Hoover Vikings at Louisville Leopards 2015 Football Preview

Week 2: North Canton Hoover Vikings at Louisville Leopards

SPREAD: Louisville by 9 (According to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50)

WHEN: Friday, September 4 at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Louisville Leopards Stadium

RADIO: WHBC-1480 AM; WDJQ-92.5 FM

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 54-33-5 which includes a 29-14-3 record at home.

VIEW FULL ALL-TIME SERIES

LAST MEETING: The Vikings won 17-14 at Memorial Stadium back on September 5, 2014.

View 2014 Video Highlights & Recap

LAST MEETING AT LOUISVILLE: The Leopards won 14-13 at Louisville back on September 7, 2013.

View 2013 Video Highlights & Recap

Schedules:

PREVIEW

No real need to hype this game up as it speaks for itself. The communities of Louisville and North Canton first battled each other when Calvin Coolidge was President in 1924 and have played against each other every year since. This is the equivalent of Christmas for Louisville Leopards Football despite the opponent’s helmets resembling something more similar to a certain Fall Holiday. The Leopards are looking to avenged their only regular season loss of 2014 and the Vikings are looking for their first victory at Louisville since 2003. Who will win this Week 2 Rivalry? That will be determined Friday at Louisville Leopards Stadium!

LEOPARDS

Louisville never trailed in their 40-14 shellacking of visiting Canfield last Friday at Louisville Leopards Stadium. They out-gained the Cardinals in total yardage 415-186, which included a 308-16 advantage in the Passing Game (Canfield out-rushed Louisville 170-107). Canfield’s only scores came off of two Louisville turnovers and as always protecting the ball will be key if they are to defeat their arch-rival Friday.

The Leopards did not miss a beat the Quarterback position last week as Jake Adams looked like a veteran starter. He completed 82% of his passes (18 of 22) for 308 Yards and threw for 4 touchdowns, while running for another. The elusive Tyler Adams was his favorite target (8 catches, 147 yards, 2 TDs) as he made the Canfield secondary look foolish with touchdown receptions of 40 and 50 yards. Alec Jones (6 catches, 74 yards, 2 TDs), Conner Bast (3 Catches, 81 yards), and Brock Haren (1 Catch, 6 Yards) also had grabs in the Louisville Passing Game. The Leopards will look to take advantage of the Vikings pass defense again, which surrendered 290 yards and 3 touchdowns against Brush last week.

Runningback Rahzul Young pounded his way for 84 yards on 26 carries in the win against Canfield last week. While Young pounded out the clock most of the night, he did show his breakaway ability in one run that was called back due to holding. Leopards Lineman (in order from Right to Left) Alex Hall, Terry Gooch, Chase Lautzenheiser, Issac Mathie, and Jarrett Heater will look to spring free the running game this week against a Hoover rushing defense that allowed just 2.3 yards per carry last week against Brush.

Linebackers Frankie Falcone (10 Tackles) and Kyle Ashcraft (7.5 Tackles) were the top tacklers for the Leopards against the run-heavy Cardinals. Leading the charge upfront will be Daichi Castles (4 Tackles, 1.5 Sacks) along with Dillon Deckerd, Jarrett Heater (1 Tackle), Jimmy Leonard (2 Tackles, 0.5 Sacks), and Cade Stertzbach (1 Tackle). Defensive Backs Casey Nau (5 Tackles, 1 Sack) and Stephen Kerzan will look to cause their usual havoc in the secondary (2.5 Tackles, 1 Force Fumble). Cody Allgood (1.5 Tackles) and Reis Rankin (1.5 Tackles) also had solid debuts in the Louisville Pass Defense.

On Special Teams, Kicker Trevor Burk booted home 4 of 4 extra points from normal range. It would have been a perfect 5 for 5 had it not been for a penalty that led to a longer blocked kick. Burk consistently hit within 40 yards during the first two scrimmages and could play a big role if the game is as close as the last two seasons. Canfield had no answer for his knuckleball kickoffs last week either. Louisville only punted twice last week, but Jake Adams made the most of it with an average of 37 yards per boot and a long of 42. Tyler Adams (1 for 16 Yards), Brody Hahn (1 for 10 Yards), and Young (1 for 16 Yards) all shared kick return duties last week, while Hahn (2 for 6 Yards) took both punt returns.

VIKINGS

Hoover rallied to defeat the visiting Brush Arcs 32-26 last Friday at Memorial Stadium despite being out-gained 349-295 for the game. The Vikings rushed for 164 yards on the ground and passed for 131 yards through the air while committing no turnovers. On defense, they allowed 59 yards rushing and surrendered 290 yards through the air while intercepting 3 passes. Winning the turnover battle is a trend that North Canton will need to continue to stop the potent Louisville passing game.

Senior Cameron Mayle (6 of 11 for 53 Yards Passing, 9 Carries for 39 Yards, 2 TDs Rushing) and Sophomore John Keller (7 of 9 for 78 Yards; 15 Carries for 47 Yards) both split time at Quarterback in Week 1. Mayle was instrumental in leading the Vikings to a home victory over the Leopards last year after he completed 17 of 22 passes for 174 yards and opened the scoring with a 18 yard touchdown strike to Vinnie Serapiglia in the first quarter.

Serapiglia (4 catches, 51 yards) also returns and was Hoover’s top receiver in their win over Brush Friday. Other Targets in the passing game included Receivers Alex Nicholson (4 Catches, 17 Yards) & Eric Sarbaugh (2 Catches, 23 Yards) as well as Tight End Chase Haubert (1 Catch, 14 Yards).

Runningback Nathan George (6 Carries, 58 Yards) showed his breakaway ability on a 51 yard run late in the first half against Brush. Reed Davis (5 Carries, 11 Yards; 1 Catch, 25 Yards) also should see action in the Vikings Backfield.

The Hoover Defense was sparked by Linebacker Vincent Decenso (2 Tackles) who recorded a pair of interceptions including a 21 yard pick six in the opening quarter of the season. Lead Tacklers included Defensive Lineman Ben Hayden (6 Tackles, 3 For Loss, 1 Sack) and Linebackers Mitch Ganuelas (5 Tackles, 1 For Loss) & Seth Graham (5 Tackles). Donny Genetin (3 Tackles, 1 Interception, 1 Tackle For Loss) also grabbed the other takeaway for the Vikings. Other key contributors on defense included Mitchell Lofland (4 Tackles), Conner Tenaglia (4 Tackles), John Destefano (3 Tackles), Ben Kiesling (3 Tackles), and Sarbaugh (3 Tackles).

On Special Teams, Sarbaugh is the same Hoover Kicker who’s 23 yard field goal lifted the Vikings over the Leopards 17-14 with just 1:24 remaining a year ago. Sarbaugh made 3 of 3 extra point kicks, caught a two-point conversion pass, and made 1 of 2 field goals (27 yards) in Week 1.