Ravenna Ravens at Louisville Leopards 2014 Football Preview

Ravenna Ravens at Louisville Leopards

Ravenna Ravens Football HelmetLouisville Leopards Helmet

SPREAD: Louisville By 22 (According to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50)

WHEN: Friday, September 12 at 7:30 PM

WHERE: Louisville Leopards Stadium

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 leads the all-time series 14-2-2, which includes an undefeated 8-0-1 record at home.

VIEW FULL ALL-TIME SERIES

LAST MEETING: The Leopards won at Ravenna 36-22 back on September 13, 2013.

View 2013 Video Highlights & Recap

LAST MEETING AT LOUISVILLE: The Leopards defeated the Ravens 34-20 back on September 7, 2012.

View 2012 Video Highlights & Recap

Schedules:

Louisville Schedule Ravenna Schedule
WK Opponent Result Opponent Result
1 at Canfield W 24-7 Tallmadge L 20-31
2 at Hoover L 14-17 Aurora L 28-42
3 Ravenna 9/12 at Louisville 9/12
4 at Salem 9/19 Field 9/19
5 at Carrollton 9/26 at Kent Roosevelt 9/26
6 West Branch 10/3 Norton 10/3
7 Minerva 10/10 at Crestwood 10/10
8 at Marlington 10/17 at Coventry 10/17
9 Alliance 10/24 at Southeast 10/24
10 Canton South 10/31 Springfield 10/31

PREVIEW

This will likely be the final game in this series for sometime as Ravenna will be replacing Louisville with rival Kent Roosevelt for their Week 3 matchup in 2015 (Since the Rough Riders are switching to the Suburban Leauge). The Leopards have historically owned the series as they are 13-1 against them since 1930. However, the Ravens are a team hungry for their first victory and are looking to win at place they’ve never won before at Louisville (0-8-1). Likewise, the Leopards are eager to bounce back from a heart-breaking 17-14 loss at rival North Canton last week and make the most of their only home game in the first half of the season. Who will have final bragging rights in the Battle for Route 44?

RAVENS

The Ravenna Offense has averaged 330 Yards (152 Rushing, 178 Passing) and 24 Points per game. Senior Runningback Bradley Warren leads the offense with 246 yards on 54 carries (4.6 avg.) and 4 touchdowns on the ground. Warren has also proven himself to be multi-dimensional as he has completed 2 of 2 passes for 45 yards which included the Ravens only passing touchdown of the season to Ben Atwood.

Junior Quarterback Derek Cross has been an efficient 31 of 36 passing (86%) for 311 yards through the Beatty's Sports Blue Football Schedule Shirtair. While he has been accurate, the few mistakes he has made have been costly as 3 of his 5 non-completions have been interceptions. His favorite targets include Bobby Voiers (7 Catches, 93 yards), Rylan Notch (5 Catches, 130 Yards), Maurice Dentigance (4 Catches, 84 Yards), and Cameron Hinton (3 Catches, 27 Yards).

On Special Teams, Dentigance has averaged 23 yards on 5 kick returns this season with a long of 33. Voiers also averaged 10 yards on 2 kick returns and has taken the only Ravenna punt return of the season for 5 yards. Kicker Brady Starkey has averaged 50.8 yards per kickoff and has recorded 2 touchbacks. In addition, Starkey has been successful on 2 of 4 extra points, but has yet to attempt a field goal. Shane Polidoro has also averaged 30.3 yards on 4 punts this season with a long of 39.

Defensively, Ravenna has allowed 36.5 points per contest and has only had one takeaway this season. Middle Linebacker Brendon Winning leads the team in tackles with 35, forced fumbles with 3, and has 1 of the Ravens 4 sacks this season. Voiers (13 Tackles), Donnie Heller (12 Tackles), Bradford Crislip (12 Tackles, 0.5 Sacks, 1 Fumble Recovery), Dejuan Barfield (7 Tackles), and Shaun Roberts (7 Tackles, 1 Tackle for Loss, 0.5 Sacks) should all see action alongside winning in the linebacking core.

The Ravenna secondary has not recorded an interception through the first two weeks of the season. Free Safety Cameron Hinton leads the defensive backfield with 18 tackles and 2 pass break-ups. Also seeing action in the secondary will be Warren (14 Tackles, 1 Pass Break-Up) at Cornerback, Polidoro (14 Tackles) at Strong Safety, and Dentigance (7 Tackles, 1 Force Fumble) at Cornerback as well.

Up front, Willie Ross (15 Tackles, 1 Sack) anchors the line at Defensive Tackle. Also on the defensive line are Defensive End Mike Legan (8 Tackles, 2 For Loss) and Defensive Tackle Connor Browne (1 Sack).

LEOPARDS

The Leopards offense has averaged 312 Yards (147 Rushing, 165 Passing) and 19 points per contest this season. Quarterback Connor Zwick leads the offensive attack completing 29 of 45 passes for 312 yards and 2 touchdowns against 2 interceptions. Zwick can also dazzle defenses with his feet as he has scampered for 112 yards on 26 rushes (4.3 Avg.) this season. Runningack Walter Schrock leads the team in rushing with 20 carries for 179 yards (9.0 Avg.) and 2 touchdowns this season. Schrock was held to just 21 yards on 8 attempts last week at Hoover and it will be paramount for Louisville to get him going early.

Kyle Woost has been the top targeted Leopards receiver so far this season with 12 receptions for 83 yards and has scored a touchdown in each of the first two games. Josh Swanson showed his ability to breakaway last week with a 67 yard reception that made him the leading Louisville receiver in terms of yardage (3 catches, 86 yards) this season. Other targets have included Ryan Lautner (5 Catches, 64 Yards), Tyler Adams (3 Catches, 43 Yards), and Alec Jones (3 Catches, 38 Yards, 1 Touchdown).

Defensively, Frank Falcone has been a menace in the backfield with 3 sacks and 8.5 total tackles. Linebacker Kyle Ashcraft leads the team in tackles with 19.5 and Stephen Kerzan leads the Secondary with 14.5 Tackles.

Other leading Tacklers include Jake Mathie (13 Tackles), Dalton Deckerd (11 Tackles, 1 Sack), and Casey Nau (10.5 Tackles, 2 Tackles for Loss, 1 Fumble Recovery). Other defenders with highlights include Daichi Castles (9.5 Tackles, 1 Force Fumble), Tanner Brahler (4.5 Tckles, 1 Sack), and Joe Crank (3 Tackles, 1 Interception).

On Special Teams, Kicker Austin Terra has been a perfect 5 of 5 on extra points this season and has booted through 1 of 2 field goals. Zwick has averaged 28.6 yards on 8 punts with 3 of those boots landing inside the 20. The Leopards have only returned 5 kicks or punts this season. Adams returned the opening kickoff 38 yards last week and Woost also returned a kick 17 yards. Crank has taken 2 punt returns and Mathie also had an 18 yard return at Canfield.

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