Leopard JV Ignites Against Indians 53-6 – JV Football
JV: Louisville 53, Northwest 6
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The Louisville Leopards JV Football Team upended the visiting Northwest Indians 53-6 Saturday Morning at Louisville Leopards Stadium. With the victory, Louisville improves to 2-1 on the season.
Zahler Accounts for 3 Touchdowns
Quarterback Cody Zahler ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Leopard offense. Zahler scored on a 10 yard run in the first quarter and later broke loose for a 52 yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Zahler also connected with Anderson Kandel for a 38 yard touchdown pass on the final play of the third quarter. That score put Louisville ahead 39-6 invoking the mercy rule and the clock ran the rest of the way.
Collier Scores Twice in 4th Quarter
Runningback Dom Collier scored on runs of 55 and 18 in the fourth quarter as the Leopards opened up a 53-6 lead in the final minute.
Six of Louisville’s 7 touchdowns came on the ground. Owen Wilson started the scoring with a 41 yard touchdown run just 88 seconds into the game. Ethan Barnes also scored the only points of the second quarter with a 12 yard touchdown run that put the Leopards ahead 19-0.
Wilson Pick Six Begins 2nd Half Onslaught
The Indians defense forced a turnover on Louisville’s first drive of the second half. Jimmy Dawson forced his second fumble of the game and Jaxon Barna took possession of it for Northwest at the NHS 42 yard line. Dawson led the Indians defensive efforts and also had an earlier sack.
The Indians momentum didn’t last long as Drake Wilson stepped in front of a pass and made a leaping interception at the Leopard 47. Wilson would take the interception back 53 yards for a pick six to extend the Louisville lead to 25-0 with 4:01 remaining in the third.
Lipkins TD Catch Puts Indians on the Board
Northwest broke the shutout on the ensuing possession. On 3rd-and-7, quarterback Dewayne Zantow unloaded to Ty Lipkins on the left side of the field. Lipkins leaped, hauled in the jump ball, and ran to the endzone for a 62 yard touchdown pass. Kandel pushed Zantow out of bounds for a loss on the conversion attempt and the score remained 25-6 with 2:34 left in the third.
Leopards Defense Records 5 Takeaways
The Leopards defense dominated throughout in forcing 5 turnovers. Brock Leghart recovered a fumble on Northwest’s first play from scrimmage after a mishandled exchange in the backfield. Later in the fourth quarter, Barnes forced a fumble and Scott Hickinbotham pounced on the ball at the Louisville 29 to end the Indians’ final threatening drive of the game.
The Leopards defense intercepted three passes in-between those fumble recoveries. Drake Wilson’s third quarter pick six and Xavier Berdella’s fourth quarter interception highlight Louisville’s second half takeaways through the air. The Berdella interception led to Kandel’s 38 yard touchdown grab two plays later.
The Leopards biggest lapse of the game came late in the first half. The long snap ricocheted off the helmet of leaping punter Owen Wilson who recovered the ball and was tackled at the 3 yard line. Wilson blew up the ball carrier for a loss on the next play on defense. He would lead the team with three TFL’s on the morning. Then a high snap by Northwest allowed Pierre Casinto to drop the ball carrier for a loss on the following play. Casinto was at it again on the next play, breaking up a pass to the endzone to force the Indians into 4th-and-goal.
After at timeout, Hunter Fetrow extended for a leaping interception at the Louisville 5 yard line. He returned it 30 yards and more importantly got the Leopards defense off the field with the shutout still preserved.
With 26 seconds remaining in the half, Louisville’s offense could have easily packed it in taking a 19-0 lead into the break. However, Zahler hooked up with tight end Jack Baker for back-to-back receptions of 35 and 29 yards to setup the Leopards 1st-and-goal with 1 second remaining in the half.
Louisville was not able to find the endzone, but the drive showed off the explosiveness of the freshman duo and the game showed off the prowess of Leopard football yet to come.
UP NEXT: The Leopards JV Team will next travel to take on the Marlington Dukes on Saturday, September 14. Game time is slated for 10:00 AM from Marlington Stadium.
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Northwest at Louisville Football Scoring Summary
LEOPARDS 53, INDIANS 6
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Northwest 0-0-6-0–06
Louisville 13-6-20-14–53
1st Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Owen Wilson 41 Yard Run (Hunter Fetrow Kick) | LHS 7, NHS 0, 8:32
LOUISVILLE – Cody Zahler 10 Yard Run (Kick Failed) | LHS 13, NHS 0, 6:55
2nd Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Ethan Barnes 12 Yard Run (Pass Failed| LHS 19, NHS 0, 8:18
3rd Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Drake Wilson 53 Yard Interception Return (Pass Failed) | LHS 25, NHS 0, 4:01
NORTHWEST – Ty Lipkins 62 Yard Pass from Dewayne Zantow (Run Failed) | LHS 25, NHS 6, 2:34
LOUISVILLE – Cody Zahler 52 Yard Run (Hunter Fetrow Kick) | LHS 32, NHS 6, 1:17
LOUISVILLE – Anderson Kandel 38 Yard Pass from Cody Zahler (Hunter Fetrow Kick) | LHS 39, NHS 6, 0:00
4th Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Dom Collier 55 Yard Run (Hunter Fetrow Kick) | LHS 46, NHS 6, 6:05
LOUISVILLE – Dom Collier 18 Yard Run (Hunter Fetrow Kick) | LHS 53, NHS 6, 0:57
Records: Louisville 2-1
