PREPS Six players and three coaches selected as district's best

The area made a clean sweep in Division IV with offensive and defensive players of the year and coach of the year.
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT
Six area players and three coaches were given top honors on the 2003 Northeast Ohio Inland District football team, selected by a panel of district sportswriters and released Monday by the Associated Press.
Picked as players of the year in their respective divisions were: Warren Harding senior defensive end Anthony Hoke (Division I), Howland senior running back Tony Davis (Div. II), Hubbard senior running back Shaun Lane (Div. III), Cardinal Mooney senior safety Ron Stoops and United senior running back Corey Manfull (Div. IV) and Warren Kennedy senior linebacker Jimmy Kokrak (Div. V).
Howland's Dick Angle (Div. II), Cardinal Mooney's P.J. Fecko (Div. IV) and South Range's Dan Yeagley (Div. V) were honored as coaches of the year.
Div. IV sweep
The Valley made it a clean sweep in Div. IV, representing the offensive player of the year (Manfull), defensive player of the year (Stoops) and coach of the year (Fecko).
A 5-foot-10, 185-pound standout, Manfull had a huge part in United's 7-3 season. He accumulated 2,169 all-purpose yards in nine games for coach D.J. Ogilvie's team.
Manfull had 52 catches for 1,022 yards and eight touchdowns, and he carried 102 times for 790 yards and 19 touchdowns. He added five punt returns for 132 yards and two touchdowns and five kickoff returns for 186 yards and a touchdown. He also totaled 39 yards passing.
The 6-3, 190-pound Stoops, who has committed to Michigan State, was an all-around player for the Cardinals (8-3), doubling as the quarterback and strong safety. But he was honored as a top defender, recording 91 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions.
For Mooney's stellar regular season -- its only losses came to state powers Warren Harding and Cleveland Benedictine -- Fecko was named coach of the year. He shared the honor with Garrettsville Garfield's Matt Jordan and Applecreek Waynedale's Bill Seder.
Fecko, the fourth-year coach, brought respectability back to the Mooney program after several down years. He led the Cardinals to the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
Raider representation
Mooney nearly beat nationally-ranked Harding, which had seven players named to the All-NEO team. Capturing top defensive honors in Div. I was the Raiders' 6-foot-1, 226-pound Hoke and North Canton Hoover defensive end Kyle Watts.
Hoke helped lead the Raiders (11-1) to the regional semifinals. In the regular season, he had 43 total tackles, including nine for loss, and 7 1/2 sacks.
Like Hoke, Howland's Davis helped lead his team into the playoffs. The 6-1, 175-pound running back, a Penn State recruit, led the Metro Athletic Conference in rushing with 200 carries for 1,380 yards and 15 touchdowns as he gained offensive player of the year honors in Div. II.
The Tigers (10-2) won their first MAC title and qualified for their third straight playoff appearance, giving Angle coach of the year accolades with Macedonia Nordonia's Keith Boedicker.
Hubbard (8-2) just missed the playoffs and finished a game away from the Trumbull Athletic Conference crown. Still, the Eagles' Lane captured offensive player of the year honors in Div. III with Akron Hoban running back Tyrell Sutton.
The 5-11, 170-pound Lane, an Ohio State recruit, ran for 1,690 yards on 210 carries and 15 touchdowns. He is No. 2 on Hubbard's career rushing list, behind Anthony Smith, who plays at Syracuse.
Area rivals meet
Warren Kennedy and South Range squared off in the regional semifinals last weekend -- with the Eagles winning 34-14 -- and they each were represented with top year-end honors in Div. V.
Kokrak (6-3, 205) was the defensive player of the year after recording 83 total tackles, six sacks and three caused fumbles for the Eagles (10-2).
Yeagley, who shared coach of the year honors with Dalton's Bob Ramsay, directed the Raiders (11-1) to an undefeated regular season and the Inter-County League championship in his ninth year at the helm.