LouLife

It was all about TCB - Taking Care of Business - for the University of Louisville football team Saturday night.

And the Cardinals did just that, mauling Murray State 66-21 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.

“What I told the team was we took care of our business, we did what we were supposed to do,” UofL coach Bobby Petrino said after his team rolled up 603 yards of total offense and scored on nine straight possessions against the Racers.

Louisville punted on its first possession (?!), but scored touchdowns on its next six series before a field goal to end the first half. The Cards tallied two more TDs on their first two possessions of the third quarter.

The contest was basically a chance for Petrino to get game action for his younger players, and several of them had big games. None was more spectacular than freshman quarterback Reggie Bonnafon, who completed 8 of 11 passes for 112 yards and one touchdown while also running for two scores. Also for the Cards, freshman running back L.J. Scott ran for 126 yards and one touchdown while sophomore Brandon Radcliff ran for 97 yards and two TDs.

One off-the-field highlight happened in the first half when the doppelganger of University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari appeared on the stadium's big screens during "Kiss Cam" and was promptly met with a chorus of boos.  

UofL (2-0), which moved from No. 25 to No. 21 in the Associated Press poll released Sunday night but remains unranked in the USA Today Poll, next plays at Virginia at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Here’s a look at what else happened this weekend in Louisville athletics:

• The UofL volleyball team went 2-1 in its Active Ankle Challenged presented by The Galt House. The 24^th-ranked Cards swept Tennessee State 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-20) and Cincinnati 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-22) on Friday before Appalachian State outlasted Louisville 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-21, 25-21) Saturday at Cardinal Arena. Against the Tigers, junior middle blocker Laura Blab led the way with eight kills and four blocks. Against the Bearcats, junior setter Katie George (an Assumption grad) had 37 assists and 16 digs while sophomore outside hitter Maya McClendon (a Manual grad) tallied 12 digs and 11 kills. McClendon had a match-high 14 kills and two blocks in the Cards’ loss to the Mountaineers. UofL (3-2) next hosts archrival Kentucky at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
• The UofL women’s soccer team lost a pair of close home matches. First archrival Kentucky blanked the Cards 2-0 on Friday night before Miami (Ohio) edged Louisville 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Lynn Stadium. The match against the Wildcats was deadlocked until the 83^rd minute when UK’s Michaela Dooley headed in the go-ahead goal for the Big Blue. Sunday, the visiting Redhawks took a 1-0 lead in the 39^th minute before UofL tied it on freshman Inger Katrine Bjerke’s goal 4 minutes into the second half. Miami, however, retook the lead – and earned the win – with a goal in the 56^th minute. Louisville (2-3) next plays at Morehead State at 6 p.m. Friday evening.
• The second-ranked UofL men’s soccer team battled Cornell to a scoreless draw Friday night at Lynn Stadium. The Cards had 18 shots to the Big Red’s six, but couldn’t find the net in 90 minutes of regulation time and 20 minutes of OT. UofL (1-0-1) next plays at 15^th-ranked Saint Louis at 8 p.m. Tuesday night before hosting Duke in its ACC opener at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday.
• The UofL field hockey team won both of its matches on a weekend trip to Northwestern to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1980. The Cards defeated Dartmouth 2-0 Saturday afternoon thanks to goals from Elisa Garcia and Shannon Sloss. Then Sunday afternoon, senior Becca Maddock’s goal with 19:21 to play lifted 15^th-ranked UofL over the 14^th-ranked Wildcats 1-0 in Evanston, Ill. Louisville plays its ACC opener at 6 p.m. Friday night at sixth-ranked Virginia.
• The UofL men’s golf team started its fall season with a sixth-place finish in the fifth annual Northern Intercollegiate at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. The Cards carded a collective 897, 18 shots behind winner Virgina. Senior Trevor Sluman led Louisville with a 220 (70-77-73), which tied him for eighth, eight shots behind the medalist, Winthrop’s Zach Seabolt. UofL next plays in the ACC/SEC Challenge, which will take place Sept. 18-21 in Nashville, Tenn.
• The UofL women’s golf team began its fall season by winning its own Cardinal Kickoff on Sunday at Chariot Run Golf Course in Laconia, Ind. The Cards, who fielded two squads, were led by event medalist Laura Restrepo, who carded a collective 1-under-par 141 in the two-round event. Louisville next hosts the Cardinal Cup Sept. 15-16 at the UofL Golf Club in Simpsonville.

Photo courtesy Louisville Field Hockey Facebook Page.