Louisville Battles to the End in Scrimmage Against Boardman – Football
Boardman 20, Louisville 14, 1 Half
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The Louisville Leopards Varsity Football Team squared off with the visiting Boardman Spartans in a preseason scrimmage Friday Evening at Louisville Leopards Stadium. Boardman topped Louisville 20-14 in one half of action as both squads gained valuable game-speed reps ahead of next week’s season opener.
Spartans Build Two Touchdown Advantage
Boardman opened the scoring midway through the first quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run to cap off a 10 play, 77 yard drive.
The Spartans defense recorded the only takeaway of the game on the second Leopard drive by intercepting a pass in the endzone. Boardman turned that takeaway into points with a 10 play, 80 yard scoring drive that ended with a 10 yard touchdown pass. The Spartans ran in the two-point conversion to take a 14-0 lead with 6:53 remaining in the second quarter.
Wilson TD Run Cuts Boardman Lead in Half
Louisville’s offense got on the scoreboard in its third possession. Senior quarterback Gabe Stoffer found senior runningback Owen DiMarzio for a 24 yard first down pass on 3rd-and-10 to the Boardman 34. The pair then connected again for a 16 yard gain into the redzone on the next play.
Sophomore runningback Owen Wilson then ran hard for a gain of 10 before blasting into the endzone from 8 yards out on the next play. Wilson would finish as the Leopards leading rusher with 7 carries for 38 yards on the evening. Freshman kicker Ryker Youngen booted home the extra point and the deficit was cut in half at 14-7 with 4:11 remaining.
DiMarzio Finds Endzone on Untimed Down
A questionable personal foul penalty and a missed opportunity to recover a Spartan fumble allowed Boardman to keep their next drive alive. It ended with a breakaway 40 yard touchdown run to give the Spartans a commanding 20-7 lead with 45 seconds left in the contest.
The Leopards could have easily packed it in and called it a preseason, but instead they fought to the last second…and beyond.
Stoffer opened the final drive with an 11 yard completion to DiMarzio. His 3rd-and-14 pass on the next series fell incomplete, but drew a 15 yard penalty to move the ball across midfield.
With only 15 seconds remaining and trips to his left, Stoffer went deep down the right sideline to senior wide receiver Quin Burick in one-on-one coverage. Burick leaped above the defensive back and hauled in the pass for a gain of 36 to the Boardman 12 with just 3 seconds remaining.
Stoffer rolled to his right on the next play, but the Spartans defense were covering the Leopard receivers well. Stoffer made a run to the endzone, but came up a yard or two short. However, he drew a facemask penalty, which allowed the Leopards to get one untimed down from the 1 yard line.
Stoffer handed off to DiMarzio on the final play. DiMarzio shock off one defender who grabbed a hold of his jersey, scooted pass two more colliding defenders, and fell into the endzone for a touchdown. Youngen booted home another successful extra point and the scrimmage ended with a final count of 20-14 in favor of the Spartans.
Stoffer Leads Offense with 148 Yards
In one half of play, Stoffer accounted for 148 of the Louisville’s 206 yards of total offense. Stoffer finished 7-of-12 passing for 123 yards and also carried the ball 4 times for 25 yards.
DiMarzio was Stoffer’s top target hauling in 4 receptions for 58 yards. DiMarzio also added 5 carries for 20 yards on the ground.
Colton Norris made 2 receptions for 29 yards. He also had a tackle for a loss on defense along with Ethan Kelly and Jonathan Greathouse.
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next travel to take on the New Philadelphia Quakers in the season opener on Friday, August 22. Game time is set for 7:00 PM from Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium.
Cover Photo By: Joslyn Harsh
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Boardman at Louisville Football Game Statistics
Scoring Summary
SPARTANS 20, LEOPARDS 14, 1 HALF
Team 1-2–TOTAL
Boardman 6-14–20
Louisville 0-14–14
1st Quarter
BOARDMAN – 1 Yard Run (Pass Failed) | LHS 0, BHS 6, 4:49
2nd Quarter
BOARDMAN – 10 Yard Pass (Run Successful) | LHS 0, BHS 14, 6:53
LOUISVILLE – Owen Wilson 8 Yard Run (Ryker Youngen Kick) | LHS 7, BHS 14, 4:11
BOARDMAN – 40 Yard Run (Run Failed) | LHS 7, BHS 20, 0:45
LOUISVILLE – Owen DiMarzio 1 Yard Run (Ryker Youngen Kick) | LHS 14, BHS 20, 0:00
