Before all of the students and staff left for winter break, the Lady Vikings made a statement on the court to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with this year in Ohio. On Dec. 12 the Lady Vikes took on Regina on the road in a battle of unbeatens and Division I recruits as Hoover’s Brittany Orban matched up against Regina’s Shay Selby. Orban will be attending Northwestern, while Selby will attend Duke. Regina entered the game with an amazing three–year home winning streak, but it would end on this night with Orban scoring 33 points in a 62-51 victory. Not only did Orban break Regina’s three–year home winning streak, but she also broke the Hoover girls basketball scoring record of Jamie Rubis. Orban is now also closing in on the Stark County scoring record. She is currently third on the all-time scoring list with 1,708 points, which is 244 points off of the record set by Linda Krider of East Canton. While chasing the record, I will update Brittany’s progress in her chase for Stark County History.

While the rest of the Viking Views looks back at 2007, I figured I’d look back at the best high school, sporting events of 2007. They come from five girls at Hoover to a thrilling five overtime playoff game. These are the top five high school sporting moments of 2007.

1. McKenna Russ, Sarah Gerber, Felicia Houtz, Jessica Simpson and Megan Lilley all sign letters of intent with Division I colleges, marking the first time in Ohio history that five girls have signed to play softball at D-1 schools.

2. The Hoover football team hosts its first home playoff game in four years. In the game, the Vikings rally from a 16-0 deficit to tie the game with just seconds left. Following was five grueling overtimes, but in the end, the Vikings came away with a 40-33 win in a game that tied the record for the most overtimes in an OHSAA playoff game. The team then plays another overtime game the following week beating Nordonia 21-14 on their way to the Elite Eight before falling to Brunswick at Byers field in Parma.

3. Boys and girls cross country teams place third and fourth respectively at the state competition.

4. Brittany Orban wins Stark County Player of the Year. Orban helped lead the Lady Vikings to the Regional Championship before losing to Stow.

5. Coldwater High school defeats Cardinal Mooney in the Division IV OHSAA football state championship game to end a two-year winning streak for the nationaly ranked Cardinals.