Minerva Lions at Louisville Leopards 1995 Football Highlights
Minerva 26, Louisville 20, OT
Minerva recovered a Louisville fumble on 4th-and-Goal from the 3 in overtime to take the game 26-20 back on November 3, 1995.
The Leopards found themselves playing catchup from the first play from scrimmage when Lions 
Quarterback Kevin Kirkpatrick ran 81 yards for a touchdown. Kirkpatrick would carry the ball 8 times for 95 yards on the evening. Before the first quarter ended, Minerva Kicker Mike DePalmo booted through a 35 yard field goal to put the Lions ahead 10-0.
Louisville faced a double digit deficit, but responded immediately. Denny Thomas returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a score to get the Leopards within 10-6. Louisville carried their momentum onto defense where Scott McKelvey recovered a Minerva fumble. However, the Leopards went three-and-out and gave the ball back to the hungry Lions.
Minerva got their running game started with a 32 yard burst by David Sallade. He would later cap off the drive by scoring from a yard away. Sallade led all Lions rushers with 127 yards on 24 carries as Minerva out-rushed Louisville 290-187.
The Leopards managed to make it a one possession game at the break. Brian Parker split the uprights on a 32 yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in the first half to cut the Lions lead to 17-9.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Brian Ramsey recovered a fumble for Louisville as the period ended. The Leopards capitalized on the takeaway as Corey Kuhn would end the ensuing drive with a 1 yard touchdown run. The score was setup by a 38 yard pass from Quarterback Matt Gulling to Thomas. Thomas also ran in the two-point conversion around the left side of the endzone to knot the game at 17-17.
The two squads exchanged field goals in the final minutes sending the game into overtime. James Schrader hit a 25 yard field goal with 6:52 left for Minerva and Parker made a 22 yard attempt as time expired. Leopards 20, Lions 20, End of Regulation.
Minerva got the ball first and Sallade found the endzone from 2 yards away. The extra point failed though, leaving the window open for Louisville to win via a touchdown and successful PAT.
The Leopards possession started off strong as Kuhn carried the ball up the middle for 11 yards. On 4th-and-goal from the 3, Louisville ran an option play to the right. But the pitch was fumbled and Minerva recovered for the victory and ending any hopes the Leopards had of playing in the postseason.
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Scoring Summary
TEAM 1-2-3-4-OT–TOTAL
Minerva 10-7-0-3-6–26
Louisville 6-3-0-11-0–20
1st Quarter
Minerva – Kevin Kirkpatrick 81 Yard Run (James Schrader Kick), 0-7
Minerva – Mike DePalmo 35 Yard Field Goal, 0-10
Louisville – Denny Thomas 82 Yard Kickoff Return (Kick Failed), 6-10
2nd Quarter
Minerva – David Sallade 1 Yard Run (James Schrader Kick), 6-17
Louisville – Brian Parker 32 Yard Field Goal, 9-17
3rd Quarter
NONE
4th Quarter
Louisville – Corey Kuhn 1 Yard Run (Denny Thomas Run), 17-17
Minerva – James Schrader 25 Yard Field Goal, 17-20
Louisville – Brian Parker 22 Yard Field Goal, 20-20
Overtime
Minerva – David Sallade 2 Yard Run (Kick Failed), 20-26
Stats
Rushing: Minerva 290, Louisville 187
Passing: Minerva 3-6-55, Louisville 7-18-88
First Downs: Louisville
Fumbles-Lost: Louisville
Records: Minerva 6-4, 3-4; Louisville 7-3, 5-2
