Louisville Leopards at Salem Quakers Week 9 Football Preview

Salem Quakers (0-8, 0-5) Vs. Louisville Leopards (4-4, 2-3)

SPREAD: Louisville By 23 (According to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50)

WHEN: Friday, October 19 at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Reilly Stadium in Salem | Click for Directions

RADIO: None

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 holds a 4-2 all-time record over Salem.

LAST MEETING: Louisville won 21-7 at Louisville Leopards Stadium on October 21, 2011.

2011 Salem at Louisville Football Highlights

LAST SALEM WIN: Salem last defeated the Leopards in the opening game of the 1928 season 35-13

Schedule So Far:

Louisville — Salem

@Canfield W 21-13 — @Youngstown Liberty L 17-21

@Hoover L 14-41 — @Hanoverton United L 28-35

Ravenna W 34-20 — Niles McKinley L 23-41

@Marlington L 24-34 — Carrollton L 6-42

Minerva W 35-14 — Marlington L 10-41

Alliance W 13-8 — @Canton South L 15-46

@Carrollton L 0-21 — Alliance L 14-44

West Branch L 17-21 — @Minerva L 19-31

PREVIEW

Even after all they have been through, the Leopards still have an outside shot of making the playoffs in Division II, Region 5 as they are ranked 11th in computer points for the Region.  Even if the cards do not fall Louisville’s way in terms of a tournament birth there is still much at stake.  The Leopards have not had a losing season since 1989 (3-7) and they can insure their 23rd straight non-losing season with a win at winless Salem Friday.   The Quakers have had a disappointing year, but don’t let their 0-8 record fool you.  This will be their final home game of the season and they will throw everything they have in their arsenal at the Leopards.  Salem did have a 10-0 lead on Marlington earlier in the year before falling to the Dukes 41-10.  Last week the Quakers fell at Minerva 31-19 in their closest NBC game of the season.  In terms of pride and tradition a lot will be on the line for both squads at Reilly Stadium Friday Night.

LEOPARDS

OFFENSE: In place of injured starting quarterback Joey Duckworth, backup Jeremy McQuilkin has completed 29 of 53 passes for 254 yards and 3 touchdowns.  McQuilkin has also used his legs to rush for 128 yards on 24 carries this season.  Trent Ohman (41 carries, 222 yards, 1 TD), Trey Hayford (20 carries, 60 yards, 4 TDs), and Walter Schrock (12 carries, 9 yards) will also look to make an impact in the backfield.  McQuilkin will look for Ohman (48 receptions, 486 yards, 4 TDs), Alex Hollifield (22 receptions, 303 yards, 2 TDs), Alex Schooley (32 receptions, 254 yards, 4 TDs), and Trevor Hostetler (16 receptions, 182 yards, 1 TD) to make plays in the passing game against a Salem defense that has been susceptible to the big play all season long.  Louisville’s linemen helped provide a push and protection to produce 14 first downs last week.  The starters include Aaron Carter (5’10, 190 lbs.), Jonah Dawson (6’1, 189 lbs.), Malik Kling (5’9, 271 lbs.), Tanner Metz (5’11, 213 lbs.), and Nate Terry (5’9, 260 lbs.).  With all of this being said, the key to Louisville securing their 5th win of the season will be protecting the ball.  They have had 10 turnovers in the past two weeks and will not want to give the winless Quakers any confidence.

DEFENSE: The Leopards have surrendered 22 points per game and 298 yards per game (205 rushing, 93 passing) this season.  Louisville has forced 17 turnovers (11 interception, 6 fumble recoveries) on the year as well.  Linebacker Gary Anile (4 Interceptions) and Defensive Back Garret Yoder (3 Interceptions, 1 Fumble Recovery)  lead the team with 4 takeaways a piece.  In the Secondary, Hostetler has picked off 2 passes, while Kyle White (1 Interception, 1 Fumble Recovery) and McQuilkin (1 Interception) have also made a significant impact.  The Leopards have sacked opponents 15 times this season as well.  Contributing to those sacks include defensive lineman Dylan Kline, Cory Neff, and Mike Weiss and also linebackers Charles Beamer and Josh Brown.  Beamer and Brown both forced fumbles last week against West Branch.  Stopping the run and making the Quakers one dimensional should lead to takeways and success for the Leopards on defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Merrick Storlie has converted on 4 of 7 field goals this season and has been a perfect 20 of 20 on extra point attempts.  His longest made kick this season came from 38 yards out.  Schooley (18 punts, 32.1 avg. 51 long) and Weiss (8 punts, 35.5 avg., 44 long) have shared punting duties this year for the Leps.  The Leopards return game has made a big impact all season long.  Ohman (12 returns, 24.8 avg.) and Schooley (9 returns, 22.2 avg.) have taken the majority of kick returns this season, while Ohman (12 returns, 14.1 avg., 1 TD) and Yoder (7 returns, 90 yards) have taken all but one of the Leopards punt returns.  Dale Welsh also recovered a fumble on special teams last week after Beamer stripped a Warriors returner.

QUAKERS

NOTE: Stats do not include Niles McKinley Game because No Box Score Could Be Found

OFFENSE: Salem’s offense is averaging 17 points per game, while averaging 206 yards per contest (136 passing, 71 rushing).  The story of the Quakers season though has been their 18 turnovers (9 interceptions, 9 fumbles), 2 of which were returned for scores against Alliance.  Quarterback Trace Jenkins commands the Salem offense and has thrown 8 touchdown passes and also ran for 4 touchdowns earlier in the season at United.  Jenkins has completed touchdown passes to the sure-handed Brendan Webb (4 TD Catches), Haeden Panezott (2 TD Catches), Jake Carner, and Brooks Bezon. Panezott is the most explosive player in the Salem offense as he not only caught an 80 yard touchdown pass earlier in the year, but has broken free for runs of 64 and 65 yards.  Louisville will need to bottle him up quickly to avoid a devastating big play.  Even with these breakout runs, the Quakers are still only averaging 3 yards per carry.

DEFENSE: The Quakers have surrendered 38 points per game this season and 293 yards per game (159 rushing, 134 passing).  Salem has been gouged for 15 yards per completion and 5 yards per carry, while opponents have completed 68% of their passes.  The Quakers have recorded 7 turnovers (4 interceptions, 3 fumbles) on the year as well.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Quaker kicker Keaton O’brien certainly has range as he has hit from 32 and 40 yards this season.  O’brien is also 9 of 12 on extra point kicks this season.  The Quakers have converted 2 of 3 two point conversions this season as well, one by air and one by ground.  Returner Marcus Crittenden also returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown late at Canton South.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

Number of Shutouts: Louisville-0, Salem-1

Leopards Highest Margin of Victory: 1992 they won 27-8 and 1993 they won 39-20

Salem’s Highest Margin of Victory: 1928 they won 35-13

Highest Combined Score: 59 Points – 1993 – Louisville 39, Salem 20

Lowest Combined Score: 12 Points – 1926 – Salem 12, Louisville 0

Longest Winning Streak: Louisville – 3 Games – 1992-93, 2011

Total Points Scored: Louisville-109, Salem-88

Average Score: Louisville-18, Salem 15