Leopards “Light” Up Aviators in Come-From-Behind First Win – 8th Grade Football
Louisville 12, Alliance 6
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The Louisville Leopards 8th Grade Football Team rallied late to defeat the host Alliance Aviators 12-6 Wednesday evening at Len Dawson Field. Louisville scored twice in the final 3:53 to earn their first win of the season.
Turnover-Filled First Half Ends Scoreless
The opening play foreshadowed a chaotic first half. Alliance’s Owen Blevins intercepted a pass on the first play from scrimmage, only to fumble the ball right back to Louisville’s Damon Gail. It was the first of seven turnovers combined in the opening half, along with two turnovers on downs.
Hunter Watson led a swarm of Leopards into the backfield to push Alliance backward on their opening drive, which began at the LMS 16 and ended on downs. Linkin Light and Troy Simpson each recorded tackles for loss to stall the Aviators’ next drive, which ended with Simpson’s interception near the sideline.
The two teams then turned the ball over in a span of five snaps. Long found Simpson for a first down to start the next drive, but a sack and fumble recovery by Alliance’s Jaiden Love doomed the drive. Two plays later, a deep pass downfield was intercepted by Logan Barrett giving the ball back to the Leopards. Two plays after that, Louisville put the ball on the turf and Junior Koball recovered it for Alliance. Christopher Percy also snagged an interception earlier for the Aviators defense that recorded four first-half takeaways.
Light continued to wreak havoc on defense during the next Aviator drive. He made a tackle for loss on second down and a key tackle on third down to force an Alliance punt on 4th-and-long. Quintin Smith and Jax Haugen stormed in to tackle the punter after a botched snap, setting Louisville up with excellent field position at the Aviator 28. Haugen also delivered a huge hit for no gain on the final drive of the first half that ended without a point on the board.
Aviators Strike First on Koball Touchdown Run
The second half picked up right where it left off. A miscommunication in the Alliance backfield allowed Haugen to unload on the quarterback for a 3-yard sack. On the next set of downs, Mickey Beatty made a stop for a loss for the Leopards defense to set the Aviators back. However, Louisville jumped on third-and-short to give the Aviators a free first down.
On the next play, Alliance running back Koball ran left and raced 43 yards to the end zone to put the Aviators in front with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter. Haugen’s sack on the conversion attempt kept the score at 6-0.
Long Shines on Special Teams
On the next possession, Love was the first to quarterback Parker Long on back-to-back stops in the backfield to set the Leopards back into a 3rd-and-20. However, a bubble screen from Long to Barrett picked up 18 yards to get most of the yardage back. On 4th-and-2, Long lined up to punt but then ran right on a fake and reached the line to gain. However, Love made another tackle for a loss on the next play to halt the Louisville drive.
Long boomed a punt inside the Alliance 20, pinning the Aviators into their worst field position of the night. Alliance eventually punted and the ball was downed on the Aviator 35 setting the Leopards up with their best field position of the game.
Swonger Hauls in Game-Tying Score
Long took the snap and ran left for 16 yards on the first play of the next drive. On the second play, he dropped back and fired left beyond the outstretched arms of the Alliance secondary and into the leaping hands of Eden Swonger for a 19-yard touchdown reception to knot the game at 6-6. Alliance broke up the conversion pass in the end zone, keeping the score tied with 3:53 remaining.
Light Pick Six Puts Leopards in Front
The Aviators kept the ball on the ground to move the sticks, but Swonger and Light stormed in to tackle Koball two plays later setting up 3rd-and-long. Smith charged in from the left side, forcing the Alliance quarterback into a hurried throw across the field. Light was there to intercept the pass at the 41-yard line and sprinted to the end zone for a go-ahead pick-six, giving the Leopards a 12-6 lead with 1:33 to play in the game. Koball sacked Long on the conversion try to keep the score at 12-6 to give the Aviators hope.
Lykins Seals Louisville’s First Victory
The Louisville defense came up big one final time on the next play from scrimmage. Haugen came charging in unblocked, forcing a fluttering throw to the left side. Cohen Lykins secured it out of the air near the sideline at the Alliance 48 for the Leopards’ game-sealing interception.
Gail carried for one more first down and Louisville entered victory formation. The LMS 8th Grade Football Team had completed a furious fourth-quarter rally to earn their first win together as Leopards.
UP NEXT: The 8th Grade Leopards will next host the Perry Panthers on Wednesday, September 17. Game time is set for 6:00 PM from Louisville Leopards Stadium.
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Louisville at Alliance 8th Grade Football Scoring Summary
LEOPARDS 12, AVIATORS 6
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 0-0-0-12–12
Alliance 0-0-6-0–06
1st Quarter
NO SCORING
2nd Quarter
NO SCORING
3rd Quarter
ALLIANCE – #30 43-Yard Run (Run Failed) | LMS 0, AMS 6, 3:20
4th Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Eden Swonger 19-Yard Pass from Parker Long (Pass Failed) | LMS 6, AMS 6, 3:53
LOUISVILLE – Linkin Light 41-Yard Interception Return (Run Failed) | LMS 12, AMS 6, 1:33
Records: Louisville 1-3
