Louisville Leopards at Minerva Lions 2003 Football Highlights
Louisville 35, Minerva 22
With both team’s playoff hopes on the line, Louisville rolled out to a 21-0 advantage en rout to downing host Minerva 35-22 back on October 24, 2003.
“I’m as proud of them as I was our 10-0 team last year,” Leopard Head Coach Paul Farrah said of his team that finished 6-4, which was enough to earn a playoff birth. “We were 0-3 and people were on us. But we kept fighting, and we kept getting better and better.”
Quarterback Josh Vacha racked up 229 yards of offense, ran for a 3 yard touchdown, and connected with John Stallings for touchdowns twice from 6 and 26 yards out. All three touchdowns came in a wild second quarter in which Louisville outscored Minerva 21-14.
“It means a truckload to us,” Vacha said of carrying on the Leopard Tradition. “To follow in the footsteps of Gary Whaley and Curtis Elsass, and the great offensive line and great defense. And to just come out here and play our hearts out and get another win to maybe make it in the playoffs it’s just a great feeling.”
The Lions two second quarter touchdowns came via a Chris Hahn 2 yard touchdown run and a Jeb 
Ford 69 yard breakaway run. Minerva received the second half kickoff and used a fake punt pass to convert a fourth down in their own territory. This appeared to push the momentum in favor of the home team. But on the very next play, Leopard Cornerback Drew Kuhn got a perfect read on the ensuing pass, intercepted it, and scampered 48 yards to the endzone giving Louisville a 35-14 advantage with 9:28 left in the third quarter.
The Lions would add 8 more points to their total via Hahn’s 3 yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion. Hahn would finish with 27 carries for 106 yards as Minerva out-rushed Louisville 245-153. However, no one scored the the rest of the way and Louisville would clinch a playoff spot for the fifth straight season.
Dan Kolp also scored a 13 yard touchdown in the first quarter and Kyle Dougherty booted home 5 of 5 extra points for the Leopards. Louisville also finished 6-1 in conference play.
“It’s just wonderful. All of us worked as one and as a team we came together,” Defensive End Curt Moore said of the Leopards team-first mentality. “It wasn’t one person. It was 11 as one, like we always say. We never lost faith. We just kept pushing harder and harder.”
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Scoring Summary
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 7-21-7-0–35
Minerva 0-14-8-0–22
1st Quarter
Louisville – Dan Kolp 13 Yard Run (Kyle Dougherty Kick), 7-0
2nd Quarter
Louisville – Josh Vacha 3 Yard Run (Kyle Dougherty Kick), 14-0
Louisville – John Stallings 6 Yard Pass from Josh Vacha (Kyle Dougherty Kick), 21-0
Minerva – Chris Hahn 2 Yard Run (Jeb Ford Run), 21-8
Louisville – John Stallings 26 Yard Pass from Josh Vacha (Kyle Dougherty Kick), 28-8
Minerva – Jeb Ford 69 Yard Run (Run Failed), 28-14
3rd Quarter
Louisville – Drew Kuhn 46 Yard Interception Return (Kyle Dougherty Kick), 35-14
Minerva – Chris Hahn 3 Yard Run (Chris Hahn Run), 35-22
4th Quarter
None
Stats
Rushing: Louisville 36-153, Minerva 42-245
Passing: Louisville 7-16-2-173, Minerva 7-16-1-71
First Downs: Louisville 16, Minerva 11
Fumbles-Lost: Louisville 4-1, Minerva 0-0
Records: Louisville 6-4, 6-1; Minerva 6-4, 4-3
