Leopards Bend But Don’t Break, Win at GlenOak for 1st Time Since 1978 – Varsity Football
Louisville 17, GlenOak 14
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The Louisville Leopards Varsity Football Team held on for a 17-14 win over the host GlenOak Golden Eagles Friday Night at Bob Commings Field. With the victory, Louisville improves to 1-1 on the season.
Senior quarterback Tyler Jackson finished 15 of 24 passing for 206 yards and threw two touchdown passes to lead the Leopards offense. Jackson connected with senior wide receiver Dan Kennedy 5 times for 76 yards which included a 42 yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 7-7 with 7:09 to go in the first quarter. Later in the third quarter, Senior wide receiver Broc Pickens displayed social distancing at its finest when he burned the Golden Eagle secondary en rout to catching an 80 yard touchdown pass from Jackson. That gave Louisville a 17-14 advantage with 4:45 to go in the third quarter, a lead they would never relinquish.
GlenOak Productions Full Game Video
Louisville Defense Holds the Lead
The Leopards defense came up big the rest of the way. On the ensuing GlenOak possession, senior defensive lineman JD Spitaleri bull-rushed through the left side of the Golden Eagle line and hit the quarterback knocking the ball free. Junior defensive lineman Cameron Brazek fell on it at the GlenOak 23 yard line for LHS.
Louisville failed to move the chains in turning the ball over on downs on their next series. But the Leopard defense held firm once again forcing the Golden Eagles to punt from their own 35.
The Louisville offense picked up a first down on the opening series of the next drive via a run by sophomore runningback Andrew Essik. But the drive stalled around midfield forcing them to punt.
GlenOak 16 Play Final Drive Comes Up Empty
GlenOak took over from their own 25 after no return. They then marched 62 yards on 16 plays into field goal range on a drive that consumed 6:37 of game clock.
The Golden Eagles rushing attack keyed most of their slow and steady drive into Leopard territory. For the second time in the game, GlenOak rolled the dice on 4th-and-1 in their own territory. And for the second time, they converted when senior runningback Luke Tyler ran through the right side of the line for 6 yards to the GOHS 40.
The Golden Eagles next went to the air. Senior quarterback Ricky Adams hit junior wide receiver Logan Scott on a curl route to the right that netted 14 yards across the midfield stripe. Three plays later, Adams threaded the needle to his senior tight end Ben Esporite for a 12 yard reception to convert a 3rd-and-7 down to the Louisville 31.
Following an incompletion, GlenOak went to the ground on 6 straight plays. Sprung by a block by senior lineman Gabe Baldon, Tyler ran right to get the needed yardage on 3rd-and-4 to the LHS 21. Two plays later, Tyler ran 8 yards to move the chains once more setting the Golden Eagles up on the Leopard 11.
As the clock continued to tick away, GlenOak went to Tyler again up the middle. But this time senior linebacker Brady Vanover and junior linebacker Carson Rode closed in holding Tyler to only a one yard gain. Louisville finally caught a break when the Golden Eagles were called for a false start backing them up into a 2nd-and-14 from the 15 yard line. The next Tyler run only netted 2 yards and a 3rd-and-12 throw to the left was dropped bringing up fourth down.
It all came down to the right foot of GlenOak’s senior kicker JJ Mucci on a 31 yard field goal attempt from the right hash. The potential game-tying kick fell short hitting the back line of the endzone with 34 seconds remaining. The Leopards players ran off the field in euphoria and received thunderous applause from the Louisville fans in attendance. The Leopards offense went into victory formation and after three kneel downs, Louisville win #638 was clinched!
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Golden Eagles Take the Early Lead
The vibe was not so promising at the start of the contest for LHS. The Leopards first run of the game was snuffed out for a 3 yard loss. Then on 3rd-and-10, Jackson was dropped by Esporite (out of his linebacker position) for a loss of 13. GlenOak junior defensive back Khimani McNeill then came charging in on the ensuing punt attempt. He may have gotten a piece of the boot, but if nothing else altered the kick that only netted 8 yards to the Louisville 20.
Adams ran for 18 yards on 3rd-an-9 to the Leopard 1 yard line. Tyler ran up the middle for a touchdown one play later to put the Golden Eagles in front 7-0 with 8:53 left to play in the first quarter.
Louisville Answers Back To Tie the Game at 7-7
The Leopards made their opening drive seem like a distance memory as they aggressively went to the air on a 7 play, 73 yard scoring drive. Jackson hit Junior Zack Seaman for a first down and the pair connected again to pick up a 3rd-and-13 to the LHS 49.
Junior runningback Connor Adelman then ran 9 yards to the right side and delivered a licking to a potential GlenOak tackler before stepping out of bounds. On the next play, Jackson faked a handoff to Adelman and found Kennedy over the middle for a finger-tip catch. Kennedy shedded one tackler and ran to his left in space down the left sideline. He dove past one final defender and into the endzone to complete the 42 yard score and knot the game at 7-7 with 7:09 to go in the first quarter.
1st Half Miscues and Turnovers
The two teams exchanged punts, but the Golden Eagles won out on field possession taking over their next drive on the Louisville 36. A 22 yard run by Tyler on 3rd-and-2 setup GlenOak 1st-and-goal on the 6 yard line. However, Tyler fumbled on the next play which resulted in a 7 yard loss for the Eagles.
The Golden Eagles settled for a 27 yard field goal attempt. Seaman brought pressure from the left side of the defense. Spitaleri jumped and extended his left hand in the middle of the line. It is unclear if the ball was tipped by a Leopard defender or not, but the result was the same. The ball sputtered and fell short of the crossbar, no good.
Louisville went three-and-out following the missed field goal. The long snap was low and GlenOak’s McNeil came charging in from the right side of the defense. The the direction of the punt was altered as a result of the pressure and netted just 9 yards going out of bounds at the LHS 34.
Gifted with great field position again, the Golden Eagles were still unable to capitalize on the ensuing drive. After converting a 3rd-and-1, Adams was forced to his left by pressure from Rode and Seaman. His hurried pass went over the head of junior runningback Harvey Wyatt and into the hands of Pickens who made a leaping interception before his momentum carried him out of bounds at the 6 yard line.
The Leopards gave it right back as a quarterback to runningback exchange fell to the turf and rolled into a pile of lineman. Senior defensive lineman Aeden Begue came out of the pile with it and the Golden Eagles had new life 1st-and-goal at the 7. Two plays later, Tyler ran untouched into the endzone from 3 yards out to put the Golden Eagles ahead 14-7 with 7:25 to go before halftime.
Leopards Drive for Difference-Making Points Before Half
Both teams punted on their next two possessions and Louisville set up shop with their best field position of the night at the GlenOak 49 with only 1:33 to play before the break.
Facing 3rd-and-6, Jackson hit Kennedy on a 10 yard completion to move the sticks. On the next play, Jackson went up top to 6’6 junior wide receiver AJ Lingenhoel who extended and made a leaping 18 yard grab to the Golden Eagle 17 yard line. Two plays later, Kennedy made a diving catch over the middle for a 12 yard gain to setup 1st-and-goal at the 5 with 17 seconds left.
Jackson hit Seaman for a 3 yard gain on first down and an encroachment call against the Eagles put the Leopards on the 1 yard line. On 2nd-and-goal, Jackson targeted Lingenhoel in the right side of the endzone, but McNeil batted it away with 8 seconds remaining.
Head Coach Troy Davis elected to take the points via field goal rather than go for another endzone shot. Myles Lab booted home the 18 yard attempt to cut the deficit to 14-10 at the halftime. Those three points would prove to be the difference in the final tally as Davis earned his first victory as head coach of the Louisville Leopards.
Louisville Vs. GlenOak Football Series
This is the Leopards first win at GlenOak since a 33-7 victory back on October 20, 1978. The Golden Eagles had won the last 6 games in the series overall (1984-1989) including the last 5 meetings played in Plain Township. Louisville had not defeated GlenOak since using a wild fourth quarter to obtain a 35-14 win over the Eagles back on October 28, 1983.
The Leopards now trail the all-time series 7-9 and hold a 3-5 record when playing at GlenOak.
<<< Previous 1989 | GlenOak All-Time Series
UP NEXT: The Leopards will next host the St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish on Friday, September 11 at 7:00 PM. JV will also host SVSM on Saturday, September 12 at 10:00 AM while the Freshman will travel to Akron to take on the Fighting Irish on Thursday, September 10 at 5:30 PM. JV will also be in action Saturday, September 5 at 10:00 AM hosting GlenOak.
Game Statistics
Scoring Summary
LEOPARDS 17, GOLDEN EAGLES 14
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 7-3-7–17
GlenOak 7-7-0-0–14
1st Quarter
GLENOAK – Luke Tyler 1 Yard Run (JJ Mucci Kick) | LHS 0, GOHS 7,
4 Plays, 20 Yards, 0:42
LOUISVILLE – Dan Kennedy 42 Yard Pass from Tyler Jackson (Myles Lab Kick) | LHS 7, GOHS 7, 7:09
7 Plays, 73 Yards, 1:38
2nd Quarter
GLENOAK – Luke Tyler 3 Yard Run (JJ Mucci Kick) | LHS 7, GOHS 14, 7:25
2 Plays, 7 Yards, 0:37
LOUISVILLE – Myles Lab 18 Yard Field Goal | LHS 10, GOHS 14, 0:04
9 Plays, 49 Yards, 1:29
3rd Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Broc Pickens 80 Yard Pass from Tyler Jackson (Myles Lab Kick) | LHS 17, GOHS 14, 4:45
2 Plays, 86 Yards, 0:46
4th Quarter
NO SCORING
Records: Louisville 1-1, GlenOak 0-2
Team Stats
First Downs
Louisville: 9
GlenOak: 16
Rushing
Louisville: 25 carries for 64 yards
GlenOak: 48 carries for 156 yards, 2 touchdowns
Passing
Louisville: 15 of 24 for 206 yards, 2 touchdowns
GlenOak: 7 of 19 for 81 yards, 2 interceptions
Fumbles / Lost
Louisville: 1 / 1
GlenOak: 2 / 1
Penalties / Yards
Louisville: 4 for 33 yards
GlenOak: 6 for 31 yards
3rd Down Conversions
Louisville: 4 for 12
GlenOak: 8 for 15
4th Down Conversions
Louisville: 0 for 1
GlenOak: 2 for 2
Individual Stats
Rushing
Louisville
Andrew Essik: 14 carries for 49 yards
Tyler Jackson: 6 carries for 7 yards
Connor Adelman: 4 carries for 7 yards
Zack Seaman: 1 carry for 1 yard
GlenOak
Luke Tyler: 35 carries for 108 yards, 2 touchdowns
Ricky Adams: 13 carries for 48 yards
Receiving
Louisville
Dan Kennedy 5 catches for 76 yards, touchdown
Zack Seaman 4 catches for 25 yards
AJ Lingenhoel 2 catches for 23 yards
Connor Adelman 2 catches for 6 yards
Broc Pickens 1 catch for 80 yards, touchdown
GlenOak
Logan Scott 3 catches for 44 yards
Ben Esporite 2 catches for 23 yards
Wyatt Harvey 1 catch for 8 yards
Paxton Fichter 1 catch for 6 yards
Passing
Louisville
Tyler Jackson: 15 of 24 for 206 yards, 2 touchdowns
GlenOak
Ricky Adams 7 of 19 for 81 yards, 2 interceptions
