Canfield Cardinals (0-0) at Louisville Leopards (0-0)

WHEN: Friday, August 30 at 7:30 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: Canfield holds a 2-1 series lead over Louisville all-time. VIEW FULL ALL-TIME SERIES

LAST MEETING: Louisville won 21-13 in Week 1 of the 2012 season back on August 24.

LAST MEETING AT LOUISVILLE: Canfield won 21-7 in a DIII Regional Quarterfinal Playoff Game on November 4, 2000.

LAST CANFIELD WIN: Canfield won 7-0 in a DII Regional Championship Playoff Game on November 18, 2005.

Schedules:

PREVIEW

They say adversity builds character and the 2013 Louisville Leopards Football season will test this statement. Louisville lost their starting superstar Quarterback Joey Duckworth to a season-ending knee injury back on August 13. This will now be the 4th time in the past 5 seasons that the Leopards have lost their starting QB for the year. However, with the leadership of 30 Seniors and the confidence of the lower classman Louisville looks to continue the theme of the 2007 State Championship season with Revenge Tour II. Just like 2007, the Leopards are coming off a 5-5 season.

Canfield is coming off a 2-8 season and hasn’t finished with back-to-back losing seasons since 1998-1999. There will be a similar thirst for revenge in the Cards locker room this season. Its the Leopards! Its the Cardinals! Let’s Get it Started!

LEOPARDS

OFFENSE: Connor Zwick will take the reins of the offense as the Starting QB in place of the injured Duckworth. Zwick showed that he was capable of playing the role in the Leopards scrimmage at Orrville last Friday. His mobility could prove to be an even bigger threat than his arm as he broke free for several first down runs. Alex Hollifield leads all returning receivers in the major statistical categories (24 Catches, 346 Yards, 2 Touchdowns), but missed most of the preseason with an ankle injury. He should return to make an impact come Friday. Andy Minster will also be another key target as he caught a touchdown pass in all three of the team’s scrimmage. Look for Kyle Bast and Bryce Mathie to be threats in the passing game as well. In the backfield, runningbacks Walter Schrock and Dakota James should share the load. Returners from last season, not counting Duckworth, carried the ball just 5 times for 13 yards. Look to see the running game make a bigger impact come Friday.

DEFENSE: Dylan Kline and Cory Neff both return on the defensive line and Josh Brown returns at Linebacker. Louisville produced 18 Sacks as a team last season and they will look to expand that number this season. Garrett Yoder brings the most experience to the Leopards secondary. Last season he made 3 interceptions and also recovered a fumble. Joe Crank, Bryce Mathie, and AJ Minster all made interceptions in the preseason. Crank & Mathie had pick sixes and both Crank & Minster made interceptions in the endzone.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Jordan Hughes was accurate on most of his kicks leading up to his 47 yard made attempt prior to the Canfield scrimmage. Stephen Kerzan assumed the punting duties at the Jackson scrimmage. Kyle Woost, Garrett Yoder, and Dakota James will be the Leopards punt/kick returners and the coaching staff is certain that they will spring one this season.

CARDINALS

OFFENSE: The Cardinals were very young last season and ran the ball heavily. They averaged 183.6 yards rushing per contest vs. 60.7 passing yards. That was good enough for scoring 14.9 points per contest. Quarterback Kimu Kim returns as a 2-year letterman and led all Canfield returners in passing (495 Yards, 47.3% Completion, 2 Touchdowns) and rushing (161 Rushes, 596 Yards, 3 Touchdowns). Jake Dawson, also a 2-year letter winner, will be Kim’s main target as he leads all returning receivers in yards (10 catches, 122 yards). Tailback Nick Annichenni also proved to be an offensive weapon last season as a Sophomore in both the ground game (82 Rushes, 473 Yards) and receiving game (15 catches, 98 yards, TD).

DEFENSE: Canfield’s defensive strength lies in their linebacker core as they return both second-leading tackler Alec Buchenic (51 Tackles, 8 Tackles For Loss, 1 Interception) and sack leader Carter Rhoads (45 Tackles, 7 Sacks). Annichenni will anchor the secondary at Safety where he led the team in tackles with 56 and also recorded an interception.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Edmond Pilolli was named 1st Team All-American Conference Punter last season after averaging 34.0 yards per punt and landing 6 of those punts inside the 20. Along with Pilolli, both Bryan Kristian and Ryan Teminsky are listed as kickers.