Longtime area high school football coach Don Hertler Jr. is one of the inductees, as the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association has announced its 50th Hall of Fame Class set for induction in Columbus on June 14, 2019.
Hertler retired in 2015 after 19 seasons at the helm of the North Canton Hoover Vikings.
The eighth-winningest coach in Stark County history, Hertler called it a career after compiling a 136-75 record at Hoover. He won 202 games overall in 27 years as a head coach and went to Hoover after a successful stint at Garaway and before that as an assistant at Conotton Valley.
At Garaway, he guided the Pirates to a 10-0 regular season and a playoff appearance in 1994. He was in Sugarcreek from 1987 to 1994, going 66-15 and winning four Inter-Valley Conference titles.
Joining Hertler are Bill Nees (Piqua), Jerry Rutherford (Eastwood), Mike Fell (Columbus Grove/Celina/Ada/Lima Senior), Dan Johnson (Liberty Union/Triad) and Dean Pees (Elmwood/College/NFL).
Hertler played quarterback at Hoover for his father Don Hertler Sr., a Stark County High School Football Hall of Famer who is tied for the second-most wins in county history. Ed Glass followed the elder Hertler at Hoover from 1981-1995.
Enhancing the stability and tradition his father established, Hertler led the Vikings to eight Federal League titles and 12 playoff appearances. The Vikings won a regional championship in 2008 to reach the Division I state semifinals.