Carrollton Warriors at Louisville Leopards Week 4 Football Preview

Carrollton Warriors (3-1) at Louisville Leopards (4-0)

SPREAD: Louisville By 12 (According to Stark County Pick’em), Louisville By 11 (According to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50)

WHEN: Friday, September 27 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 30-5-2 all-time record over Carrollton. VIEW FULL ALL-TIME SERIES

LAST MEETING: Carrollton won 21-0 on October 5, 2012.

LAST MEETING AT LOUISVILLE: Louisville defeated Carrollton 43-7 on October 7, 2011.

LAST CARROLLTON WIN AT LOUISVILLE: Carrollton last won at Louisville 19-7 on September 29, 1934. The Warriors are 2-17 at Louisville all-time.

Schedules:

2006 Louisville at Carrollton Football Highlights

PREVIEW

The Leopards are 4-0, but are only in eighth place in DIII, Region 7 because their opponents have been a combined 2-14 this season. However, there are a lot of points to be won in league play starting with the Warriors who are off to a 3-1 start and impressively beat Canton South 27-6 last week on the hillside. Each team has a lot to prove in this game come Friday. The Leopards are looking to erase a 21-0 loss at Carrollton a season ago, while the Warriors are looking for their first victory at Louisville since 1934. This will be the 38th meeting between these two schools since the series began in 1926.

1999 Carrollton at Louisville Football Highlights

LEOPARDS

OFFENSE: Louisville has averaged scoring 32 points per game against Carrollton all-time, but the Warriors defense frustrated the Leopards last season in holding them to 170 yards in a shutout a year ago. It was the only time ever Louisville had been shutout on the road in an NBC game. The path to reversing last year’s performance will go through Quarterback Connor Zwick who is 38 of 69 passing for 466 yards with 4 touchdowns against 4 interceptions this season. Zwick has also carried the ball 75 times for 256 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground. Zwick along with Runningback Walter Schrock both broke the Century Mark in yardage against Salem a week ago. Schrock finished with 129 yards on just 12 carries and broke free for touchdown runs of 54 & 38. With his performance, Schrock is now the Leopards leading rusher for the season with 274 yards on 59 rushes (4.6 avg.). Runningback Dakota James also found the endzone against the Quakers and has carried the ball 16 times for 48 yards this season. In the passing game, Andy Minster leads all receivers with 15 receptions, 173 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Alex Hollifield also has 10 grabs for 135 yards and a touchdown this season. Rounding out the receiving core are Bryce Mathie (7 catches, 85 yards), Kyle Bast (2 catches, 38 yards, 1 touchdown), and Kyle Woost (2 catches, 26 yards).

DEFENSE: Louisville surrendered just one touchdown in the first three quarters of the game against Salem a week ago. 6 of their 18 sacks this season also came against the Quakers. Dylan Kline leads the continually improving defense in sacks with 5 and also leads the defensive line in total tackles with 24 and solo tackles with 10. His partners in crime on the defensive line include Cory Neff (3.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss) and Cole McElroy (8.5 Tackles, 1 Sack). Linebacker Zach Shea leads the team in tackles with 26, has recorded 2 sacks, and returned an interception 52 yards for a score at Ravenna. Also making an impact in the linebacking core are Josh Brown (20 Tackles, 2 Sacks) and Frankie Falcone (7 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss). The secondary has been led by Garrett Yoder who leads the team in solo tackles with 17, forced fumbles with 2, and has also recorded 25.5 total tackles & recovered a fumble. Stephen Kerzan (15.5 Tackles), Lewis Adkins (12.5 Tackles, 3 Sacks, Force Fumble), Jake Mathie (9 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble), AJ Minster (8 Tackles, 2 Fumble Recoveries, 1 Interception, 3 Passes Broken Up), and Bryce Mathie (4 Tackles, 1 Fumble Recovery) have all shared time leaving their mark in the secondary.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Outside of Connor Zwick, Kicker Jordan Hughes is the team’s leading scorer with 26 points. He has connected on 5 of 7 field goals and 11 of 13 extra point attempts. Hughes has also pinned opponents back deep with several touchbacks this season. Zwick has averaged 37.5 yards on 16 punts this season with a long of 58 and 2 attempts being downed inside the 20. It hasn’t happened yet, but Zwick is capable of successfully converting on a fake at any time. Garrett Yoder has averaged 24.2 yards on 5 kickoffs this season breaking a long of 41 and has also averaged on 7.3 yards on 12 punt returns this season with a long of 34. Andy Minster also returned a kick 34 yards against Salem last week. Both of these players are capable of breaking one any time they touch the ball.

1993 Carrollton at Louisville Football Highlights

WARRIORS

OFFENSE: Carrollton is averaging 398.3 Yards (254.5 Rushing, 143.8 Passing) and  27.3 points per contest. Quarterback Zade Deitz has completed 41 of 63 passes for 571 yards with 4 touchdowns against 4 interceptions. Deitz also has the ability to scramble as he is the Warriors second leading rusher with 243 yards on 54 attempts (4.5 Avg.) and 5 touchdowns. Deitz’s two main targets are Caleb Pasiuk (15 Catches, 154 Yards, 1 Touchdown) and Adam Warner (9 Catches, 265 Yards, 29.4 Avg., 2 Touchdowns). Warner does have the ability to breakaway as he had an 80 yard touchdown catch earlier this year. Other targets in the passing game include Lane Hartong (4 Catches, 53 Yards), Brandon Johnson (4 Catches, 24 Yards), Lynk Tranter (3 Catches, 41 Yards), and Zach Allen (3 Catches, 30 Yards, 1 Touchdown). Last, but certainly not least, is runningback Tyler Dodd who has accumulated 666 yards on 56 attempts this season to go along with 4 rushing touchdowns. Dodd is averaging 11.9 yards per carry, 166.5 yards per game, and these numbers were aided by an 87 yard touchdown run earlier this season. Containing Dodd will be key if the Leopards are going to stay undefeated.

DEFENSE: The Warriors are surrendering 367.0 Yards (155.0 Rushing, 212.0 Passing) and 21.8 points per contest. Carrollton’s top three tacklers come from a linebacking core that includes Brody Robinson (36 Tackles, 16 Solo Tackles, 5.0 Tackles for Loss, 1 Forced Fumble), Brenton Miller (31 Tackles, 14 Solo Tackles, 2 Sacks, 1 Fumble Recovery), Trenton Leggett (29 Tackles, 7 Solo Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble, 2 Fumble Recoveries), and Tyler Dodd (22 Tackles, 8 Solo Tackles, 2.5 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Fumble Recovery TD). Austin Bentley (24 Tackles, 6.5 Tackles for Loss, 5 Sacks) anchors the defensive line and leads the Warriors in sacks. Micah Campbell (13 Tackles) and Connor Keane (5 Tackles) have also made plays on the defensive front. Caleb Pasiuk (17 Tackles, 10 Solo Tackles) has recorded 3 of the Warriors 4 Interceptions this season. Avery Wilson (23 Tackles, 7 Solo Tackles) intercepted the other pass and leads the secondary in tackles. Patrick Mallette (17 Tackles, 6 Solo Tackles), Lynk Tranter (15 Tackles, 8 Solo Tackles), and Lane Hartong (11 Tackles, 5 Solo Tackles) round out the Warriors defensive backs.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Daniel Leary has converted on 10 of 13 extra point attempts this season, made his only field goal attempt from 25 yards out, and is averaging 41.7 yards on 20 kickoffs. Lynk Tranter has assumed the majority of the punting duties averaging 32.0 yards on 7 punts. Tranter has also averaged 20.0 yards on 3 punt returns with his longest return of 27 and 24.3 yards on 3 kickoff returns with his longest return of 33. Adam Warner has taken the majority of kick returns this season averaging 15.0 yards on 8 returns.

1992 Louisville at Carrollton Football Highlights