reviewravanna

There is always much anticipation when a new season opens, but none was more evident than last Friday Night when our

Mighty Leopards visited the Ravenna Ravens for the 2009 Opener. The Leopard Faithful packed the Visiting Stands in spite of

the Portage County Randolph Fair, Construction, A new Ravenna High School being built, Tornado Warnings, and Lightning to

watch our Boys post their first victory of the 2009 Season with a Dominating Defensive performance over Ravenna. You know

when you start a New Season, there is always that unknown of what the New Faces of Louisville Football may bring to the

table. Well, Coach Paul Farrah had to be pleased as the Defense stepped up for Four Quarters and the Leopard Offense was

very efficient with Time Consuming Drives and No Turnovers. Speaking of Defense, that was definitely the story for the Coach

Nick Lewis led Unit. Other than a couple of first downs on Ravenna’s first series, the Leps Defense completely shut down the

Ravens "O". When you talk about the "D", you have to start with Team Captains and Stand-Out Linebackers #24 Hunter Potts

in the middle with #34 Jake Adkins flanked on the outside. Led by Coach Troy Davis and joined by Junior #9 Michael

Schooley, this crew did not give an inch against a very Talented Raven Offense. With that being said, it took a little longer for

the Leps Offense to get started, but after a slow first series the Leopards Offense drove the field and reached pay dirt before

the end of the first quarter with #32 Preston Massey barreling in from 3 Yards out to open the scoring . #87 Jaron Lohmeyer

added the PAT out of the hold of #13 Toby Minster to put the Leopards up 7 to 0 at the end of the First Quarter. Not Knowing at

the time, this was all our Slobber Knocking Defense would need the entire evening. One of the strengths of the 2009 Leps was

certainly going to be the experience and depth coming back on the Defensive Line. Defensive Line Coach Mike Norris and

Defensive End Coach Adam Burris had this group in the Ravenna backfield all night long. Led by Seniors #55 Joe Poyser, #51

Joe Henderson, and #50 Bobby Gothot stuffing the middle along with Senior #49 Matt Wharmby and Sophomore #16 Chad

Neff flying in from the outside, the Ravenna Offense was in disarray! Oh, and Our Leps were not done there! Senior #36 Billy

Kennedy, Junior #61 Zac Whaley, Senior #67 Alan Swaggard, Senior #48 Justin Moulin, and Senior #14 Dan Zavarelli all

played Major Roles up front in Dominating Defensive Performance for Four Quarters. As you heard earlier, our Leps reached

pay dirt by the Run in the First Quarter. Now, it was time for All Everything and All Ohio #2 Bobby Swigert to take over. With

some crafty scrambling for positive yards and a rocket of an Arm, #2 Swigert drove the Leps down the field finding Senior #25

Cody Stocker on a couple of key passes and Senior #21 Jared Strasser on a key third down to keep a drive alive. This later

enabled, #87 Jaron Lohmeyer to drill a 38 Yard Field Goal from the snap of #50 Bobby Gothot and hold from #13 Toby Minster.

This put our Leps up 10 to 0 in the Second Quarter. Later in the Second, #2 Swigert again drove our Leps down the field and

was insistent on getting our Leps back into the end zone before the Half. With under a minute to go in the Second Quarter, #2

Swigert found Senior #5 Joe Stoffer in the seam for a 6 Yard TD Pitch and Catch. #5 Stoffer went up a got the Throw, but when

you are 5’5" ----FIVE----You better go up and get Balls! This made the Half Time Score Louisville 16 and Ravenna 0. With the

second half in motion, a Unit that periodically gets unnoticed is Special Teams. Well, the Kickoff and Punt Team that was led

by Seniors #48 Justin Moulin, #14 Dan Zavarelli, #31 Kyle Dehoff, Juniors #33 Matt Dunnerstick, #44 Mitchell Sluss, and

Sophomore #7 Lucas Poyser stifled the Ravenna return game all night. Junior Logan Henkel, #87 Jaron Lohmeyer handled

the Kicking duties with #2 Bobby Swigert handling the Punting Duties. Speaking of #44 Sluss, Mitchell along #31 Kyle Dehoff,

Junior #15 Jeremy White, and #2 Swigert led our Defensive Backfield that always seemed to be in the right place at the right

time. #44 Sluss came up numerous times and made timely Tackles near the line of scrimmage and #31 Dehoff had several

Pass Break-Ups in the Turnover free game. Well Done DB’s! One thing that is very important early in the year is controlling the

Football! No one would know that more than Offensive Coordinator John DeMarco and Offensive Line Coach Dan Radalia.

Coach Radalia had the Boys up front ready to go as Five Seniors started up front and enabled our Leps to move the chains in

the Second Half. Led by Left Tackle #73 Joe Neff, Left Guard #78 Tyler Radalia, Center #50 Bobby Gothot, Right Guard #59

Dan McDonald, and Right Tackle #65 Dan Davis, the Line opened Holes and gave #2 Swigert time to find numerous receivers

all night. Also, Senior #62 Nick Case and Junior #60 John Taggart contributed with the first unit. Senior #77 Bobby Marquardt

received quality snaps with the Leps "O" up front throughout the Fourth Quarter. Speaking of being balanced, Coach John

DeMarco had to be pleased with the number of touches by our Leps receiving crew. #2 Bobby Swigert found Six different

receivers on the night led by #5 Stoffer with 3 Catches for 58 Yards, #25 Cody Stocker with 3 Catches, #22 Lee Ferguson and

#9 Michael Schooley each had 2 Catches, and #21 Jared Strasser along with Running Back #32 Preston Massey had 1 Catch

on the night. #15 Jeremy White also contributed at the "X" Receiver position. This enabled #2 Swigert to have over 200 All

Purpose Yards on the evening. #2 Swigert was an efficient 12-22 for 162 Yards through the Air while leading the Leps with 58

Yards Rushing on 11 Carries. Speaking of Rushing, Coach Brian Beatty had #32 Preston Massey get the Baulk of the carries

with #7 Lucas Poyser also contributing on the ground. With three quarters in the books after #87 Jaron Lohmeyer nailing

another 30 Yard Field Goal. Our Mighty Leopards decided to put the Ravens away with a nice drive that saw #2 Swigert finding

#5 Stoffer between two defenders for a 30 yard gain and #2 Swigert with a 15 yard run down to the Ravenna two yard line.

This enabled #32 Preston Massey to find pay dirt for the second time on the night. #87 Lohmeyer nailed the PAT. To close the

scoring, #14 Dan Zavarelli tackled the Ravens QB in the end zone after a snap sailed over his head into the End Zone for a

safety. With the score Leps 28 Ravenna 0, the lightning struck with 1:11 remaining and the Game was called and completed

for the first Leps Victory of 2009! Well, I know no one wanted to look ahead to Week 2, but let me tell you IT WAS HARD TO

DO! I do not think anyone is unaware what is happening this Thursday at Louisville Stadium as the State Semi-Finalist and

Rival North Canton Hoover Vikings visit The Ville!!! The Week 2 Showdown is the State of Ohio Game Of The Week and will

be televised LIVE on Fox Sports Net Ohio. The Only Thing I Have Left To Say Is That THIS IS WHAT FOOTBALL IS ALL

ABOUT! So, Leps Enjoy This Week and Take Care Of Freakin’ Business!—Bottom Line! BEAT HOOVER! Leopard Nation ’09!

Back To Champs!! That Is STATE CHAMPS!!!