Alliance Aviators at Louisville Leopards Week 6 Football Preview

Alliance Aviators (0-5, 0-2) at Louisville Leopards (3-2, 1-1)

SPREAD: Louisville By 30 (According to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50)

WHEN: Friday, September 28 at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Louisville Leopards Stadium

RADIO: None

TV: None

HIGHLIGHTS: Will be available following the game late Friday night or early Saturday morning right here on louisvilleleopards.org

SERIES

ALL-TIME SERIES: Louisville holds a 10-4-1 all-time record over Alliance.

LAST MEETING: Louisville defeated Alliance 43-14 at Mount Union Stadium on September 30, 2011.

2011 Louisville at Alliance Football Highlights

LAST MEETING AT LOUISVILLE: Louisville won 44-14 on October 15, 2010.  FULL STORY AND PICTURES

Chad Neff 61-Yard Touchdown Pass to Jeremey White in 2010

LAST ALLIANCE WIN: The Aviators last defeated the Leopards on September 15, 2006 at Louisville Stadium.

Schedule So Far:

Alliance — Louisville

Central Catholic L 20-54— @Canfield W 21-13

Canfield L 13-21 — @Hoover L 14-41

@Akron Ellet L 12-26 — Ravenna W 34-20

@West Branch L 34-51 — @Marlington L 24-34

Vs. Canton South L 27-33 — Minerva W 35-14

PREVIEW

The Alliance Aviators are a desperate football team at 0-5 and will be going all out for their first victory.  The Louisville Leopards at 3-2 are in a hunt for a playoff birth and looking to keep pace in the NBC for a chance at a conference title.  Louisville has dominated the series of late and has won their past 17  NBC home games..  They have also won 23 out of their last 24 home games overall, but in the 16th meeting between these neighboring cities anything can happen.

LEOPARDS

OFFENSE: Joey Duckworth showed off how dangerous he could be on the ground last week against Minerva.  The Junior  quarterback ran for 119 yards on just 7 carries and also broke free for an unforgettable 81 yard touchdown scamper.  Duckworth is the leading rusher for the Leopards this season with 308 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.  With this dimension unleashed, the Leopards passing game should open up even more.  Duckworth is was 16 of 19 last week through the air for 187 yards and a touchdown.  For the season he has accumulated 1155 passing yards and 9 passing touchdowns.  Wide Receiver Trent Ohman leads an explosive receiving core with 36 receptions for 427 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Alex Schooley (24 receptions, 194 yards, 3 TDs) and Alex Hollifield (15 receptions, 226 yards, 2 TDs) have also made key contributions.  Jeremy McQuilkin also had a breakout game last week with 6 catches for 63 yards and touchdown.  In his first start at runningback, Walter Schrock had 3 carries for 9 yards, but also caught 2 passes for 20 yards.  Opening night starting runningback Trey Hayford also hads4 touchdown runs in 4 games this year.  Aaron Carter (RT), Nate Terry (RG), Tanner Metz (C), Malik Kling (LG), and Jonah Dawson (LT) will look to continue to pass protect and provide holes for the running game up front.

DEFENSE: The Leopards played bend but don’t break defense against Minerva last week and will again want to continue with that gameplan against the usually explosive Alliance Aviators.  Alliance has scored 4 touchdowns against Louisville the past two seasons, two of which were of the 50+ yard variety and another was setup by a dazzling long run by Taurice Scott last season.  If the Leopards can limit the big play, they should have plenty of a success against Alliance.  Linebacker Gary Anile has recorded 4 interceptions on the season including returning a pick six 21 yards for the score last week against Minerva.  Garrett Yoder and Trevor Hostetler lead the secondary with 2 interceptions a piece.  Hostetler along with linebackers Charles Beamer and Josh Brown all made huge fourth down tackles last week against Minerva and will again look to make an impact in stopping the Aviators again this week.  Up front Dylan Kline, Cory Neff, and Mike Weiss will look to provide the initial push to get into the backfield, while the linebackers will fill in the gaps to shutdown the Aviator rushing attack.  Louisville is giving up an average of 201 rushing yards vs. 107 passing yards per contest.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Merrick Storlie has made all 17 extra point attempts he’s kicked this season and 3 of 4 field goals.  Storlie also  pooched a perfect onside kick against Minerva and nearly recovered the ball himself, before the ref ruled that the ball did not go 10 yards.  Later, Storlie’s kickoff resulted in the Leopards special teams pinning Minerva inside their own 15. Schooley has averaged 30.6 yards per punt this year, which includes a long of 50 yards and 3 boots inside the 20.  Ohman (24.9 yards per return) and Schooley (17.2 yards per return) have shared kick return duties this season, while Yoder (14.2 yards per return) has taken the most punt returns.

AVIATORS

OFFENSE: Quarterback Kordelle Phillips is 62 of 92 passing for 884 yards and 2 touchdowns through 4 games this season (he did not play against Canfield in Week 2).  Wide Reciever Ryan Bevington has been Phillips main target accounting for 457 yards on 23 catches and 6 touchdowns.  The pair hooked up for 3 touchdowns last week against Canton South.  The Aviators offense has improved each week of the season, so do not sleep on their deceptive 0-5 record.  J.J. Kukura has also proven to be a viable threat in the passing game making 15 catches for 244 yards including 1 touchdown through Week 4.  Parrish Martin will be listed as a wide receiver in your program come Friday, but has amassed 230 yards rushing on just 26 attempts through the first four games.  Martin also caught 12 passes for 183 yards during those games and has the ability to breakaway as was proven by his 68 yard touchdown run at Akron Ellet and his 47 yard touchdown reception against Central.  Marcus Williams also had a touchdown run in Week 1, while Demitri Lott and Adontis Watson have also taken carries.

DEFENSE: Linebacker Marcus Williams anchors the Aviators defense with a team-leading 30 tackles and 1 fumble recovery through the first four weeks.  Alliance only has 4 takeaways this season, including their only interception from defensive back Seth McConnell.  Also providing coverage in the secondary is Kukura who had 16 tackles through Week 4.  Other key role players upfront include defensive lineman Watson (24 tackles, 3 for loss), Donnie Minnich (13 tackles) and Michael Williams (15 tackles).  Linebacker Eric Stahler has also made 15 tackles this season.  Alliance has allowed just 277 passing yards in 5 games, but has given up 1559 yards on the ground.  The Aviators as a team are giving up 37 points per game and have not recorded a sack this season in the stats we’ve been given.  If the Leopards line continues this trend in providing time for Duckworth, it could be a big night for the Leps.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Aviators special teams had a breakdown in their NBC opener at West Branch when they allowed three kick return touchdowns.  If Ohman gets into the open field, lookout.  Alliance has gone back and forth in their decision to kick the extra point or go for two after each touchdown.  During the first few weeks D’Quan Hawkins booted through 3 of 5 extra point attempts.  Then Alliance started going for two and converted just 2 of 7 conversions.  Finally, last week a kicker with the last name Whitacker (not on original roster) booted through 3 of 4 extra point kicks, with the only one missing being a blocked kick.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

Number of Shutouts: Louisville-3, Alliance-0

Leopards Highest Margin of Victory: 2008 they won 49-0

Alliance’s Highest Margin of Victory: 1987 they won 28-7

Highest Combined Score: 58 Points – 2010 – Louisville 44, Alliance 14

Lowest Combined Score: 10 Points – 1984 – Louisville 7, Alliance 3

Longest Winning Streak: Louisville – 5 Games – 2007-Present

Longest Aviators Winning Streak: 2 Games – 1986-87

Total Points Scored: Louisville-316, Alliance-172

Average Score: Louisville-21, Alliance 11