NORTHWEST SURVIVES LEOPARDS COMEBACK BID

By Ty Bartell

CANAL FULTON, Ohio — Northwest remained unbeaten after a tightly contested 35-28 win over Louisville in Week 3 of high school football action. The Indians (3-0) held off a late comeback effort from the Leopards (1-2) to secure the victory.

Northwest started strong, with quarterback Chase Badger connecting on two first-quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Logan Allman. The first was a 29-yard strike early in the quarter, followed by a 21-yard pass on the next drive, giving Northwest a 14-0 lead.

Louisville responded in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by Owen DiMarzio, but a missed extra point left them trailing 14-6. Northwest extended their lead just before halftime, as Badger and Allman connected for their third touchdown of the game, an 8-yard pass, making it 21-6 at the break.
Louisville cut into the lead in the third quarter with quarterback Tate Aljancic hitting Quin Burick for a 15-yard touchdown pass, bringing the Leopards within 21-13 heading into the fourth quarter.

However, Northwest quickly responded in the final period. Badger found Joe Musleve for a 24-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 28-13, and later added an 11-yard rushing touchdown of his own, pushing the Indians’ lead to 35-13 with 4:25 left.

Louisville fought back with two late touchdowns. Aljancic threw a 25-yard scoring pass to Cam Dougherty, and another 24-yard touchdown pass to Austin Wade, closing the gap to 35-28, but time ran out on their comeback attempt.

Badger led Northwest with 268 yards passing and four touchdowns, while Aljancic threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns for Louisville.

Northwest will look to continue its unbeaten streak in Week 4, while Louisville will aim to bounce back after a hard-fought loss against The Marlington Dukes (1-2) in Week 4.