Minerva Lions at Louisville Leopards – WEEK 5 Football Preview

Louisville Leopards (2-2) Vs. Minerva Lions (2-2)

WHEN: Friday, September 21 at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Louisville Leopards Stadium

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 59-20-5 record over Minerva.

LAST MEETING: The Lions defeated the Leopards 29-26 back on September 23, 2011 at Hines Stadium to snap a 10-game losing streak.

LAST MEETING AT LOUISVILLE: Louisville won 42-20 in Week 10 of the 2010 season on October 29.  FULL VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS, STORY AND PICTURES

Chad Neff 11-Yard Touchdown Pass to Michael Schooley

Schedule So Far:

Minerva — Louisville

Vs. Field W 41-20 — @Canfield W 21-13

Vs. St. Thomas Aquinas L 6-34 — @Hoover L 14-41

@Tuslaw L 20-27 — Vs. Ravenna W 34-20

@Canton South W 24-14 — @Marlington L 24-34

PREVIEW

The Leopards and the Lions will square off for the 85th time Friday at Louisville Leopards Stadium in the oldest rivalry between any two NBC schools.  Both teams at 2-2 are looking to right the ship with a winning record at the midway point of the season.  For the Leopards, they will be looking for revenge after a distasteful loss at Minerva last year.  For the Lions, they will be looking to go on a streak in the series like their 1997-2000 teams did.  Louisville has won their last 16 NBC home games and has won 22 out of their last 23 home games overall.  Its the turning point in the season for both teams and there is nothing better than a rivalry going back to 1924 to decide the fate of 2012.

LEOPARDS

OFFENSE: Quarterback Joey Duckworth leads the team in passing (88 of 157 for 968 yards, 8 TDs) and rushing (189 yards on 49 carries) yards this season.  Both his passing yardage and passing touchdown totals top all NBC players.  Primary target, wide receiver Trent Ohman, has caught a county-leading 32 passes  which have led to 363 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Alex Hollifield (15 catches, 226 yards, 2 TDs), Alex Schooley (21 catches, 180 yards, 3 TDs), and Trevor Hostetler (11 catches, 100 yards) are also making huge contributions out of the Leopards five-wide set.  At runningback, Trey Hayford has rushed the ball 19 times for 60 yards which has included a touchdown in every game so far this season.  Underclassmen Jonah Dawson (LT), Malik Kling (LG), and Tanner Metz (C) will look to protect up front, while Senior Lineman Nate Terry (RG) and Aaron Carter (RT) will continue anchoring the right side of the Leopards offensive line.

DEFENSE: Louisville’s defense allowed 421 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground last week at Marlington and will be looking for redemption & revenge against the Lions.  Plugging the holes up front and looking to get into the backfield will be defensive lineman Cory Neff (NT), Dylan Kline (DE), and Mike Weiss (DE).  Linebackers Gary Anile (3 Interceptions) and Charles Beamer (2 Sacks Vs. Ravenna) will also look to make in impact in stopping Jake Riley and the high-powered Minerva offense.  In the secondary, Hostetler had a breakout game against Marlington with a pair of interceptions and will look to continue shutting down the passing game alongside Garrett Yoder (1 interception, 1 Fumble Recovery), Kyle White (1 interception), and Alex Schooley.  The Leopards secondary has only allowed 93 passing yards per game, although the majority of plays against have been runs.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Merrick Storlie booted through the first Leopards field goal on the road since 2010 at Marlington last week.  His 33 yarder made it through the uprigths with ease as have all of his 12 point after attempts this season.  Storlie has made 3 of 4 field goals overall and can range up to 50 yards if called upon.  Schooley has averaged 30 yards per punt this season and has landed 3 inside the 20 yard line.  Ohman is averaging 24.9 yards per kick return and had a 68 yard return in the Leopards last home game against Ravenna.  Yoder (9.8 avg. on 4 returns), Ohman (7.0 avg. on 4 returns), and Schooley (24.0 avg. on 1 return) have shared punt return duties this season.

LIONS

OFFENSE: The Lions offense has scored 20+ points in 15 of their past 16 contests.  The only game they were held to less was in a 34-6 loss to St. Thomas in Week 2.  Quarterback Jake Riley is the key to the entire Minerva offense as he has been involved in scoring 12 of the Lions 13 touchdowns this season.  The Air Force Bound Senior is 45 of 77 passing for 344 yards and has 4 touchdowns Vs. 3 interceptions.  Riley mainly played runningback last season and this year he has rushed for a team-leading 430 yards on 69 attempts and scored 8 touchdowns on the ground.  Riley’s main target has been Wide Receiver Cody Parrish who has caught 26 passes for 397 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Parrish is also a threat to run the ball as he has scampered for 72 yards on just 5 carries.  Dalton Hartshorn is listed as a wide receiver in the Minerva roster, but has carried the load in the backfield 33 times for 169 yards and for a touchdown.  Hartshorn (3 receptions for 74 yards) and Corey Schaffner (7 receptions for 143 yards) have each scored a receiving touchdown as well.  Paving the way for Minerva is Mason Butler, who is the only returning starter on the offensive line from a year ago.

DEFENSE: The Lions have returned Mitch Soles (40 Tackles, 1 Sack), Kris Nign (31 Tackles, 4 For Loss), and Harrison Hopple (34 Tackles, 2 Fumble Recoveries) in a linebacking core that is the strength of the Minerva defense.  In the secondary Parrish has caught 3 of the Lions 5 interceptions this season on defense, while Riley (29 tackles) and Sean Ferrell (17 tackles) caught the other two.  Jacob Smith leads the Lions line in tackles with 25, while linebackers Anthony Cobedesh (14 tackles) and Lucas Van Meter have recorded sacks for the Minerva defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Senior Kicker Nate Smith had converted 10 of 12 extra points this season and also hit a 31 yard field goal last week at Canton South.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

Number of Shutouts: Louisville-30, Minerva-7

Leopards Highest Margin of Victory: 1949 they won 73-0

Minerva’s Highest Margin of Victory: 1988 they won 50-6

Highest Combined Score: 73 Points – 1949 – Louisville 73, Minerva 0

Lowest Combined Score: 0 Points – 1940 – Louisville 0, Minerva 0; 1959 – Louisville 0, Minerva 0; 1962 – Louisville 0, Minerva 0

Longest Winning Streak: Louisville – 14 Games – 1970-1983

Longest Lions Winning Streak: 4 Games – 1997-2000

Total Points Scored: Louisville-1710 Minerva-895

Average Score: Louisville-20, Minerva-11