Louisville at West Branch
SITE Heacock Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
RECORDS Louisville 7-0, 4-0; West Branch 3-3, 2-2.
LAST WEEK Louisville 14, Northwest 0; West Branch 17, Alliance 14.
LAST MEETING Louisville won 13-8 last year.
WHAT TO WATCH Louisville head coach Paul Farrah watched his defense turn in a near-perfect performance last week, holding Northwest to 106 totals yards, 300 below the Indians’ average. Farrah hopes to see his offense take some of the pressure off the Leopards’ defense. Louisville was in Northwest territory on 11 of its 12 possessions but scored just the two TDs. “As many times as we had it down there, we need to do a better job scoring,” Farrah said. “But give Northwest some credit, too. They made plays on defense when they had to.” QB Drew Kuhn has accounted for 24 of the Leopards’ 29 TDs on offense, with 12 rushing and 12 passing. But senior RB Brian Whaley has stepped up lately, with scoring runs two of the last three weeks. West Branch’s offensive line will be challenged by Louisville’s attacking defense. The Warriors need to get RBs Eric Balputnis and Scott Thomas some space. Balputnis leads West Branch with 596 yards and six TDs. Thomas is averaging 10.1 yards on 30 carries.
