Canton South Drops Louisville 41-20, Leopards Finish 5-5

By Leopard Nation · Published October 26, 2012 · Updated October 27, 2012

Louisvile Leopards Football 2012 Senior Night

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Canton South 41, Louisville 20

The Canton South Wildcats opened up a 28-0 first half lead before going on to defeat the Louisville Leopards 41-20 at Louisville Leopards Stadium Friday Night. Trent Ohman ran for 154 yards and a touchdown, while Trey Hayford added the other two touchdowns on the ground as Louisville finished the 2012 season at 5-5.

The Wildcats jumped all over the Leopards in the first half to build a 21-0 first quarter advantage. Canton South marched 60 yards in a 10-play opening drive before scoring their first touchdown. The key to the scoring drive was Quarterback Josh Lyon’s 5 yard first down run on a 4th-and-5 from the Louisville 6. Fullback Josh Kenny powered in for the first of his three first half touchdowns on the next play to give South a 7-0 lead.

After a Leopards three-and-out, the Wildcats struck quickly on a 71 yard touchdown pass from Lyon to Wide Receiver Noah Mallen. Then on the ensuing possession, Mallen intercepted a Louisville pass and returned the ball to the Leopard 32. After a Louisville personal foul, Canton South setup shop at the 17 yard line. A 16 yard pass completion from Lyon to Trey Taylor led to Kenny’s second 1 yard touchdown run of the evening giving Canton South a 21-0 advantage.

The Leopards drove the length of the field on the next drive keyed by a 44 yard completion from the quarterbacking Ohman to Wide Receiver Alex Hollifield. On 4th-and-5 from the 12, Ohman again connected with Hollifield in the back of the endzone. The naked eye from the press box and video evidence combine to suggest that the ruling should have been a touchdown, but the referees ruled the pass incomplete giving the Wildcats the ball back on downs.

Canton South wasted no time in building their lead even higher. Lyon completed an 88 yard screen pass to the shifty & explosive runningback Deonte Settles who was tackled at the Louisville 1. On the next play, Kenny gained the yard needed for the score by plunging into the endzone. After one more Leopard threat was extinguished, when Dejon Newell intercepted a pass in the Wildcats own endzone, Canton South took a 28-0 lead into the break.

The Leopards shot out of the locker room with a 9 play, 72 yard scoring drive that took up just 3:01. It was just what the doctor ordered as a mix of runs from Ohman and Hayford allowed Louisville to move the ball down the field quickly. The drive ended with Hayford running left and plowing over a Wildcat defender to score from 10 yards out. After a failed extra point, the score remained 28-6.

On the next series, the Leopards defense shutdown the Wildcats and forced them to punt. Rather than being poised to score again with great field position, the Leopards muffed the punt and South recovered in Louisville territory. Still the Leps defense held firm on the next two Wildcat series. Louisville defensive lineman Kobie Shepard stopped Settles cold in the backfield to help end the first threat. Then the Leopards Cory Neff sacked Lyon on 4th-and-11 to end the next Canton South offensive opportunity.

Louisville responded with two fourth quarter scores in a span of 36 seconds. The first came after 13 play, 77 yard drive ending with a 12 yard run by Ohman. Then after a South turnover, Hayford scored from 8 yards away for his team-leading eighth running touchdown of the season. Hayford’s run came after Louisville Linebacker Josh Brown stripped Settles and fellow Linebacker Gary Anile fell on the ball at the Canton South 8. After trailing by four touchdowns, the deficit had shrunk to 28-20.

On the next drive, the Wildcats put the game away. At first it did not come easy as Canton South faced a 3rd-and-10 from their own 20. But, Lyon completed a pass over the middle to Mallen who got just enough yardage for the first down. Mallen would finish as the games top receiver with 3 catches for 98 yards. The play gutted the Leopards in the heart and Settles 63 yard scamper on the next play nearly ripped it out completely. But, Louisville’s defense clinged to the hope of an epic comeback. Neff, Brown, and Dylan Kline combined for a stop on first down, Alex Schooley made a tackle in the backfield on second down, and Shepherd stopped Lyon’s run up the middle on third down.

Then came the dagger, Lyon completed a pass to a leaping Armand Fontes for a 9 yard touchdown on 4th-and-Goal. 35-20 Wildcats. Next, the Leopards wheels came flying off when they fumbled on the ensuing kick return leading to a South recovery. Three plays later Lyon found Mallen for a 14 yard touchdown strike making it 41-20. Lyon finished the evening 15 of 21 for 264 yards and three touchdowns for Canton South.

The clock expired and Canton South had earned their first victory over Louisville since 2006. For Louisville it was a season of turmoil and thoughts of what could have been reigned in the minds of players & fans alike as they finished with a losing NBC record (3-4) for the first time in their history. As disappointed as fans may be, just remember this is Louisville Football. And the last time Louisville Football went 5-5 was in 2006, which was followed by a run to Massillon in 2007.

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