North Canton Hoover Vikings at Louisville Leopards 1983 Highlights

North Canton Hoover 21, Louisville 14

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The North Canton Hoover Vikings scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 6:29 of the game to stun the host Louisville Leopards 21-14 at Louisville Stadium on September 9, 1983.

Utilizing the ground game, the Leopards roared out to 14-0 advantage early in the second quarter. Runningback Shannon Hostetler would finish as the game’s leading rusher with 18 carries for 83 yards including a 4 yard touchdown run with 6:40 to go in the first quarter. The touchdown capped off an 8 play, 43 yard scoring drive. 

The Louisville defense continued to shutdown Hoover on the other side of the ball holding them without a first down for the entire first quarter. LHS special teams also pinned the Vikings deep giving them terrible field position throughout most of the opening half. The Leopards mounted a similar 7 play, 45 yard scoring drive in response capped off by a 6 yard run to the endzone by Steve Brownsberger to make it 14-0 just a minute and a half into the second quarter. Brownsberger would finish with 12 carries for 42 yards.

The tide began to turn against Louisville late in the first half. North Canton was finally able to obtain a first down midway through the second quarter and they eventually strung together a 10 play, 83 yard scoring drive that was aided by two Leopard penalties. The combination of Hoover Quarterback Scott Powell and Wide Receiver Steve Schick connected 4 times on the drive accounting for 50 yards. This included receptions of 15, 11, and 17 yards before the pair connected on a 7 yard touchdown pass with only 5 seconds to play before halftime. A high snap on the PAT attempt led to a batted down pass leaving the score 14-6 at the break.

Louisville had a chance to extend their advantage twice in the third quarter, but came up empty on both occasions. On the verge of scoring, the Leopards ball carrier was stripped and Eric Stockard fell on the ball for the Vikings at the 6 yard line. Later, Louisville drove to the 25 yard line and faced a 4th-and-3. The ensuring pass attempted was batted into the air and Hoover’s Shawn Zimmerman intercepted and returned it to the North Canton 21.

Neither team scored on their next two possessions and the score remained 14-6 in favor of LHS heading into the fourth quarter. But the Vikings aerial attack revived and helped them put together a game-tying 8 play, 58 yard scoring drive aided by a 15-yard pass interference call against the Leopards. Just before taking a huge blow from the blitzing Louisville defense, Powell threaded the needle to John Smith down the right sideline for a 9 yard touchdown pass. Powell then found a wide open Gerry LaFont over the middle on the two-point conversion attempt to tie the game at 14-14 with 6:29 to play.

The Leopards got the ball back and faced a 4th-and-1 from their own 33. Louisville decided to go for the win instead of punting the ball away which likely would have led to settling for a tie. The Vikings defense swarmed on the Leopards ball carrier holding him to no gain as LHS turned the ball over on downs giving Hoover prime field position with 4:24 left.

Three plays later, Jimmy Wood made a diving 19-yard touchdown grab in the left side of the endzone to put North Canton in front 21-14 with 3:19 to play. It marked the third touchdown pass of the night for Powell who finished 15 of 26 for 156 yards.

Louisville failed to cross into Hoover territory on its final two possessions. A sack derailed the first possession as LHS turned the ball over on downs. Bob Belew then sacked North Canton’s Quarterback on 4th-and-7 leaving 2 seconds on the clock. The final Hail Mary attempt was picked off by the Vikings at midfield.

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Game Statistics

Scoring Summary

VIKINGS 21, LEOPARDS 14

Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL

Hoover 0-6-0-15–21

Louisville 7-7-0-0–14

1st Quarter

LOUISVILLE – Shannon Hostetler 4 Yard Run (Brad Lingenhoel Kick) | LHS 7, HHS 0, 6:40
8 Plays, 43 Yards

2nd Quarter

LOUISVILLE – Steve Brownsberger 6 Yard Run (Brad Lingenhoel Kick) | LHS 14, HHS 0, 10:30
7 Plays, 45 Yards

HOOVER – Steve Schick 7 Yard Pass from Scott Powell (Pass Failed) | LHS 14, HHS 6, 0:05
10 Plays, 83 Yards

3rd Quarter

No Scoring

4th Quarter

HOOVER – John Smith 9 Yard Pass from Scott Powell (Gerry LaFont Pass from Scott Powell) | LHS 14, HHS 14, 6:29

HOOVER – Jimmy Wood 19 Yard Pass from Scott Powell (Sean McHenry Kick) | LHS 14, HHS 21, 3:19

Records: North Canton Hoover 2-0, 1-0; Louisville 1-1, 0-1

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Team Stats

First Downs
Louisville: 12
Hoover: 14

Rushing
Louisville: 134 yards
Hoover: 75 yards

Passing
Louisville: 33 yards
Hoover: 156 yards

Penalties/Yds
Louisville: 7 for 65 yards
Hoover: 7 for 65 yards

Individual Stats

Rushing

Louisville:
Shannon Hostetler 18 carries, 83 yards, 1 touchdown
Steve Brownsberger 12 carries, 42 yards, 1 touchdown

Hoover:
Gerry LaFont 17 carries for 57 yards

Passing

Louisville:
Brian Mathie 5 of 11 for 44 yards, 2 interceptions

Hoover:
Scott Powell 15 of 26 for 156 yards, 3 touchdowns

Defense

Hoover:
Eric Stockard – Fumble Recovery
Shawn Zimmerman – Interception