LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville out-scored Lexington 40-22 in the second half and rolled to a 61-34 win on Saturday in an arenafootball2 game in Freedom Hall. The game marked the first of three meetings between the two teams this season.  

Lexington (3-2) lost for just the third time in its last nine games dating back to the 2007 campaign.

 “I am disappointed with our performance tonight,” Lexington head coach Mike Harmon said. “The bottom line is that we didn’t do a good job of protecting the ball and turned it over too many times. We have a lot of work to do. We’re just going to keep battling, try to find the right mix and take it from there. Tonight may end up being good for us. This game will teach us a lot. We’re going to grow from this game and continue to improve to get better down the stretch.” 

The Horsemen and Fire move into a three-way tie with Green Bay for first-place in the arenafootball2 American Conference Midwest division, as each team has compiled a 3-2 record through five games this season.  

Lexington was forced to contend with a number of injuries in Saturday’s game. Wide receiver Chad Spencer suffered a hamstring injury in last Friday’s game at Mahoning Valley, while wide receiver/defensive back J.T. Haskins fractured his ankle during the first half Saturday.

 The Fire did most of their damage on the ground, scoring four rushing touchdowns in the game to give them a league-leading 13 rushing touchdowns on the season. Quarterback Matt Bassuener also went 14-for-27 for 240 yards.

 Lexington signal-caller Eddie Eviston was 24-of-39 for 268 yards with two touchdowns, but also was intercepted twice. Playing his first game this season for the Horsemen in place of Spencer, Jarrod Rouanzoin led the team in receiving with 101 yards through the air with two touchdowns.

 The Horsemen, who entered the contest averaging 40.0 points per game, were limited to just 34 points on Saturday. Lexington drops to 6-12 all-time when scoring fewer than 40 points.

 Louisville head coach Tommy Johnson earned his 50th career victory Saturday.

 The Horsemen capped off a three-game road swing with Saturday’s game, which marked the club’s longest road streak since the 2005 season.

 Per a pre-arranged promotional agreement, Horsemen owner Lennie House had his head shaved by Louisville owner Will Wolford, to satisfy a bet granted to the winning owner of the intrastate rivalry.

 Lexington returns to action May 10 when it plays host to Mahoning Valley at 7:30 p.m. in Rupp Arena.