North Canton Hoover senior Jonathan Nutt signed a national letter of intent to play football at Ohio Dominican University.

Nutt was a three-year lettermen and two-year starter at tight end for Hoover. He caught 25 passes for 321 yards and six touchdowns for his career.

Nutt was named Honorable Mention All Federal League and was named Hoover’s top student athlete in football with a 4.28 GPA. Nutt was also the 2011 winner of the Tim Powell Achievement Award for athletic and academic excellence.

Nutt plans to be a biology/pre-med major at ODU.

The Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy girls’ tennis finished fourth in the Division II state coaches’ poll this week – the highest area finish this season.

In Division I, Walsh Jesuit was No. 8 and North Canton Hoover was No. 11. Hudson finished tied for 13th.

The state tournament is this weekend (Friday and Saturday) at Ohio State University.

Dublin Jerome and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy finished No. 1 in the respective Division I and Division II polls.

Eight area boys’ lacrosse players have been named Regional All-Americans, according to U.S. Lacrosse.

The players were named for the North Coast section of Ohio.

Players include Western Reserve Academy goalie Kyle Bernlohr, Medina midfielder Nate Blue, Hudson defenseman Cooper Charlton, Jackson attacker/midfielder Dillon Giorgis, Jackson attacker Tom Herold, North Canton Hoover defenseman Sean Hohan, Hudson midfielder Robby Lynott and Medina attack Alex Schell.

According to the lacrosse website, LaxPower.com, there were almost 500 high school boys’ lacrosse players named to the USA Lacrosse Boys’ High School Regional All-American team.

North Canton Hoover senior quarterback Austin Appleby has reportedly made a verbal commitment to play football at Purdue.

Appleby, who is 6 feet 5 and 225 pounds, threw for 1,427 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, according to the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind.

Appleby also had offers from Louisville, Toledo, Kent State, Akron and several other schools, according to ScoutingOhio.com. He made a second unofficial visit to Purdue on Wednesday, according to the Journal and Courier.

North Canton Hoover quarterback Austin Appleby has reportedly added an offer from Purdue, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Appleby, who is 6 feet 5 and 228 pounds, also has offers from Toledo, Kent State, Temple, Akron, Buffalo, Western Michigan, Western Kentucky, Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio) and Louisville, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Appleby reportedly attended Purdue’s camp this week, according to Rivals.com.

The University of Akron offered a scholarship to Walnut Hills linebacker/defensive end Jason Stargel Jr. on Monday, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. It is his first offer.

Stargel, who is 6 feet 4 and 217 pounds, is a three-year starter for the Eagles. He is also a captain.

Walnut Hills is a Cincinnati Public School and Division I program located north of downtown Cincinnati.

Walnut Hills opens the 2011 season Wednesday, Aug. 24 against Wyoming at 7 p.m.

North Canton Hoover quarterback Austin Appleby has reportedly added an offer from Louisville, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Appleby, who is 6-foot-5 and 228 pounds, also has offers from Toledo, Kent State, Temple, Akron, Buffalo, Western Michigan, Western Kentucky, Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio).

North Canton Hoover beat Elyria 9-5 this morning in an OHSAA Division I state softball semifinal at Firestone Stadium. Hoover (29-3) advances to the state title game at 4 p.m. Saturday. Ally Farrah with three hits and three runs scored, Erika Warren had two hits and two RBI and Rachel Harris had two RBI for the Vikings.

This is from Tom Gaffney:

STATE SOFTBALL SCOUTING REPORT:

North Canton Hoover (27-3) vs. Elyria (24-4)

What: Division I state semifinal.

When/where: 10 a.m. Friday at Firestone Stadium.

Next: Winner plays at 4 p.m. Saturday for the state title against the winner of the other semifinal (12:30 p.m. Friday) between West Chester Lakota West and Gahanna Lincoln.

Notebook: Hoover (2006 and 2008) and Elyria (2009) have accounted for three of the past five Division I state championships. This will be Hoover’s fifth appearance in the state tournament and the eighth for Elyria. Hoover also had state titles in 1998 and 1999, and Elyria also had one in 2002. . . . Elyria finished second in the final state coaches poll; Hoover placed sixth. . . . The Vikings, who clinched the Federal League title Monday by beating Lake, have been led offensively by Erika Warren, Jenna Lilley, Rachel Harris, Kelly Dillow, Ally Farrah and Mackenzie DiPietro. Both Ashley Hall and Caly Russo have been effective pitchers. Hall pitched a four-hit shutout in the 3-0 win over Boardman on Saturday in the Akron regional final. . . . Elyria, which defeated Sylvania Southview 7-4 in the Clyde regional final on Saturday, also has two solid pitchers in Kristen Boros and Alyssa Barker. The Pioneers’ offense is keyed by leadoff hitter Cynthia Woodard, with plenty of support from Alanna Williams, Melanie Woodard, and Alexis Roseboro.

Softball parking

Parking is going to be a concern this week at Firestone Stadium for the 34th annual State Softball Tournament.

The stadium parking lot is under construction, and a limited number of spaces will be available. Many fans will have to find parking on streets around the stadium.

Officials are asking fans to car pool whenever possible.

Perry and North Canton Hoover finished Nos. 5 and 6 in the season’s final Division I state softball coaches’ poll, respectively.

Perry earned 56 points, while Hoover had 53 points.

In Division II, Walsh Jesuit is ranked No. 10.

In Division III, Norwayne is No. 5. In Division IV, Mogadore is ranked No. 10.

• Manchester junior center Tony Matteo has reportedly added an offer from Akron, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Matteo, who is 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, also has offers from Toledo and Bowling Green.

• Canton McKinley junior free safety Jermaine Edmondson reportedly added an offer from Louisville, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Edmondson, who is 6-foot-2 and 173 pounds, also has an offer from Toledo.

• Green senior wide receiver Luke Davies has reportedly made a commitment to play football at Mount Union, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Davies is 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds.

• North Canton Hoover junior quarterback Austin Appleby has been offered by Miami University (Ohio). Appleby, who is 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, also has offers from Toledo, Kent State, Akron, Temple, Buffalo, Western Michigan, Western Kentucky and Bowling Green.