Alluring all-county matchup awaits but Leopards and Tigers must handle assignments
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
MASSILLON--If you are a fan of Stark County football, you know the next matchup will be attractive to the county.
But if you are general football fan, you want to see the same regional finalists meet again for a third consecutive season and fifth time overall, albeit one round sooner than expected amid early season expectations
For the Louisville Leopards and Massillon Tigers both are one win away from a potential playoff meeting that will have electricity arcing around Stark County.
For that to occur next week, both the Leopards and Tigers will have to prevail in their respective second round contests against defending two-time regional champion Sunbury Big Walnut and Columbus St. Francis DeSales with the Leopards traveling on the road to face the Eagles and the Tigers hosting the Stallions.
I had a chance to chat with Leopards head coach and Tigers head coach Nate Moore as they provided insights on their respective opponents for Friday's battles.
LEOPARDS LOOK TO KNOCK OFF POWERFUL CHAMPION
For first-year Leopard head coach, Jake Adkins, a 2010 graduate of Louisville, he knows all about the names of Leopards football.
Whether it is Elsass, Beatty, Farkas, Aljancic, Tournoux, etc, the 35-year-old father of four children grew up watching those same names compete at Louisville Stadium and saw fearlessness in them that made them the players they became and are still chatted about today.
They were not intimidated of any challenge. That also includes Adkins, who was a running back and linebacker on the 2007 team that faced Cincinnati Anderson and their towering 6'9", 235 lb. receiver Nick Truesdell in the Division II state championship 19 years ago at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.
And don't expect the Leopards to be intimidated of a Big Walnut team that were sophomore-laden when they won the 2024 regional title and repeated the accomplishment a years later against the same Massillon team.
Louisville respects the Eagles but do not fear them, a trait of Leopards football.
"Louisville football prides itself on toughess, togetherness and tenacity. We play for each other and we embody that. We know that Big Walnut is solid around in all areas and they are very flexible," Adkins said. "We will have to play smart and minimize their possessions and win the field position battle and keep them in front of us and behind the chains."
The Leopards defense held North Canton Hoover to a single touchdown last week in their first-round playoff game as they captured a 21-7 victory led by three touchdown runs from running back Lucas Neff.
If Neff isn't doing the damage, quarterback Cody Zahler is making life miserable for defenses with his ability to take care of the football and obtain yards by passing or running. This is also helped by an offensive line that features 6'8", 315 lb. UConn commit Aden Norris.
Big Walnut are led by senior quarterback Eli Stumpf, a three-year starter along with Mr. Football candidate Nolan Buirley. The Golden Eagles have advanced to the state semifinals twice but have not been able to vault past the same Anderson team that deprived Louisville of a title.
All but three of the Golden Eagles wins have been via running clock. A key for the Leopards will be to get the game into the second half with a chance to emerge victorious.
"We play better when we start off fast and get out to an early lead. We have to win the first down and second down battles and get them into some third and long situations and that is going to be the key," Adkins said.
Louisville has won six in a row dating back to the sixth week of the season. But they really found their identity in a 15-14 win at eventual OCC conference champion Dover as they came back from a 14-0 deficit to stun the Tornadoes on a walk-off 26-yard field goal from Parker Daum.
If you are a fan of the Leopards, you hope to get one more week of football and a short drive within county limits. But first, Louisville must find a way to eliminate a Big Walnut team who wants more than just a regional championship as their team is laced with a plethora of seniors who do not want to be derailed on the road to Canton and a potential state title.
"The one thing we don't want to do is become one-dimensional against a team like them. We have to be able to have a balance between running and throwing the ball," Adkins said.
