Poland Seminary Bulldogs at Louisville Leopards Playoff Preview
Poland Seminary Bulldogs (9-1) at Louisville Leopards (9-1)
SPREAD: Louisville By 2 (According to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50)
WHEN: Friday, November 7, 2014
WHERE: Louisville Leopards Stadium
RADIO: WHBC 1480-AM
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 leads the all-time series 12-7, which includes a 7-2 record at home. The Leopards have won 8 out of the last 9 meetings against the Bulldogs overall.
LAST MEETING: The Leopards defeated the Bulldogs 35-13 back on August 25, 2006. Enjoy Video Highlights from this game and the 1964 and 2004 Louisville-Poland Games in the links below:
View 2006 Video Highlights & Recap
View 2004 Video Highlights & Recap
View 1964 Video Highlights & Recap
PLAYOFF HISTORY
LAST LOUISVILLE APPEARANCE: The Leopards last made the playoffs in 2013 and fell to the Aurora Greenmen 24-21 in the DIII Regional Quarterfinals at Louisville Leopards Stadium. Louisville holds a 13-14 record all-time in the playoffs.
View Louisville Leopards Vs. Aurora Greenmen 2013 Playoff Highlights & Recap
LAST POLAND APPEARANCE: The Bulldogs last made the playoffs in 2013. They defeated West Geauga 29-28 in overtime on the road in the Regional Quarterfinals before succumbing to eventual state champion St. Vincent-St. Mary 35-7 in the Regional Semifinals.
Schedules:
| Louisville Schedule | Poland Seminary Schedule | |||
| WK | Opponent | Result | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | at Canfield | W 24-7 | at Marlington | W 38-17 |
| 2 | at Hoover | L 14-17 | Northwest | W 38-7 |
| 3 | Ravenna | W 40-6 | at Boardman | W 10-7 |
| 4 | at Salem | W 49-6 | Bishop Watterson | W 27-16 |
| 5 | at Carrollton | W 37-22 | Hubbard | L 28-54 |
| 6 | West Branch | W 51-0 | Howland | W 18-17 |
| 7 | Minerva | W 44-21 | Struthers | W 14-7 |
| 8 | at Marlington | W 54-14 | at Niles McKinley | W 35-0 |
| 9 | Alliance | W 56-14 | Youngstown East | W 30-8 |
| 10 | Canton South | W 56-20 | at Canfield | W 28-7 |
| PLAYOFFS | ||||
| 11 | Poland Seminary | 11/7 | at Louisville | 11/7 |
PREVIEW
Louisville and Poland will renew a classic Tri-County League series coming this Friday in the DIII, Region 7 Quarterfinals at Louisville Leopards Stadium. The Bulldogs are no stranger to the playoffs as they have now reached the postseason in 8 consecutive seasons. The last time Poland missed the playoffs was the last year Louisville & Poland played in the regular season (2006). Meanwhile, the Leopards are looking to erase their loss to Aurora in the opening round last season. They will again be favored and have a home game in a 3 Vs. 6 matchup come Friday. Louisville has ripped off 8 straight wins, while Poland is riding a 5 game winning streak.
The only two common opponents between the two schools are Canfield and Marlington which both teams beat handily. The Leopards only loss came to Division I foe North Canton in Week 2, while the Bulldogs lone defeat came against the DIII AP Poll Champions and Region 7 top seed Hubbard back in Week 5. While Poland has plenty of playoff experience on their side, they only dress 45 compared to Louisville who suits up roughly 64. Depth could play a factor if the Bulldogs have several players going both ways for the entire contest. The Leopards have taken 8 out of the last 9 meetings against Poland overall which includes winning the past 3 contests (2004-06).
LEOPARDS
The Louisville Offense has produced 385 yards (208 rushing, 177 passing) and 43 points per contest this season. Quarterback Connor Zwick continues to be the Leopards biggest offensive weapon as he has completed 106 of 159 passes for 1,598 yards & 24 touchdowns through the air and has also rushed a team-leading 111 times for 674 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground. Runningback Walter Schrock is coming off his best performance of the year as he rushed for 206 yards and 4 touchdowns against Canton South. Schrock has complied 920 rushing yards on 98 attempts (9.4 avg.) and has scored 15 touchdowns on the ground as well. He will be seeking another big game to put him over 1,000 yards for the season come Friday. As has been the case all season, Louisville has a variety of weapons at receiver that include: Kyle Woost (35 catches, 362 yards, 4 touchdowns), Ryan Lautner (24 catches, 415 yards, 7 touchdowns), Alec Jones (23 catches, 330 yards, 9 touchdowns), Tyler Adams (14 catches, 294 yards, 6 touchdowns), and Josh Swanson (9 catches, 207 yards, 1 touchdown).
The Leopards Defense has only surrendered 206 yards (109 rushing, 96 passing) and 13 points per game this season. Linebacker Kyle Ashcraft (50 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack) leads the team in tackles, while fellow linebacker Casey Nau (30.5 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 4 fumble recoveries, 1 interception) is a ball magnet and leads the team with 5 takeaways. In the Secondary, Joe Crank (16 tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 pass breakups) is the only player that has recorded multiple picks this season while fellow defensive backs Jake Mathie (35 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 pick six) and Stephen Kerzan (32.5 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups) can also fly to the ball. Leaders in the trenches include QB nightmare Frankie Falcone (22 tackles, 6 sacks), Tanner Brahler (20.5 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery), and Daichi Castles (19 tackles, 5 for loss, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 TD). Other contributors on the defensive side of the ball include: Dalton Deckerd (21.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack) and Marco Buccasso (16 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 fumble recovery).
Kicker Austin Terra has accounted for 59 points on special teams for the Leopards this season. Terra has converted 3 of 6 field goals and 50 of 56 extra point kicks. On punts this season, Zwick has averaged 33.5 yards on 13 attempts with a long of 53 and 5 boots inside the 20. Top kick returners for Louisville include Adams (6 returns, 36.5 avg., 67 long) and Mathie (6 returns, 17.5 avg., 24 long). Top punt returners include Crank (17 returns, 9.4 avg., 61 long) and Mathie (7 returns, 11.1 avg., 22 long).
BULLDOGS
The Poland Offense is averaging 281 yards (156 rushing, 125 passing) and 27 points per game this 
season. Quarterback Dom Petrony commands the Poland Offense as he has completed 82 of 139 passes for 1,250 yards and 16 touchdowns against 3 interceptions. Top receivers include Anthony Calcagni (18 catches, 354 yards, 3 touchdowns), Tate Duarte (18 catches, 258 yards, 6 touchdowns), Dylan Garver (10 catches, 123 yards, 1 touchdown), and Tyler Smith (6 catches, 96 yards, 1 touchdown). Also making an impact in the passing game are Tight End Adam Wollet (7 catches, 106 yards, 1 touchdown) and Runningback Austin Wilson (16 catches, 261 yards, 1 touchdown). Wilson (48 carries, 482 yards, 6 touchdowns) and Runningback Marlon Ramirez (175 carries, 802 yards, 9 touchdowns) combine to provide a dual-threat in the Bulldog backfield.
The Poland Defense is allowing just 13 points per contest. No other details from the Bulldogs defense were provided by the school/team.
On Special Teams, Kicker Rob Devito has made 6 of his 8 field goal attempts and booted through 27 of 28 extra points. Devito has hit from as far as 38 yards away this season and has tallied 45 points for the Bulldogs. Colt McFadden has handled kickoff duties this year landing 10 of his 42 kicks in the endzone. The multi-faceted Wilson has also made his presence known on Special Teams as he has returned kickoffs (12 returns, 24.4 avg., 90 long, 1 touchdown), taken back punts (5 returns, 13.6 avg., 49 long), and is the team’s punter (15 punts, 40.9 avg., 62 long, 1 touchback). Garver (9 returns, 9.4 avg., 50 long) has returned the most punts this year for Poland.
