Louisville Leopards at Hoover Vikings 2004 Football Highlights
Louisville 37, North Canton Hoover 21
Louisville scored the final 23 points of the contest and blanked host North Canton Hoover during the final 34:10 on their way to a 37-21 victory back on September 10, 2004.
The scoreboard remained off for most of the first half due to a power outage, but both offenses surged to combine for 450 yards and played to a 21-21 halftime tie. Ironically the biggest play of the half came from the Leopards defense that held the Vikings on a 4th-and-Goal from the 1 as time expired.
“That was huge. Our kids went into the locker room with momentum, knowing we had stopped them,” Louisville Head Coach Paul Farrah said of his defense’s goal line stand. “That gave us a lot of confidence in the second half.”
Another defensive play in the third quarter inflated the Leopards momentum even more. Corey Hoover recovered a fumble that came via a North Canton high snap at the Vikings 3 yard line. That led to a Kevin Bankovich 23 yard field goal to give Louisville a 24-21 lead that they would never relinquish.
On the ensuing drive, North Canton Quarterback Jason Foote left the game and did not return after Leopard Defensive Lineman Kyle Sankbeil delivered a pulse pounding blow that resulted in an incomplete pass. On the same series, replacement quarterback Sean Kostelnik was sacked on his own 1 forcing the Vikings to punt out of their own endzone. Justyn Beadling, Larry Hetrick, John Lutton, and others also played key roles in the Louisville defense that hit hard all second half.
The Leopards began the next drive just 36 yards away from the goal line. On 4th-and-2 from the 10. Quarterback Mark Gulling faked a hand-off to runningback Brian Whaley and scampered into the endzone untouched to put Louisville ahead 30-21 with 9:32 left in the fourth quarter.
Whaley would score his own touchdown run from 2 yards out to extend their lead to 37-21 with just 4:49 remaining in the game. The Leopards compiled 231 yards on the ground as a team. Whaley finished with 51 yards rushing on 9 attempts and also scored on a 6 yard run in the second quarter. Aaron Scott led all runners on the ground with 25 carries for 176 yards and scored on a 21 yard touchdown run to knot the game at 14-14 before the first quarter ended.
“My hogs on the line did such a great job blocking,” Scott said of his teammates up front. “Even when Hoover did have eight guys in the box, we were still able to run it.”
Gulling also had 135 yards passing and connected with Paul Aslanides for Louisville’s only touchdown through the air. The 21 yard pass opened the Leopards scoring and tied the game at 7-7 early on.
The Vikings were led by Foote who threw three touchdown passes in the opening half. Kostenik made two of those touchdown receptions from 10 and 36 yards out. Joe Pope’s 20 yard touchdown grab with 10:14 left in the second quarter would prove to be North Canton’s final score of the evening. All thee of Hoover’s scoring drives began while the lights at Memorial Stadium remained dark, when they came on it was all Louisville.
“It’s a year later and our kids have experience and confidence,” Farrah said of his team that turn the tables on a 38-7 at the hand of the Vikings a year before. “They know how to turn the switch on and play physical.”
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Scoring Summary
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Louisville 14-7-3-13–37
North Canton 14-7-0-0–21
1st Quarter
Hoover – Sean Kosteinik 10 Yard Pass from Jason Foote (Andrew Dahl Kick), 0-7
Louisville – Paul Aslanides 21 Yard Pass from Mark Gulling (Kevin Bankovich Kick), 7-7
Hoover – Sean Kosteinik 36 Yard Pass from Jason Foote (Andrew Dahl Kick), 7-14
Louisville – Aaron Scott 21 Yard Run (Kevin Bankovich Kick), 14-14
2nd Quarter
Hoover – Joe Pope 20 Yard Pass from Jason Foote (Andrew Dahl Kick), 14-21
Louisville – Brian Whaley 6 Yard Run (Kevin Bankovich), 21-21
3rd Quarter
Louisville – Kevin Bankovich 23 Yard Field Goal, 24-21
4th Quarter
Louisville – Mark Gulling 10 Yard Run (Kick Failed), 30-21
Louisville – Brian Whaley 2 Yard Run (Kevin Bankovich), 37-21
Stats
Rushing: Louisville 41-231, Hoover 31-36
Passing: Louisville 12-19-145-0, Hoover 16-31-195-0
First Downs: Louisville 17, Hoover 20
Fumbles-Lost: Louisville 0-0, Hoover 5-2
Records: Louisville 3-0, Hoover 0-3
