Offense Rolls, Defense Holds Firm as Leopards Roar Past Ravenna

Alex Hollifield Louisville Leopards Football Vs. Ravenna

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Louisville 34, Ravenna 20

Joey Duckworth was 18 of 36 for 252 Yards Passing and threw 2 Touchdowns to lead Louisville past Ravenna 34-20 Friday night at Louisville Leopards Stadium.  Gary Anile also had 2 interceptions and 2 sacks for a defense that did not allow the Raven offense to score until 1:41 left in the fourth quarter.

Louisville’s offense visited the Ravens 3-yard-line twice in the opening quarter, but only managed to get three points from both trips on kicker Merrick Storlie’s 24 yard field goal.  The Leopards dominated on the defensive side of the ball as they stopped Ravenna on a 4th-and-1 in their opening drive and held the Ravens to only one first down during their first three drives.  The only Ravenna first down came on a 4th-and-1 when Quarterback/Punter Tate Bennett ran down the right sideline 18 yards on a fake punt.

Louisville’s offense lit up the scoreboard in the second quarter with two touchdowns.  The Leopards first scoring drive was set up by Trent Ohman’s kick return to the Leopards 42.  Duckworth then ran for 8 yards on a 3rd-and-4 to get the Leopards across midfield.  Then Alex Hollifield then made a leaping grab that netted 28 yards and Trevor Hostetler caught another Duckworth pass to move the chains again.  After a few plays that went the wrong direction, the Leps faced a 3rd-and-16 from the Ravenna 17.  Out of the shotgun Duckworth looked right and then delivered the ball to the far left corner of the endzone into the arms of the diving Ohman for the score.  The touchdown completed a 9 play 58 yard drive to give Louisville a 10-7 lead.

The Senior Wide Receiver would again showcase his skills on the next Leopards touchdown.  Duckworth delivered a pass to the Ravenna 15 that Ohman leaped and caught.  Upon landing, he withstood a diving Ravenna defender and then broke another Raven tackle before sprinting into the endzone for the Leopards second score in just 1:06.  The drive had been setup by an Alex Schooley fumble recovery on the Leopards previous kickoff.  Ohman finished the evening with a game-high 8 catches and also 98 yards receiving.

The Ravens only two touchdowns in the first half came on interception returns.  The first was a 40 yard return by Josiah Coman and the second was a 63 yard pick six by Gavin Reaser.  Ohman would take the ensuing kickoff from the second interception back 68 yards to the Ravenna 19.  But the Leopards drive would stall at the 14 when a 4th-and-6 pass fell incomplete.  Louisville 17, Ravenna 14 at the half.

Louisville got on the board first in the second half when Storlie added a 38 yard field goal to put Louisville up 20-14. The kick marked the first time a Louisville kicker made multiple field goals in a single game since Jaron Lohmeyer made 2 at Alliance in 2009.  Storlie’s first three-pointer in the second quarter was the Leopards first field goal made since Lohmeyer booted one through at Carrollton in 2010 and it was also the first Leopards field goal at home since Lohmeyer’s 25 yard game-winner during the inaugural game at Louisville Leopards Stadium against Ravenna.

The Ravens threatened on the following drive, but an Anile sack resulted in a 13 yard loss forcing a 3rd-and-23.  Ravenna gained 21 yards on the next play, but a Beatty's Sports 2012 Football Shirtfalse start set them back.  Bennett’s 4th-and-7 pass fell incomplete giving the ball back to Louisville.  After a Leopard possession, Ravenna was faced with a similar situation after Louisville linebacker Charles Beamer plugged a hole on a 3rd-and-2 and a gang tackle followed for a loss of 5.  The Leopard defense also held Ravenna to just 66 yards rushing on 28 attempts (2.4 yards per carry) for the night.  On 4th-and-7 from the Leopard 27, Bennett’s pass to the right side was picked off by a diving Anile at the Louisville 23.

After an exchange of possessions, a combined Anile and Dylan Kline sack forced Ravenna to punt deep in their own end.  Two plays later Duckworth launched a pass to the left side of the endzone and Hollifield made a basket catch falling backwards.  The Junior receiver finished with 4 catches for a game-high 109 yards receiving.  Storlie’s extra point made it 27-14 Louisville with 6:32 left to play.

The barely lit Raven flame was completely extinguished when Anile returned an interception 58 yards to the Ravenna 2 yard line.  Two plays later Trey Hayford scored his third rushing touchdown of the season to put the Leopards up 34-14 with 5:05 left in the game.

The Ravens only offensive score came after a 12 play 66 yard drive that featured two 4th-and-long conversions.  With 1:41 remaining Bennett found wide receiver Jermaine Justice for a 4 yard touchdown.  Bennett finished the evening 11 of 24 for 125 yards passing and Justice was the top Ravenna receiver with 6 catches for 65 yards.

Louisville’s defense held Ravenna to just 191 total yards for the game.  Cory Neff had several tackles for losses and Kyle White also had an interception to add to all the other great defensive plays previously mentioned.  Louisville is now 13-2-2 against Ravenna all-time and more importantly heads into conference play with a winning record for the first time since 2009.  The Leopards will travel to Marlington to take on the Dukes next Friday in a game that could decide the fate of the NBC.

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UP NEXT: The Leopards will next travel to open up NBC play at Marlington to take on the Dukes on Friday, September 14 at 7:00 PM.  JV will travel to Canton South on Saturday, September 8 at 10:00 AM.

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STATISTICS

LEOPARDS 34, RAVENS 20

                     1     2     3    4     Final

Ravenna       0     14    0   6       20

Louisville     0      17    3    14    34

 

1st Qtr:

None

2nd Qtr:

L – 11:51 – Merrick Storlie 24 yd Field Goal

8 plays 51 yds

R – 10:15 – Josiah Coman 40 yd Interception Return

Ben Morgan PAT

1 play 40 yds

L – 5:58 – Trent Ohman 18 yd pass from Joey Duckworth

Merrick Storlie PAT

9 plays 58 yds

L – 4:52 – Trent Ohman 27 yd pass from Joey Duckworth

Merrick Storlie PAT

3 plays 28 yds

R – 2:45 – Gavin Reaser 63 yd Interception Return

Ben Morgan PAT

1 play 63 yds

3rd Qtr:

L – 7:56 – Merrick Storlie 38 yd Field Goal

4th Qtr:

L – 6:32 – Alex Holliefield 33 yd pass from Joey Duckworth

Merrick Storlie PAT

2 plays 32 yds

L – 5:05 – Joseph Hayford 1 yd run

Merrick Storlie PAT

2 plays 2 yds

R – 1:41 – Jermaine Justice 4 yd pass from Tate Bennett

Pass Failed

12 plays 66 yds

 

Team Stats:

First Downs:

Ravenna : 9

Louisville: 16

 

Rushing:

Ravenna: 28 carries for 66 yds

Louisville: 27 carries for 60 yds

 

Passing:

Ravenna: 11 of 24 for 125 yds 1 TD 3 INT’s

Louisville: 18 of 36 for 252 yds 3 TD’s 2 INT’s

 

Fumbles/Lost:

Ravenna: 1/1

Louisville: 1/1

 

3rd Down Conversions:

Ravenna: 1 of 12

Louisville: 6 of 12

 

4th Down Conversions:

Ravenna: 3 of 6

Louisville: 2 of 4

 

Individual Stats:

Rushing:

Ravenna: Demetrius Fear – 17 carries for 50 yds

Louisville: Joey Duckworth – 18 carries for 43 yds

 

Receiving:

Ravenna: Jermaine Justice – 6 catches for 65 yds 1 TD

Louisville: Trent Ohman – 8 catches for 98 yds 2 TD’s

Alex Hollifield – 4 catches for 109 yds 1 TD

Alex Schooley – 4 catches for 22 yds

Trevor Hostetler – 2 catches for 23 yds

Passing:

Ravenna: Tate Bennett – 11 of 24 for 125 yds 1 TD 3 INT’s

Louisville: Joey Duckworth – 18 of 36 for 252 yds 3 TD’s 2 INT’s

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