Hoover Vikings at Louisville Leopards 1995 Football Highlights
Louisville 14, North Canton Hoover 11
On September 1, 1995 the Louisville Leopards opened up the season with a 14-11 win over the visiting North Canton Hoover Vikings. The win was the Leopards fifth consecutive victory over the Vikings.
Louisville scored the first points of the season via Anthony Buccasso’s 1 yard first quarter touchdown run. Buccasso would finish the evening rushing the ball 8 times for 23 yards.
Neither team put points on the board again until the third quarter when Vikings Kicker Tony Santangelo booted home a 30 yard field goal to make it 7-3. The points were the first that Hoover scored against Louisville after being shutout for 13 consecutive quarters in the series. The Leopards had pitched shutouts in both the 1993 & 1994 meetings and shutout the Vikings for the final three quarters of the 1992 meeting.
An ankle injury to Louisville’s Corey Kuhn allowed Leif Erickson more playing time. Erickson made the most of it by carrying the ball 8 times for 41 yards during an 11 play, 52 yard touchdown drive by Louisville. His 2 yard touchdown run made it 14-3 in favor of the Leopards and he would go on to finish with 51 yards for the game.
“Louisville beat us to death up front,” North Canton Coach Ed Glass said following the Leopards performance. “They won the war of the trenches.”
Louisville Kicker/Punter Brian Parker also did his share by pinning Hoover back with two touchbacks, had punts of 30 & 40 yards, and successfully kicked two extra points.
The Vikings would make things interesting in the fourth quarter as Santangelo scored from a yard out and then threw a conversion pass to Nate Chester to cut the lead to 14-11. But the Leopards held on for the victory to move to 1-0 on the young season.
“The game is dedicated to our young men coming together as a family,” Head Coach Rick Crislip commented after the win. “We beat a fine football team.”
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Scoring Summary
Hoover 0-0-3-8–11
Louisville 7-0-7-0–14
1st Quarter
Louisville – Anthony Buccasso 1 Yard Run (Brian Parker Kick), 7-0
2ND Quarter
NONE
3RD Quarter
Hoover – Tony Santangelo 30 Yard Field Goal, 7-3
Louisville – Leif Erickson 2 Yard Run (Brian Parker Kick), 14-3
4TH Quarter
Hoover – Tony Santangelo 1 Yard Run (Tony Santangelo Pass to Nate Chester), 14-11
Records: Louisville 1-0, Hoover 0-1
