Leopards Lose to Linsly in Season Finale, Finish 3-7 – Football
Linsly 45, Louisville 19
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The Louisville Leopards Football Team fell to the visiting Linsly Cadets 45-19 on Senior Night Friday at Louisville Leopards Stadium. With the loss, Louisville finishes the season with a record of 3-7.
Game Stats | Scoring Summary | Team Stats | Individual Stats
Hershey Records 2 Interceptions and a Touchdown
Junior Braiden Hershey recorded two interceptions on defense and caught a touchdown on offense for the Leopards. Hershey scored on a 27 yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback Daveion Cruse with 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Hershey would finish as Louisville’s leading receiver on the night with three catches for 69 yards.
Both of Hershey’s picks occurred earlier in the second quarter. The first came at the Leopard 10 yard line to halt a potential Cadet scoring drive. The second came two possessions later, a diving interception at the Louisville 33 that would setup the Leopards first scoring drive.
Hershey’s presence was also felt later on defense when he popped a Linsly receiver on 3rd-and-9 for a 1 yard loss. That stop forced the Cadets only punt of the contest in the third quarter.
Cruse Accounts for 204 Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Two plays after Hershey’s second interception, Cruse broke loose for a 60 yard touchdown scamper to put Louisville on the board with 1:05 left in first half. He rolled to his right looking downfield to pass before cutting back left into space via blocks from senior runningback Andrew Essik and senior offensive lineman Cayden McKimmie. Cruse turned on the jets down the left sideline blowing by another pair of Linsly defenders. One more downfield block by senior wide receiver Chase Mueller allowed Cruse to cut back to the right and speed into the endzone for the Leopards longest run of the season.
Cruse came off the bench for senior starting quarterback Charlie Roberts who took a big lick from the Linsly defense on the first play of the second quarter. Cruse would finish with five carries for 84 yards on the ground in his final game as a Leopard. He was also 10 of 17 passing for 120 yards with his lone touchdown pass to Hershey.
Essik Hits Century Mark On Final TD Run
Essik carried the ball 14 times for 100 yards and also made three receptions for 26 yards in his final game as a Leopard. Essik reached the century mark with an 11 yard touchdown run on Louisville’s final offensive snap of the year from scrimmage.
The touchdown cut the deficit to 45-19 with 1:09 to play. The Leopards failed to convert the two point conversion attempt and the Cadets took a knee on their next possessions to run out the rest of the clock.
Linsly Racks Up 405 Yards of Offense in 1st Half
Linsly netted 405 of their 425 total yards of offense in the first half as they took a commanding 38-6 lead into the break. The Cadets averaged 9.9 yards per play and out-gained the Leopards 425-306 in total yards of offense for the game.
This included a 288-123 edge in passing yards, with all of that yardage coming in the first half. Louisville held a 183-137 advantage on the ground for the game and a 15-14 edge in first downs.
Cowan Throws for 229 Yards in Opening Half
Junior quarterback Atley Cowan was 9 of 14 passing for 229 yards and threw two touchdown passes all in the opening half. Cowan hit senior wide receiver Luca DiLorenzo over the middle of the field for a 56 yard touchdown strike in the first quarter on a 3rd-and-22 play. DiLorenzo would finish with three catches for 78 yards.
Later in the second quarter, Cowan proved clutch in finding junior wide receiver Malte Feil in the back of the endzone for a 32 yard touchdown pass with just 12 seconds left before halftime. The Cadets drove 73 yards on 6 plays needing just 43 seconds to answer Louisville’s only first half touchdown. Feil would finish as Linsly’s top pass catcher with four grabs for 74 yards.
DiLorenzo Finds Coleman for 1st Touchdown
The Cadets finished with 288 passing yards in the first half with a chunk of them coming on their second play from scrimmage. DiLorenzo gathered in a high pitch to the left from Cowan. Rather than run, DiLorenzo stepped back to pass and found senior wide receiver Nathan Coleman wide open down field for a 53 yard touchdown reception. Coleman would finish as Linsly’s top receiver with three catches for 110 yards.
Stanisi Hits Century Mark and Returns Kick for TD
Junior runningback Kevin Stanisi carried the ball seven times for 101 yards to lead the Cadet ground attack. Stanisi scored on a 59 yard touchdown run on a one play Linsly drive that put them ahead 31-0 with 3:53 left in the second quarter.
Stanisi also scored on the opening kickoff to start the second half. Trailing 38-6, Louisville attempted an onside kick and Stanisi fielded the ball out of the air in stride at the Leopard 48. Stanisi made a defender miss and found himself ahead of the pack sprinting down the right sideline for a kick return touchdown.
Senior kicker Santiago Graneros kicked through his sixth successful extra point of the night to put the Cadets ahead 45-6 just 33 seconds into the third quarter. Graneros finished with nine points on the evening as he also connected on a 32 yard field goal to put Linsly ahead 17-0 in the first quarter. The Cadets marched 80 yards on an 11-plays scoring drive.
Linsly Evens Series with Louisville
Louisville is now 1-1 against Linsly all-time. The Leopards defeated the Cadets 20-14 in Wheeling last season.
Linsly improves to 7-1 with the victory, while Louisville finishes the season with a mark of 3-7.
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Linsly at Louisville Football Game Statistics
Scoring Summary
CADETS 45, LEOPARDS 19
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Linsly 17-21-7-0–45
Louisville 0-6-7-6–19
1st Quarter
LINSLY – Nathan Coleman 53 Yard Pass from Luca DiLorenzo (Santiago Graneros Kick) | LOUISVILLE 0, LINLSEY 7, 9:54
2 Plays, 54 Yards, 0:41
LINSLY – Luca DiLorenzo 56 Yard Pass from Atley Cowan (Santiago Graneros Kick) | LOUISVILLE 0, LINLSEY 14, 7:24
3 Plays, 56 Yards, 0:40
LINSLY – Santiago Graneros 32 Yard Field Goal | LOUISVILLE 0, LINSLEY 17, 0:27
11 Plays, 80 Yards, 3:51
2nd Quarter
LINSLY – Raymond Kovalesky 1 Yard Run (Santiago Graneros Kick) | LOUISVILLE 0, LINSLY 24, 9:02
7 Plays, 58 Yards, 1:54
LINSLY – Kevin Stanisi 59 Yard Run (Santiago Graneros Kick) | LOUISVILLE 0, LINSLY 31, 3:53
1 Play, 59 Yards. 0:13
LOUISVILLE – Daveion Cruse 60 Yard Run (Kick Blocked) | LOUISVILLE 6, LINSLY 31, 1:05
2 Plays, 67 Yards, 0:22
LINSLY – Marte Feil 32 Yard Pass from Atley Cowan (Santiago Graneros Kick) | LOUISVILLE 6, LINSLY 38, 0:12
4 Plays, 66 Yards, 0:43
3rd Quarter
LINSLY – Kevin Stanisi 48 Yard Kickoff Return (Santiago Graneros Kick) | LOUISVILLE 6, LINSLY 45, 11:27
LOUISVILLE – Braiden Hershey 27 Yard Pass from Daveion Cruse (Carter Duskey Kick) | LOUISVILLE 13, LINSLY 45, 0:45
6 Plays, 73 Yards, 3:29
4th Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Andrew Essik 11 Yard Run (Run Failed) | LOUISVILLE 19, LINSLY 45, 1:09
9 plays 81 yds, 6:24
Records: Linsly 7-1, Louisville 3-7
Team Stats
First Downs
Louisville: 15 (10 Rushing, 5 Passing)
Linsly: 14 (5 Rushing, 9 Passing)
Total Offense
Louisville: 55 Plays, 306 Yards, 3 Touchdowns (5.6 Average)
Linsly: 43 Plays, 425 Yards, 5 Touchdowns (9.9 Average)
Rushing
Louisville: 34 Carries, 183 Yards, 2 Touchdowns
Linsly: 19 Carries 137 Yards, 2 Touchdowns
Passing
Louisville: 12 of 21 for 123 Yards, Touchdown
Linsly: 13 of 24 for 288 Yards, 3 Touchdowns, 2 Interceptions
Fumbles/Lost
Louisville: 1/0
Linsly: 0/0
Penalties/Yards
Louisville: 1 for 5 Yards
Linsly: 8 for 74 Yards
3rd Down Conversions
Louisville: 4 for 11 (36%)
Linsly: 2 for 6 (33%)
4th Down Conversions
Louisville: 0 for 1 (0%)
Linsly: 0 for 1 (0%)
Punt Yards
Louisville: 7 Punts, 226 Yards, 45 Long (32.3 Average)
Linsly: 1 Punt, 32 Yards
Kick Return Yards
Louisville: 6 Returns, 110 Yards, 25 Long (18.3 Average)
Linsly: 3 Returns, 93 Yards, Touchdown (31.0 Average)
Punt Return Yards
Louisville: None
Linsly: 5 Returns, 34 Yards (6.8 Average)
Field Goal Attempts
Louisville: None
Linsly: 1/1
Individual Stats
Rushing
Louisville
Andrew Essik 14 Carries, 100 Yards, Touchdown
Daveion Cruse 5 Carries, 84 Yards, Touchdown
Jacob Davide 5 Carries, 11 Yards
Will Ramsey 3 Carries, 6 Yards
Brandon Jackson 2 Carries, 1 Yard
Cooper Rice 1 Carry, 1 Yard, 1 Fumble
Charlie Roberts 3 Carries, -2 Yards
Tate Golden 1 Carry, -18 Yards
Linsly
Kevin Stanisi 7 Carries, 101 Yards, Touchdown
Lucca Troullos 3 Carries, 23 Yards
Neri Weiner 1 Carry, 6 Yards
Jy’Leik Johnson 1 Carry, 7 Yards
Raymond Kovalesky 1 Carry, 1 Yard, Touchdown
Collin Paull 1 Carry, 1 Yard
Braden Wade 2 Carries, 0 Yards
Atley Cowan 3 Carries, -2 Yards
Passing
Louisville
Daveion Cruse 10 of 17 for 120 Yards, Touchdown
Charlie Roberts 2 of 4 for 3 Yards
Linsly
Atley Cowan 9 of 14 for 229 Yards, 2 Touchdowns, 1 Interception
Luca DiLorenzo 1 of 1 for 53 Yards, Touchdown
Braden Wade 3 of 9 for 8 Yards, 1 Interception
Receiving
Louisville
Braiden Hershey 3 Catches, 69 Yards, Touchdown
Andrew Essik 3 Catches, 26 Yards
Chase Mueller 1 Catch, 12 Yards
Brandon Jackson 4 Catches, 9 Yards
Tate Golden 1 Catch, 7 Yards
Linsly
Nathan Coleman 3 Catches, 110 Yards, Touchdown
Luca DiLorenzo 3 Catches, 78 Yards, Touchdown
Marte Feil 4 Catches, 74 Yards, Touchdown
Jy’Leik Johnson 1 Catch, 26 Yards
Ramello Derr 2 Catches, 2 Yards
Kick Returns
Louisville
Chase Mueller 6 Returns, 110 Yards, 25 Long (18.3 Average)
Linsly
Luca DiLorenzo 2 Returns, 46 Yards, 24 Long (23.0 Average)
Kevin Stanisi 1 Return, 48 Yards, Touchdown
Punt Returns
Louisville
None
Linsly
Ramello Derr 2 Returns, 25 Yards, 15 Long (12.5 Average)
Luca DiLorenzo 2 Returns, 5 Yards, 7 Long (2.5 Average)
Jy’Leik Johnson 1 Return, 4 Yards
Punts
Louisville
Carter Duskey 7 Punts, 226 Yards, 45 Long (32.3 Average)
Linsly
Kevin Stanisi 1 Punt, 32 Yards
