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Down 24-7 at half, Leopards rally but can't claw way to state title
By Nate Ulrich
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Saturday, Dec 01, 2007
MASSILLON: Louisville's 14-game journey to the state championship game was a glorious ride.
The Leopards fell just short of high school football's greatest prize.
The Leopards (12-3) resisted defeat with an incredible second-half rally but ultimately were tamed in a 31-25 loss to the Cincinnati Anderson Redskins (13-2) Friday night in the Division II state championship game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
After trailing by 17 points at halftime, the Leopards clawed their way to within striking distance in the fourth quarter when junior quarterback Neal Seaman connected with junior receiver Brandon Mathie with 2:57 left. It was the duo's third touchdown pass of the game.
On Anderson's first play from scrimmage on its ensuing possession, however, senior running back Elijah Storey found room off left tackle and broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run down the left sideline to seal the Redskins' victory.
Louisville added another touchdown when Seaman hit sophomore receiver Bob Swigert on a 19-yard pass play to make it 31-25 with 20 seconds left. However, the Redskins recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran the clock out.
''Our community came and supported us with everything,'' Louisville coach Paul Farrah said. ''The Leopard Nation did a great job, and I want to thank them. It was a fun ride, and we'll enjoy it in a week or so when everything calms down.''
On its first possession of the game, Anderson struck with a four-play, 67-yard scoring drive. On third-and-11, Redskins junior quarterback Daniel Rod found senior wide receiver Nick Truesdell with a 52-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline.
On Louisville's next possession, Seaman fumbled after running past the first-down marker on third-and-1. Anderson senior defensive back Nick Aylward recovered the fumble at the Redskins' 48.
Two plays later, Rod hit the 6-foot-7, 215-pound Truesdell with another touchdown pass to give the Redskins a 14-0 lead with 7:10 remaining in the first quarter. Truesdell used his height advantage to jump over Mathie and haul in the 28-yard pass.
''He's thick, and he was able to shield us off just like a basketball player going up for the ball,'' Farrah said of Truesdell, who had five catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
With 4:36 left in the half, Seaman threw his second interception.
The Redskins took over and marched 60 yards in six plays to take a 21-0 lead with 2:38 left. Rod capped the drive with a 3-yard scoring run.
Leopards' first TD
Louisville quickly countered when Seaman connected with Mathie in the back right corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Mathie's extra-point kick cut the Leopards' deficit to 21-7 with 1:07 left in the half.
The Redskins were not finished displaying their first-half dominance. Anderson marched 63 yards to set up junior John Howard's 19-yard field goal that gave the Redskins a 24-7 halftime lead.
''I felt the game kind of went our way early because we made some big plays throwing the ball,'' Anderson coach Jeff Giesting said. ''We felt we'd have some chances with them playing so much man-to-man. Our tall receivers are pretty hard to defend.''
Second-half rally
Louisville showed it still had life in the third quarter.
The Leopards forced the Redskins to punt from their own 3 after senior linebacker Clay Swigert and senior defensive end Matt Schooley combined to make consecutive tackles for losses. The Leopards' offense took over on the Redskins' 36 and scored seven plays later when Seaman hit Mathie for a 4-yard touchdown on a slant route, making it 24-13.
Later, the Leopards covered 80 yards in 14 plays, ending with Seaman's third touchdown pass to Mathie.
But Anderson countered immediately with Storey's big run.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nateulrich2007@yahoo.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/.
MASSILLON: Louisville's 14-game journey to the state championship game was a glorious ride.
Get the full article here.
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