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Louisville reaches first state semifinal since '92; turnovers play key role
By Jarrod Ulrey Special to the Beacon Journal
Published on Saturday, Nov 17, 2007
LEXINGTON: Louisville junior defensive back Brandon Mathie knew his team was in need of a big stop. The Leopards were clinging to a five-point lead with less than five minutes remaining against Columbus DeSales in the Division II Region 7 championship game at Minutemen Field.
That's when DeSales quarterback Thomas Gentile fumbled at the Stallions' 7-yard line.
Mathie, whose team led 19-0 at the half against the No. 1-seeded and top-ranked DeSales, fell on the loose ball, and three plays later, Bob Swigert scored on a 3-yard run.
Considering that DeSales later added a touchdown, that series of plays proved crucial to the Leopards' 25-20 victory.
Louisville improved to 11-2 and advances to the state semifinals for the first time since 1992. The Stallions finished 12-1.
''I just saw the ball fly out, and I went after it,'' Mathie said. ''We knew we had to stop them on defense. Whoever hit (Gentile) did a good job.''
The play of Mathie also was big on offense, as he had eight catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Neal Seaman completed 11-of-15 passes in the first half, including eight in a row, and finished 21-of-30 for 273 yards and three scores.
The early lead the Leopards built also took the Stallions out of their game plan. Gentile threw just one pass in a 27-10 victory over Canfield in a regional semifinal but was 12-for-33 for 203 yards with one interception Friday.
''We throw the football all over the place,'' Louisville coach Paul Farrah said. ''They kind of had a hard time adjusting to it in the first half. We didn't make many adjustments. Our game plan was that if they threw it over 20 times, we'd win the game.''
The Leopards held the ball for more than nine minutes in the first quarter. They took a 7-0 lead with 7 minutes, 25 seconds left when Seaman hit Mathie for a 24-yard touchdown.
Louisville made the game's first big defensive play on the Stallions' second play from scrimmage when Gentile was intercepted by Swigert.
The Leopards took over at their 29 and drove 71 yards in 13 plays. Seaman found Jon Minster for an 8-yard score with 2:11 left in the opening quarter. The Leopards made first downs on three third-down plays in the drive.
DeSales' next possession stalled at the Louisville 46, and the Leopards again responded. After taking over at its 29, Louisville again drove 71 yards in seven plays, with Seaman hitting Mathie for a 19-yard touchdown with 6:40 left in the half.
The Stallions grabbed the momentum early in the second half on a 63-yard touchdown reception by Kenny Stafford, but on their next drive they moved to the Louisville 35 before punting with 53.7 seconds left in the third period.
DeSales' final score came with 1:27 remaining when Gentile hit Ryan Clark for an 11-yard touchdown.
The Stallions got the ball back with 58.3 seconds remaining, but Gentile was dropped for a 1-yard loss after bobbling the snap on first down and then threw three consecutive incompletions.
''We just came out ready to play,'' Seaman said. ''Our receivers made clutch catches. All of our receivers had great games.''
LEXINGTON: Louisville junior defensive back Brandon Mathie knew his team was in need of a big stop. The Leopards were clinging to a five-point lead with less than five minutes remaining against Columbus DeSales in the Division II Region 7 championship game at Minutemen Field.
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