Louisville JV Comes Up Short Against North Canton – JV Football

North Canton Hoover 14, Louisville 6
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The Louisville Leopards JV Football Team fell to the visiting North Canton Hoover Vikings 14-6 Saturday Morning at Louisville Leopards Stadium. With the loss, Louisville is now 0-4 on the season.
Hoover junior runningback Jack Baxter broke the stalemate with a 4 yard touchdown run with 7:23 left in the third quarter to make it 7-0 Vikings. The touchdown capped off a 6 play, 65 yard scoring drive that was highlighted by a 26 yard completion from junior quarterback Cade Henne to junior wide receiver Anthony Gross..
North Canton’s next possession took them to their own 47 where they faced a 4th-and-3. Playing at linebacker, Leopards junior Noah Peterson slipped through the Vikings line to drop the ball carrier for a 9 yard loss to set Louisville up on the Hoover 38.
After a penalty, sophomore quarterback Charlie Roberts scampered up the middle for a gain of 20 to the North Canton 23. Then on 3rd-and-2, Roberts broke free of the defense again for a 15 yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 7-6 with 2:47 to go in the third quarter. Roberts was stopped short of the goal line by Viking junior linebacker Dominic Soehnlen on the conversion attempt leaving the score at 7-6.
The Leopards drove the ball into North Canton territory three times in the fourth quarter, but were unable to sustain drives any further once they did. On their first possession of the fourth quarter, Louisville turned the ball over on downs at the Viking 47.
Hoover converted a 3rd-and-8 to the Leopards 42, but then went backwards from there. Junior defensive lineman Dominic Jeffries dropped the North Canton quarterback for a sack and a 10 yard loss. Then a Viking penalty on second down pushed them back into a 2nd-and-33. Two plays later Hoover shanked a 12 yard punt that went out of bounds at the Louisville 49 giving the Leopards great field position once again.
Louisville was granted another gift when sophomore wide receiver Seth Anderson drew a pass interference call that marched the ball to the Vikings 34. However, the Leopards gave North Canton a bigger present in exchange by fumbling on the next play from scrimmage. Sophomore defensive lineman Aiden Sykeny forced it and junior defensive lineman Liam DeStefano came out of the pile with the ball for the Vikings at the Hoover 35 with 3:26 left to play.
Two plays later, Skykeny delivered the key block that allowed Henne to run left for a 61 yard Viking touchdown run. Junior kicker Robby Smart’s extra point was true giving North Canton a 14-6 advantage with 2:33 left.
With it still being a one possession game, Louisville looked to put together a game-tying scoring drive. The Vikings were called for an unsportsmanlike taunting penalty after their touchdown run which set the Leopards up on the 50 yard line to start the next drive (there are no kickoffs in JV football). On 3rd-and-5, Roberts threw a short pass to sophomore wide receiver Kyle Vesely to move the sticks to the North Canton 39. But a hold on the next play and a sack by sophomore linebacker Jack McKelley pushed Louisville back across the midfield stripe to their own 48.
On 4th-and-23, Roberts scrambled to buy time and flushed back to his left. The ensuing pass was batted up into the air by sophomore linebacker Luke Griguolo. Roberts caught his own pass for a short gain, but the Leopards turned it over on downs with 1:01 left as a result. Johnson recorded three sacks earlier in the game, which included two on consecutive plays in the second quarter.
Despite the loss, Louisville’s defense played excellent throughout. Unofficially, the following Leopards made key plays on defense:
- Clay Chambers tackle for a loss
- Trevor Eshler tackle for a loss
- Andrew Essik 0.5 sack
- Shane Gates tackle for a loss, 0.5 sack
- Dominic Jeffries sack, batted down pass
- Joey Johnson tackle for a loss
- Noah Peterson tackle for a loss
The Vikings have now won the JV contest in each of the past two seasons.
<<< Previous 2019 | Hoover All-Time JV Series
UP NEXT: The Leopards JV will next host the Canton Central Catholic Crusaders on Saturday, September 26 at 10:00 AM.
Game Statistics
Scoring Summary
VIKINGS 14, LEOPARDS 6
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Hoover 0-0-7-7–14
Louisville 0-0-6-0–06
1st Quarter
NO SCORING
2nd Quarter
NO SCORING
3rd Quarter
HOOVER- Jack Baxter 4 Yard Run (Robby Smart Kick) | LHS 0, HHS 7, 7:23
6 Plays, 65 Yards, 2:37
LOUISVILLE – Charlie Roberts 15 Yard Run (Run Failed) | LHS 6, HHS 7, 2:36
4 Plays, 38 Yards, 1:01
4th Quarter
HOOVER – Cade Henne 61 Yard Run (Kick) | LHS 6, HHS 14, 2:33
2 Plays, 65 Yards, 0:53
Records: Louisville 0-4