Louisville Leopards at New Philadelphia Quakers 2004 Football Highlights
Louisville 18, New Philadelphia 7
8,000 fans filed into Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium on November 5, 2004 to see top-seeded and undefeated New Philadelphia take on 8th seeded Louisville. Most left disappointed, as the Leopards spoiled the Quakers first playoff appearance in 30 years with a defensively dominating 18-7 victory in the DII, Regional 7 Quarterfinals.
The Louisville defense held New Philadelphia to negative 6 yards on 21 attempts on the ground and recorded 6 sacks. Quaker runningback Chad Franklin had finished the regular season with a school record 1,435 yards, but was held to just 15 yards on 9 rushes and only carried the ball once in the second half.
“Our defensive line was very aggressive, and we gave them a lot of opportunities to be aggressive,” Leopards Head Coach Paul Farrah spoke of his team’s defensive effort. “Once we took the tailback out of the game, we could really bring it after them.”
Heath Hinkle, Ty Graham, and Kyle Sankbeil led the Louisville defensive front and each had at least one sack or tackle for a loss. Amazingly, the Leopards spent most of the night in the Quaker backfield despite being out-weighed by about 50 pounds per player up front.
“It’s amazing, we took it to the next level,” Hinkle said of their performance. “It was having heart, (and) not ever giving up.”
Despite their efforts, New Philadelphia did managed to put one solid drive together to take the lead just before halftime. 88 of their total 124 yards came on the drive that ended with Franklin scoring from a yard out. Quarterback Alex Meiser anchored the drive for the Quakers and finished with 132 yards passing for the evening. Key completions included a 34 yard completion to Ryan Sandilands on 3rd-and-9 and a 24 yard completion to Lucas Moreland.
The Leopards offense answered back to start the second half. Louisville marched 64 yards and scored via a Drew Kuhn to Kyle Smith 4th-and-6 connection from the New Philadelphia 23.
The Leopards defense shutout the Quakers in the second half led by linebackers Justyn Beadling, Austin Power, and Brian Whaley. Beadling forced a fumble in the third quarter and Whaley recovered on Louisville’s 38 yard line.
On the ensuing drive, the Leopards offense marched 62 yards and scored via Kuhn’s 2 yard touchdown run. Louisville failed the conversion attempt for the third time in the game, but it mattered little as an 18-7 advantage might as well have been 48-7 with the way the Leopards defense was playing.
Kuhn racked up 148 yards running, passing, receiving, and returning to lead Louisville. His 2 yard touchdown run in the second quarter capped off a 59 yard Leopard scoring drive to give them the initial lead. Aaron Scott also had 88 yards rushing and Mark Gulling passed for 86 yards.
Scoring Summary
LEOPARDS 18, QUAKERS 7
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 0-6-6-6–18
New Philadelphia 0-7-0-0–07
1st Quarter
None
2nd Quarter
Louisville – Drew Kuhn 2 Yard Run (Kick Blocked), 6-0
New Philadelphia – Chad Franklin 1 Yard Run (Zurcher Kick), 6-7
3rd Quarter
Louisville – Kyle Smith 23 Yard Pass from Drew Kuhn (Run Failed), 12-7
4th Quarter
Louisville – Drew Kuhn 2 Yard Run (Pass Failed), 18-7
Stats
Rushing: Louisville 48-135, New Philadelphia 21-(minus 8)
Passing: Louisville 7-14-109-1, New Philadelphia 9-22-132-1
First Downs: Louisville 15, New Philadelphia 9
Fumbles-Lost: Louisville 2-0, New Philadelphia 2-1
Records: Louisville 9-2, New Philadelphia 10-1
