Leopards in need of a bounce back against mirror image of themselves
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
LOUISVILLE--The heavyweight division has always been the glamour division of boxing.
But you can't forget about the smaller weight classes and some of the intriguing title fights that have been a part of the sport for many years.
They may not be as known as the bigger schools in the state but that is perfectly fine with the Louisville Leopards and their hosting opponent Friday night, Dover.
Both the Leopards and Tornadoes are coming off of unfortunate running clock setbacks with the Leopards on the wrong end of a 43-10 home loss to Youngstown Ursuline while Dover is returning to the confines of Crater Stadium after a 44-14 setback to a Steubenville team that many feels will be a state title contender in Division III with two-time champion Columbus Bishop Watterson ascending to Division II.
Both Dover and Louisville are known for breeding young boys to compete under the lights during Friday nights during the fall season and Friday night at Crater Stadium will not be any different as both teams look to notch their second victory of the season.
For first-year Louisville head coach and 2010 graduate Jake Adkins, he is familiar to the tradition of Louisville football having competed under the guidance of Paul Farrah and being a member of their 2007 Division II state title competing squad before embarking on a four-year career at Notre Dame College as a Falcons linebacker.
Adkins expects a competitive affair between his battalion of Leopards and Tornadoes.
"Louisville and Dover have great communities and great programs and the community support of both cities are great, rich with tradition and it's great for high school football. Both are small-town communities and they care very much about the kids and their education," he said. "We have to do our job on every play and play with passion and perseverance."
The Leopards showed flashes of a team that they can be with a 20-10 victory over New Philadelphia as the defense showed a dominant form. They will need to rely on their defense to keep them in the game and get it into the fourth quarter with a chance to win it. This has the making of a game where defense may be the difference and offense may be scarce to come by.
Adkins sees a similarity to Dover from a defensive standpoint. Whoever can stay clear of turnovers will be the one departing Crater Stadium with a victory Friday night. Dover is a much better team than their 4-6 record last season and no one knows that better than Adkins.
"Dover is very similar to us and how they play. It is going to be tough going down there and we have to be ready to play four quarters of Louisville football," he said.
Like Adkins, second-year Dover field general Matt Rees is a graduate of his respective alma mater. A 2004 graduate, Rees was part of a team that finished off an undefeated regular season before traversing to Mount Union, where he won two national championships. Rees was the longtime defensive coordinator under retired general Dan Ifft before being selected as his successor last year. Even pleasing to those in Dover, Rees is a flawless 5-0 against the rival Quakers, winning four as a player and then last season's 35-28 thriller to conclude their season.
The Tornadoes are looking to get back on track after last week's game against the Big Red. Despite not getting off the way they wanted to, the competitiveness Dover showed was encouraging to Rees, who believes his team will learn from the setback and deliver a performance that Dover residents love to see in Crater Stadium.
"Last week was a game for us to learn from and those are the lessons that we will have to apply Friday night for four quarters," he said. "I have a lot of respect for Louisville as they are rich in tradition like we are and both of our communities are supportive."
Louisville split their first two games at home and now will assume the challenge of being road warriors. After Dover, they will challenge Youngstown Boardman and North Canton Hoover before returning home again to challenge Lake in four weeks.
Although it is still early, this stretch just may dictate how the season may unfold for Louisville. A loss wouldn't hurt the Leopards as much as the season is still in it's infancy but it may be a telling point of where the trajectory of their season may go. But at the same time, Adkins doesn't want his team to get too worked up about the stretch and to take the approach one game at a time.
"We don't want to put stress on one game. We do have an opportunity to make it right from last week and we have to do whatever it takes to win and make that happen," he said.
A segment of Friday's game just may come down to the special teams department, where the Tornadoes may have a distinct advantage. Last year, junior wide receiver and defensive back Dante Clark provided an electrifying 81-yard punt return score against New Philadelphia, which although it happened at the end of the first quarter, it proved advantageous for Dover. Without that score, their rivalry contest might have lasted into overtime and who knows what that may have parlayed into.
Clark has been a starter since his freshman year and he has only gotten better. The sky is the limit for him according to Rees and if he gets a return leading to a special teams score, it may be detrimental for the Leopards.
"Clark is one who really stands out and he has really developed into an excellent player. But he is not just the only one. We want to stand out in all three phases and it goes back to when I played at Mount Union, we were all 11 as one, whether it was offense, defense, or special teams and everyone was doing their jobs," Rees said.
"Dante is one who really stands out on film and we have to find a way to keep the ball out of his hands and know where he is at all times. He has a knack for the ball and he is fast," Adkins said.
