Veteran Louisville head football coach M.C. Miller said this year’s defense could be one of the best he has coached and is comparable to some of the greats in school history.
The Wildcats played like it on Friday night.
Louisville went on the road to Navarre, Fla., and brought home a 14-6 win over the Class 6A Raiders.
“That was a big win for our guys,” Miller said. “That was a big school and we had to play like the devil to come out of there with a win. The defense made things happen. They played hard and shut them down pretty good. We didn’t even let them get close in the first half.”
Neither team was able to get much going in the first quarter and it wasn’t until midway through the second quarter that Louisville finally found the end zone. That was when quarterback Dre Shumaker scrambled out of the pocket and hit Alvius Haynes over the middle and the senior speedster turned it into a 47-yard touchdown pass. Elijah Wilkes booted the PAT and Louisville led 7-0 with 5:23 left in the first half.
The score stayed at 7-0 until the half and the Raiders got the ball to open up the second half. The Raiders got going on offense and drove the ball to the Louisville 10-yard line. That’s when the Wildcat defense stiffened and pushed the Raiders back to the 40-yard line and forced a punt with 6:29 left in the third period.
“I kept talking to the defense all week long,” Miller said. “I told them they were going to have to play hard and they responded to that. I’m a defensive man and got to talk to them a little bit more this week. They just kept on making things happen.”
Navarre finally found the end zone early in the fourth quarter when they scored on an 8-yard run with 10:21 left in the game. But the Raiders missed the PAT and Louisville held on to a 7-6 lead.
The Raiders had one more good shot at the Wildcats when an interception gave Navarre the ball at their own 37 with 5:00 left in the game. The Raiders broke a big run and got to the Louisville 40 but a Shemar Eiland sack ended the threat and gave the Wildcats back the ball.
The Wildcats put some distance in between them and the Raiders as Kevon Jackson got loose on a 70-yard touchdown run with 1:41 left in the game. Wilkes PAT was good and the Wildcats led 14-6.
“That was a big score,” Miller said. “He made a good cut and outran the whole team. It was third down and I really didn’t want to punt because they had come close to blocking a punt or two already. That gave us some breathing room and defense made a big play at the end to win the game.”
The Raiders did work the football down to the Louisville 25 but a pass over the middle was intercepted by Jehmiah Harden to end the threat and give the Wildcats the win.
On offense, the Wildcats had 238 yards of total offense with 106 passing for 132 rushing. Dre Shumaker was 7-of-12 passing for 96 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Haynes had three catches for 73 yards.
The Wildcats had 132 yards rushing as Jackson had 75 yards rushing on eight carries and a touchdown while Shumaker had 54 yards on 15 carries.
On defense, the Louisville defense was led by Kristian Haynes who had 13 tackles while Ashanti Cistrunk had 12 stops. Charles Moore had eight tackles while Shemar Eiland had seven tackles and a sack. Jemiah Harden had five tackles and an interception while Derius Hopkins had five tackles and a sack. J’Kevious Hibbler also had five tackles.
The Wildcats will go on the road this week for another stiff contest as they take on defending 5A state champion West Point. The Green Wave opened up the season with a 55-6 shellacking for Columbus.
The Green Wave had 520 yards of total offense with 413 on the ground. Junior running back Dantariyus Cannon had 116 yard rushing on six carries while Jimothy Mays had 89 yards rushing on six carries.
“They are tough again,” Miller said. “They have a good offense and a good defense. They look like they are just as strong as they were last year. That’s a tough place to play and you had better be ready to play when you go in there. We can’t take a break this week. We have to be prepared to play.”
Last year, West Point beat Louisville 27-7 en route to a perfect 15-0 record and a Class 5A state championship. It was the closest margin of victory of the season for the Green Wave.
