Leopard Nation 2011 Leopards finish strong in posting 6 and 4 record Expectations are always high as we all know as Louisville Leopards fans and supporters.  The 2011 Louisville Leopard season proved to be no different.  That being said, it would be nice to go 10 and 0 every year, but the reality remains that this is a very tough sport that is becoming more competitive throughout the NBC and Stark County each year for our Beloved Leps. Personally speaking, I was proud of how hard our 2011 Mighty Leps played game in and game out.  Coach John DeMarco led this fine group of young men to six victories on the season, which included two signature wins in burying North Canton Hoover 50 to 7 and defeating a highly touted Marlington Dukes team 35 to 28 on statewide TV!  Interestingly enough, three of our early season opponents Walsh Jesuit, Ravenna, and Minerva are still playing Playoff Football as I write this season ending Season In Review. Let's start with our Senior Dominated Offense.  Coach John DeMarco handled the Quarterbacks and one of our finest of all time in 2011.  Senior Captain #16 Chad Neff accounted for 1,104 yards passing and 7 TD's while rushing for 647 yards and 9 more TD's in a little over 5 games due to season ending knee injury, which was very unfortunate for this fine young man.  Neff amassed over 5,100 yards of offense and 58 TD's as a starter for our Mighty Leps.  Sophomore #7 Joey Duckworth finished the final five games with a very impressive 874 yards passing and 7 TD's.  Duckworth also rushed for 143 yards in leading our Leps to 4 victories. The running back position was coached by Leopard Legend Brian Beatty, who was blessed to have one of our stand-outs for the past three seasons.  Senior Captain #34 Lucas Poyser rushed for over 800 yards for the third straight year while rushing for 9 TD's in 2009, 7 TD's in 2010, and 12 TD's this year.  This proved to be one of the most consistent running backs in Leopard History.  Senior #21 Alex Jackson also got time in the backfield for our Leps. In 2011, Coach John DeMarco added Leopard Legend Joe Greco to the coaching staff to coach the wide receivers.  Coach Greco did not disappoint as our Mighty Leps had a number of productive receivers.  Let's start with Senior #14 Gavin Lovejoy who led our Leps with 7 receiving Touchdowns and 30 catches.  Senior #22 Billy Lairson had a good year hauling in 12 passes and 3 TD's, two TD's coming against Hoover and Marlington in two Big Wins.  Senior #24 Dillon Stertzbach was solid at the "X" catching 18 passes for 331 yards and 2 TD's.  Seniors #8 Connor Ruffier, #18 Trevor Meredith, and #41 Joshua Rouse all contributed at WR.  Junior #44 Alex Schooley played well in scoring a big TD versus Walsh Jesuit in Week 1.  The story of the year at WR was the play of Junior #5 Trent Ohman who had a break-out year tying a school record with 67 catches for 756 yards and 5 TD's.  Ohman also rushed for 1 TD.  Fivvvve!!!!  Was the absolute go to guy all year and should have a huge for our Leps in 2012! The last group on Offense was definitely Senior Dominated as Coach Dan Radalia again produced a stellar group up front for our Mighty Leps!  Led by Senior Captains #79 Sammy Pickens and #73 Cole Lautzenheiser the guard position was dominating.  #73 Lautzenheiser is getting plenty of college looks as we speak!  Our Senior offensive tackles included #59 Blake Vernier and #58 Andy Hodous.  These two first year starters did a great job for 10 straight weeks.  Our last Senior across the front was #57 Tyler Brahler who was extremely solid all year.  Senior #74 Andrew Frederick also did a good job in providing depth for our O-Line!  Well Done Senior Lineman!!! Special Teams should never go unnoticed!  Kicking Coach Dustin Nicholas had a heavy task grooming two new kickers, but both kickers had very good years.  Senior Kickoff Specialist #6 Justin Romy did great in placing his kickoffs, while Junior #87 Merrick Storlie was fantastic hitting 25 of 31 PAT attempts in his first year with the kicking duties.  Our Return Game was in great hands with Senior #24 Dillon Stertzbach who was tremendous on Kickoff and Punt Returns.  Players such as Seniors #18 Trevor Meredith, #21 Alex Jackson, #41 Joshua Rouse, #50 Daniel Yoder, #74 Andrew Frederick, #75 Trey Province, and #69 Jeremiah Hart contributed on Special Teams along with underclassmen #54 Jonah Dawson, #63 Aaron Carter, #83 Dylan Kline, #23 Jeremy McQuilkin, and #15 Garrett Yoder.  This is an area that is important for our Leps to improve on year in and year out. Now, let's move to the Defense!  Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Back Coach Nick Lewis moved to the 4-3 Defense in 2011 which ultimately added a DB to the mix.  Let's start with Defensive Backs.  Senior #11 Jon Crank had a very good year at Safety alongside Senior Captain #24 Dillon Stertzbach.  These two seniors quarterbacked the Defense in 2011 and were true leaders all year long.  Senior #25 Adam Nees played most of the year at Cornerback and battled a shoulder injury.  Junior #23 Jeremy McQuilkin was very steady at the other Cornerback.   Senior #14 Gavin Lovejoy played a ton late in the year along with Sophomore #15 Garrett Yoder who recorded a huge INT.  Senior #41 Joshua Rouse and Junior #5 Trent Ohman also played a little DB for our Leps. The Defensive Line had two Leopard Legend coaches with Coach Mike Norris on the interior and Coach Troy Davis working with our Defensive Ends.  The Defensive End position was led by Seniors #81 Jake Sluss and #20 Aaron Reynolds.  These two fine seniors both had very good years harassing QB's all year for our Leps.  Sophomore #54 Jonah Dawson and Senior #18 Trevor Meredith also contributed DE.  Coach Norris went fairly young in the middle with Sophomores #53 Cole McElroy and #51 Corey Neff starting all 10 games in the interior.  Senior #75 Trey Province played very well at Defensive Tackle all year long disrupting backfields.  Seniors #50 Daniel Yoder, #69 Jeremiah Hart, #57 Tyler Brahler, and #79 Sammy Pickens also contributed on the interior of our four man front. The final group on Defense was led by Coach Mike Kane and included our Leopard Linebackers.  This group was led by a host of Juniors.  The man in the middle was #29 Charles Beamer who was solid against the run and pass all year.  On the outside, our Leps utilized Juniors #44 Alex Schooley and #26 Gary Anile.  Junior #42 Mike Weiss did a good job filling in while Seniors #16 Chad Neff and #21 Alex Jackson also got action at LB. Well, the 2011 Leopards recorded 298 points in only allowing 186 points while gaining 3700 yards of offense and scoring 42 TD's.  All in all, it was a very successful year as this Historic Football Program is inching closer to our 600th Win in School History.  Best of Luck to this group of 2011 Seniors and best wishes on a great Senior Year to all of you and your fine families!  Love Ya Leps! Leopard Nation '11!  BACK!  never been gone…  Let's Go Leps!