Louisville Leopards (6-0, 3-0) at Minerva Lions (4-2, 2-1)

SPREAD: Louisville By 3 (According to Stark County Pick’em), Louisville By 3 (According to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50)

WHEN: Friday, October 11 at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Robert H. Hines Stadium | Click Here for Directions

RADIO: None

TV: Massillon Cable Channel 22 or 21, WIVM Channel 52 at 11 PM

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 60-20-5 all-time record over Minerva. VIEW FULL ALL-TIME SERIES

LAST MEETING: Louisville won 35-14 on September 21, 2012 at Louisville Leopards Stadium.

LAST MEETING AT MINERVA: Minerva defeated Louisville 29-26 on September 23, 2011.

LAST LOUISVILLE WIN AT MINERVA: The Leopards last defeated the Lions at Minerva 25-7 on October 30, 2009.

Schedules:

PREVIEW

Its a rivalry as old as the teams themselves as Louisville will play Minerva for the 86th time come Friday. It will be a clash of the Lions high-powered offense and the Leopards shutdown defense with major league & playoff implications on the line. Louisville has remained undefeated, but faces the toughest part of their schedule in the final four games of the season. Minerva has fallen in two close games, but has been solid throughout. Its the oldest NBC Rivalry and its coming at you Friday night on Minerva’s new turf!

1964 Louisville at Minerva Highlights

LEOPARDS

OFFENSE: Louisville is averaging 307 Yards (197 Rushing, 110 Passing) and 29 Points Per Game. Quarterback Connor Zwick leads the team in both passing (48 of 73 for 627 Yards, 6 Touchdowns, 4 Interceptions) and rushing (101 Carries, 461 Yards, 7 Touchdowns). Runningbacks Walter Schrock (84 Carries, 453 Yards, 4 Touchdowns) and Dakota James (24 Carries, 110 Yards, 2 Touchdowns). On the other end of Zwick’s passes, Andy Minster leads all receivers in receptions with 20, yards with 241, and touchdowns with 3. Other receivers that have also made an impact include Alex Hollifield (10 Receptions, 135 Yards, 1 Touchdown), Bryce Mathie (10 Receptions, 135 Yards, 1 Touchdown), Kyle Bast (4 Receptions, 81 Yards, 1 Touchdown), and Kyle Woost (4 Receptions, 45 Yards).

DEFENSE: The Leopards defense is surrendering just 229 Yards (119 Rushing, 111 Passing) and 12 Points Per Game while producing shutouts in each of their past two contests. Defensive Back Garett Yoder leads the team in both tackles with 33.5 and forced fumbles with 3. Also in the secondary, AJ Minster has recorded a team-leading 5 takeaways (3 Fumble Recoveries, 2 Interceptions), Stephen Kerzan has tallied 22 tackles, and Lewis Adkins has recorded 18 tackles and 4 sacks. Dylan Kline leads a disruptive defensive line and has 9 of Louisville’s 24.5 sacks. He and fellow lineman Cory Neff have recorded 30.5 tackles each. Neff has gotten to the quarterback 3.5 times this season and also has 8.5 tackles for a loss. Cole McElroy also has 11 tackles and 1 sack up front. At linebacker, Zach Shea has made 31 tackles, recorded 3 sacks & 4 tackles for a loss, forced and recovered a fumble, and has also taken an interception to the house. Aiding Shea in the linebacking core are Josh Brown (30 Tackles, 3 Sacks) and Frankie Falcone (4.5 Tackles for a Loss, 1 Sack). The Leopards have not put together three straight shutouts since 1998 and they will look to match that feat Friday.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Jordan Hughes has scored 40 points this season in making 19 of 22 extra point attempts and 7 of 11 field goal attempts. Connor Zwick has averaged 36.8 yards on 19 punts this season with a long of 58. Garett Yoder continues to be the main returner for the Leopards. He’s averaging 24.2 yards per kick return and 6.3 yards per punt return.

1993 Minerva at Louisville Football Highlights

LIONS

OFFENSE: The Lions Wing-T offense has produced 323 Yards (261 Rushing, 62 Passing) and 32 Points Per Game. Runningbacks Dalton Hartshorn (75 Carries, 684 Yards, 8 Touchdowns) and Cody Parrish (103 Carries, 697 Yards, 9 Touchdowns) have broke the century mark seven times on the ground between them. Quarterback Josey Riley (14 of 31 for 313 Yards, 3 Touchdowns, 1 Interception) has taken care of the ball under center and has thrown to a variety of receivers that include Hartshorn (6 Receptions, 141 Yards, 1 Touchdown), Chase Cappelli (2 Receptions, 68 Yards), Billy Eyer (3 Receptions, 58 Yards, 2 Touchdowns), Cody Parrish (3 Receptions, 58 Yards, 2 Tocuhdowns), Joe Lettrich (3 Receptions, 33 Yards), and Tony Berry (1 Reception, 33 Yards, Touchdown).

DEFENSE: The Minerva Defense is surrendering 26 points per game. Linebacker Lucas Van Meter had a 74 yard fumble return touchdown against Central Catholic early on in the season. Cody Parrish and Dalton Hartshorn each had an interception against Alliance in the secondary during Week 4. The rest of the Lions defense remains a mystery.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Tyler Stewart has been in-charge of both Kicking and Punting duties this season. Stewart has been reliable in making 21 of 22 extra points this season, but missed his only field goal attempt earlier this year. Minerva has not scored on a kick/punt return touchdown, nor have they given up one.

NOTE: Minerva did not submit stats upon our request, therefore the statistics we found were the most up-to-date we could find.

1999 Louisville at Minerva Football Highlights