Louisville Leopards at West Branch Warriors Week 5 Preview
Louisville Leopards (5-0) at West Branch Warriors (0-5)
SPREAD: Louisville By 30 (According to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50)
WHEN: Friday, October 4 at 7:00 PM
WHERE: Heacock Stadium | Click Here for Directions
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 21-7 all-time record over West Branch including a 10-3 record on the road. VIEW FULL ALL-TIME SERIES
LAST MEETING: West branch defeated Louisville 21-17 on October 12, 2012.
LAST MEETING AT WEST BRANCH: West Branch defeated Louisville 30-21 on October 14, 2011.
LAST LOUISVILLE WIN: The Leopards last defeated the Warriors 28-0 on October 1, 2010 at Louisville Leopards Stadium.
Schedules:
| West Branch Schedule | Louisville Schedule | |||
| WK | Opponent | Result | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | at Crestwood | L 21-48 | Canfield | W 13-10 |
| 2 | Crestview | L 7-42 | North Canton | W 14-13 |
| 3 | at Niles McKinley | L 7-34 | at Ravenna | W 36-22 |
| 4 | Marlington | L 7-52 | Salem | W 41-28 |
| 5 | at Canton South | L 27-49 | Carrollton | W 20-0 |
| 6 | Louisville | at West Branch | ||
| 7 | Carrollton | at Minerva | ||
| 8 | at Alliance | Marlington | ||
| 9 | Minerva | at Alliance | ||
| 10 | at Salem | at Canton South | ||
PREVIEW
West Branch is the only team to defeat Louisville in each of the past two seasons. The Leopards are a perfect 5-0 on the season, while the Warriors are winless at 0-5. Could this be a trap game? West Branch will be desperate for a win on their home field, while Louisville will be looking for a much needed win come Friday as well. Despite being undefeated, the Leopards are in just sixth place in DIII, Region 7 and are going to need all the Harbin Points they can get come November. These two teams have won a combined 16 NBC Titles and the Leopards will look to take one step closer to adding to that total Friday.
1971 Louisville Vs. West Branch Highlights
LEOPARDS
OFFENSE: The Leopards offense has averaged 273 Yards (167 Rushing, 106 Passing) and 24.8 points per game this season. Connor Zwick continues to improve at his quarterback role each week. The Junior QB has completed 43 of 66 passes for 532 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air, while also compiling 372 yards on 93 carries (4.0 Avg.) and 6 touchdowns on the ground. Runningback Walter Schrock leads the team in all-purpose yardage and has rushed the ball 80 times for 387 yards (4.8 Avg.) and 3 touchdowns this year. Runningback Dakota James has also found the endzone once this season. On the other end of Zwick’s passes have been Andy Minster (18 Catches, 222 Yards, 3 Touchdowns), Alex Hollifield (10 Catches, 135 Yards, 1 Touchdown), Bryce Mathie (9 Catches, 102 Yards), Kyle Bast (2 Catches, 38 Yards, 1 Touchdown), and Kyle Woost (2 Catches, 26 Yards.
DEFENSE: The Louisville Defense is giving up 254 Yards (127 Rushing, 127 Passing) and 14.6 points per game. The Leps have started quick all season long and have outscored opponents 40-0 in the opening quarter. The Leopards have accumulated 23.5 sacks this season led by 9 from lineman Dylan Kline (30.5 Tackles, 11 Solo Tackles, 5 Tackles for Loss). Also producing pressure on the line have been Cory Neff (25.5 Tackles, 9 Solo Tackles, 6.5 Tackles for Loss, 3.5 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble) and Cole McElroy (10 Tackles, 4.5 Tackles for Loss, 1 Sack). Zach Shea (29 Tackles, 17 Solo Tackles, 3 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Fumble Recovery, 1 Interception) has been a wrecking machine this season and leads the linebacking core in tackles, sacks, and takeaways. Other linebackers include Josh Brown (25.5 Tackles, 12 Solo Tackles, 2 Sacks) and Frankie Falcone (10 Tackles, 4.5 Tackles for Loss, 1 Sack, 1 Forced Fumble). The secondary is made up of Garrett Yoder (29 Tackles, 19 Solo Tackles, 2.5 Tackles for Loss, 2 Forced Fumbles, 1 Fumble Recovery), AJ Minster (9 Solo Tackles, 2 Fumble Recoveries, 2 Interceptions), Stephen Kerzan (17 Tackles, 12 Solo Tackles), and Lewis Adkins (17 Tackles, 9 Solo Tackles, 4 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble).
SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Jordan Hughes has made 13 of 16 extra points and 5 of 8 field goals this season. Hughes has also been devastating to opposing kick returners as he has put several kickoffs into the endzone and has pinned opponents back deep on most kickoffs this season. Connor Zwick is averaging 36.8 yards per punt this season with a long of 58. He has also pinned opponents inside the 20 three times this year. Garrett Yoder is ripe to spring one in the return game. Yoder has averaged 24.2 yards per kick return and 6.3 yards per punt return this season.
1993 Louisville Vs. West Branch Highlights
WARRIORS
OFFENSE: The Warriors offense has averaged 208 Yards (158 Rushing, 50 Passing) and 13.8 points per game this season. Bryce Butcher has emerged as West Branch’s main quarterback and has completed 21 of 50 passes for 158 yards for 3 touchdowns Vs. 8 Interceptions this season. Butcher has also rushed for 2 scores this season to go along with 93 yards on 26 carries (3.6 Avg.). Runningback Logan Nagy has carried the majority of the load in the backfield rushing 110 times for 376 yards (3.4 Avg.) and 2 touchdowns this season. Mason Hughes has also made an impact in the running game with 33 carries for 145 yards (4.4 Avg.) and a touchdown this season. The main target in the Warriors passing game is Kip DeShields who has made 11 catches this season for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns. DeShields is a multi-threat player too as he has rushed for 95 yards on 18 attempts and occasional throws the ball as well. Austin R. Smith (4 catches, 32 Yards, 1 TD), Hughes (5 Catches, 27 Yards, 1 TD), and Nagy (4 Catches, 20 Yards) have been the other top receivers in West Branch’s passing game.
DEFENSE: West Branch’s defense is giving up 455 Yards (316 Rushing, 139 Passing) and 45.0 Points Per Game. Linebacker Mason Hughes leads the team in tackles with 28 and sacks with 2. Hughes along with defensive backs Kip DeShields and Bryce Butcher (19 Tackles) have all picked off a pass this year. Logan Nagy leads that secondary in tackles with 25 and also recovered a fumble against South last week. Steve Sosnick anchors the defensive line and leads all lineman with 14 tackles. Other defensive impact players include linebacker Justin Stowe (16 Tackles, 1 Fumble Recovery) and defensive back Trae Hillyer (21 Tackles, 1 Fumble Recovery).
SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Zach Minich has hit on 5 of 6 extra point tries this season and opening day kicker Jacob Jarvis was a perfect 4 of 4 on extra point kicks early on. Justin Stowe has averaged 37.5 yards on 22 punts this season for the Warriors. Leading returners for West Branch include Logan Nagy (9 returns, 175 yards) and Bryce Butcher (6 returns, 122 yards).
