By Ashlea Hellmann
Offensive units for both the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky have some catching up to do with their defensive counterparts.
Neither side produced plays worthy of the highlight reels, as both units failed to produce many yards or convert on third downs. The two teams combined for 415 yards, 210 for UK and 205 for U of L, and were a total of 9-32 on third down conversions.
The Wildcat defense made up for a less than spectacular offensive performance by scoring off of two U of L fumbles. Junior safety Ashton Cobb made a 28-yard return and senior defensive tackle Myron Pryor scored off of a 78-yard return.
The two touchdowns helped the Wildcats produce the 27-2 victory for their twelfth win in The Governor’s Cup series.
“We are still a long ways from being a really good team. We have to get some sync in our offense and get that going and at the same time not let over-confidence creep into our defense. It feels good to beat your archrival and good to keep the Governor’s Cup in Lexington,” said UK Head Coach Rich Brooks.
The game was the first since the loss to Florida State in 2000 that the Cardinals have failed to score a touchdown.
The Cardinal defense, under the new leadership of coordinator, Ron English, did manage to hold the Wildcat offense to 210 yards.
Junior linebacker John Dempsey led the Cardinal defense with nine solo tackles. He was aided by sophomore cornerback Johnny Patrick who had five tackles.
The offense, on the other hand, struggled to put any momentum together. Senior quarterback Hunter Cantwell threw for 152 yards on 20-43 completions with three interceptions.
“On the offense, I think everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Some of the drives that we had, there were mistakes and penalties and I’m very disappointed in myself and the way the offense moved the ball,” said Cantwell.
Sophomore wide receiver Doug Beaumont and red-shirt freshman wide receiver Josh Chichester both provided light spots to the otherwise dim U of L offense. Beaumont rushed for 77 yards and Chichester added 45.
The team isn’t dwelling on the loss though, and is ready to return to the field to redeem themselves as soon as possible.
“Luckily we have a short week. We have to come back and play on Saturday. We’re going to lift weights, get a little work in. We’ll be back on Tuesday. I don’t think Saturday can come too fast. When you play this poorly, particularly on offense, you want to go out and rectify the situation as quickly as possible,” said U of L Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe.
