. Name, school Ht Wt. Yr.

DL Steve Miller, McKinley 6-4 201 Soph.

DL Matt Rose, Massillon 6-1 241 Sr.

DL Corey Whaley, Louisville 6-3 215 Sr.

DL Bryan Kuhn, Louisville 6-1 210 Sr.

LB Jewone Snow, McKinley 6-2 237 Jr.

LB Andrew Garman, GlenOak 6-0 200 Jr.

LB Drew Blinco, Jackson 5-10 201 Sr.

LB Tim Hartzell, Hoover 6-2 175 Sr.

LB Hunter Potts, Louisville 6-0 205 Jr.

LB Delion Freeman, Alliance 5-9 210 Sr.

DB DeWuan Spencer, GlenOak 5-10 170 Sr.

DB Jeff Meek, Hoover 5-10 185 Sr.

DB Bobby Swigert, Louisville 6-0 175 Jr.

DB Cooper Ivan, Massillon 5-8 162 Sr.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR Erick Howard, Hoover.

COACH OF THE YEAR Don Hertler Jr., Hoover.

Honorable mention

ALLIANCE A.J. Burt, Corbin Kuceyeski, Joe Lilley, Alex Oesch, Deron Snodgrass, J.J. Williams, Dominique Wright

GLENOAK Collin Daniels-Mitchell, Adam Garman, Bruce Maldonado, Brandon Martin, Joe Monnot, Spyro Spondyl

HOOVER Joe Cerreta, Nate Dodds, Mike Kohler, Jake Mann, Brett Tulodzieski, Mark Wiley

JACKSON Ramon Brown, Brad Holt, Casey Irwin, Max Paulus

LAKE Tyler Crowl, Andrew Oravec, Travis Talkington

LOUISVILLE Aaron Hooper, Dane Mathie, Tyler Jones, Jon Minster, Joe Poyser, Rocco Tutino

MASSILLON Brian Arelt, Michael Clark, Bo Grunder, Spencer Leno, Jeff Myers, J.B. Price

McKINLEY Brice Everett, James Forsythe, Andrew Gage, Ronald Gillom, Derrick Gordon, Jamaal McClain, Jamon McClain

PERRY Cory Christensen, Andrew Phillips, Brian Sengos

TIMKEN Kendrick Gooden, Rakim Reed, Dylan McCaughlin, Michael Rickett

DIVISION III-IV-V-VI

Offense

Pos. Name, school Ht Wt. Yr.

WR Jerald Robinson, Canton South 6-2 175 Jr.

TE Tim Caillet, Northwest 6-6 235 Sr.

OL Evan Tortola, St. Thomas Aquinas 6-0 251 Sr.

OL Andrew Bargides, East Canton 5-10 215 Sr.

OL Nate Klatt, Northwest 6-4 290 Sr.

OL Brian Harp, Minerva 6-3 230 Jr.

OL Denny Ardman, Northwest 6-2 270 Sr.

OL Montel Bush, Canton South 6-4 282 Sr.

QB Shelby Combs, Tuslaw 5-10 185 Sr.

QB Troy Summers, Minerva 6-2 180 Sr.

QB Matt Trissel, Canton South 6-1 180 Sr.

RB Evan Bach, Northwest 5-10 175 Jr.

RB Justin Keith, Canton South 6-1 205 Jr.

K-P Allen Strouble, Marlington 5-10 155 Sr.

Defense

Pos. Name, school Ht Wt. Yr.

DL Caleb Schmuker, East Canton 6-1 175 Sr.

DL Kody Hying, Minerva 6-2 225 Sr.

DL Ryan Jialanella, Canton South 5-7 190 Sr.

DL Grant Conzen, Tuslaw 5-10 200 Sr.

DL Jordan Pellikan, Northwest 6-0 270 Sr.

LB Mike McKinney, Canton South 6-0 210 Sr.

LB Trenton Howard, Marlington 5-11 215 Sr.

LB Kim Parr, Tuslaw 6-2 195 Sr.

LB Zach Bowman, Minerva 6-2 190 Sr.

LB Bobby Schilling, Northwest 6-0 210 Jr.

LB Cody Welker, Sandy Valley 6-0 174 Jr.

DB Graydon Feichter, Tuslaw 6-4 178 Sr..

DB Josh Fick, Minerva 6-1 195 Sr.

DB Josh VanVoorhis, East Canton 5-8 170 Jr.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR Shelby Combs, Tuslaw.

COACH OF THE YEAR Steve Miller, East Canton.

Honorable mention

CANTON SOUTH Rob Dale, Jordan Wanner, Jordan Ryba

CENTRAL CATHOLIC Nick Keller, Marc Davide, Beau Lindesmith, Harrison Dickerhoof

EAST CANTON Cody Marshall, Landon Schmidt

FAIRLESS Matt Hull, Chris Yant, Jamey Gorman, Travis Fritz

MARLINGTON Quinton Howard, Jamie Perna, Timmy Stinson

MINERVA Damien Elifritz, Dillon Young, James McCully

NORTHWEST Danny Beers, Matt Fitzgerald, Jon Semelsberger

SANDY VALLEY Ryan Cook, Corey Fisher, John Frazier, Zach Ray, Cody Hughes, Zach Mozden

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS Steven Foltz, Sean Clary, Eric Vagedes, Zak Columber

TUSLAW Jake Kobilarcsik, Dan Marthey