By Benjamin Lampkin
Perhaps the pre-season talk of an unprecedented run towards national prominence was a bit premature. In one of the most surprising conclusions in recent history, the University of Louisville football team fell 22-17 to the University of Kentucky in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium Sunday night.
“We learned something about ourselves today,” said U of L quarterback Dave Ragone. “If you’re looking to point fingers, it’s at me,’15’. I’m a senior, it’s my offense, plays should have been made and I didn’t make ’em.”
The Cardinals, with four new offensive lineman in the starting lineup, were unable to protect Ragone throughout the game. He was sacked four times and knocked down on almost every possession. From the beginning, the makings of a very physical evening were in place.
“I don’t care about being hit hard, I’m 255 lbs. and I can take a hit,” said Ragone. “They took some cheap shots, but they’re not gonna knock me outta the football game.”
The first half was dominated by UK in almost every aspect. On offense, a 64-yard screen pass to Earnest Simms led to the first touchdown of the game, and the vaunted Louisville defense was suddenly shook out of its complacency. It was up to the offense to take back the points that had just been stolen. However, the unheralded and much-maligned defensive squad from Lexington proved to everyone that its days of rolling over and dying were in the past. They forced three turnovers on the day, and kept U of L off the scoreboard most of the first half. A field goal late in the second quarter put the Wildcats up 10-0, and a fumble by Dave Ragone set up Artose Pinner’s 8-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter that put the Cats up 16-0. Unable to produce much of anything, the U of L offense suddenly showed signs of life. The Cards began moving the football in much the same manner as last season. Ragone completed passes to J.R. Russell for 16 yards, Damien Dorsey for 29 yards, and a scrambling two-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Ghent that cut the UK lead to 16-7. However, that halftime score was not what was expected. “We were not well prepared,” said U of L head coach John L. Smith. “We, as coaches, did not have some of the guys prepared. We can’t go to the practice field and just go through the motions, because that’s where you win games.” The numbers from the first half were ugly at best. U of L rushed for 27 yards on 14 carries, with 26 of those yards coming from Ragone. Ragone passed for 67 yards on only 8 completions. One turnover and five penalties scarred the already poor chances for the Cards in the opening half. The opening play of the second half was reminiscent of some of the spectacle of last year. Redshirt freshman Broderick Clark took the opening kickoff 100 yards from his own end zone and outran the UK special teams for a momentum-swinging touchdown. With the Cards knocking on the door, down only 16-14, the defense came back to life, shutting out UK on its first possession and forcing a punt. On the strength of several UK penalties, and completed passes of 21 and 27 yards to Dontay Spillman, the Cards moved into excellent scoring position, and settled for a 24-yard field goal that gave them their first lead of the day at 17-16. “What a Herculean effort by Dave,” said Smith. “He’s a stud. They beat him to a pulp and he hung in there.” The Wildcats immediately answered the U of L scoring drive with one of their own. With excellent field position at their own 40, the Cats drove to the Cardinal 15-yard line and settled for a 32-yard field goal to regain the lead at 19-17. Heading into the fourth quarter, a stalled possession by the Cardinals led to a punt that started a bit of controversy. Return man Derek Abney was hit as the punt landed near him, and the ball bounced in-between three UK players. U of L recovered the apparent loose ball, but it was ruled down as a result of the receiver not touching the ball. The controversial call kept the ball in UK’s corner, instead of giving U of L possession deep inside UK territory. The Wildcats controlled things from then on out, kicking a field goal with 4:09 on the clock to go up 22-17. Ragone was intercepted on the next Cardinal possession with only 3:09 remaining in the half, and UK turned over possession to the Cards with only 37 seconds on the clock and the ball at the Cardinal four-yard line. A last second heave by Ragone to Dorsey went for 51 yards and ignited the Papa John’s crowd, but the lateral to T.J. Patterson was stopped short at the UK 41 to end the game and give the Wildcats the 22-17 victory. “I didn’t want to start my senior season like that,” said defensive end Devon Thomas. “Kentucky brought their ‘A’ game and put points on the board. It’s nobody’s fault but our own. We didn’t make things happen.” The record-setting crowd of 42, 660 witnessed the end of the Cardinals’ eight-game home winning streak, and dashed any hopes of an undefeated season. However, now all focus can be put on completing the season as conference champions as planned for all along. “We’ve got the same goals. We didn’t accomplish our first goal, and that was to bear Kentucky. I gave it everything I had. Adversity tests your character. We’ll see about our team.”
