WK1 Ironton @ Wheelersburg AUG 29

[BurgGrad6]

are all the ironton posters enjoying that crow? lol that was an awesome game in the first hal.. I think burgs conditioning gave them the edge in the second half! may did a really good job at qb tonight! proud of my pirates!

[Gus]

We'll I think the tigers need to spread the wealth a little bit. #8 can't do it all if the coaches want him to be a running back then put him there. The kid can play anywhere but playing several positions all night long is a lot of wear and tear. We have several good backs so let them run the ball. #8 was a qb,rb,safety, punter, punt return man. Heck I think I even seen him running some water to some team mates! Hard to be productive for 4 quarters when you are worn out! Give him credit kid was out there all night!!! Heck of a job #8!! Heck of job to the rest of the tigers too!!! Think we were gassed also. Something has to give with the play calls that was terrible all night long!!!!! With all the assistants down there surely someone can call plays better than that!!!

[Gus]

are all the ironton posters enjoying that crow? lol that was an awesome game in the first hal.. I think burgs conditioning gave them the edge in the second half! may did a really good job at qb tonight! proud of my pirates!

Still 10 games behind In series so eat that crow!!

[Trojan_Pride]

We'll I think the tigers need to spread the wealth a little bit. #8 can't do it all if the coaches want him to be a running back then put him there. The kid can play anywhere but playing several positions all night long is a lot of wear and tear. We have several good backs so let them run the ball. #8 was a qb,rb,safety, punter, punt return man. Heck I think I even seen him running some water to some team mates! Hard to be productive for 4 quarters when you are worn out! Give him credit kid was out there all night!!! Heck of a job #8!! Heck of job to the rest of the tigers too!!! Think we were gassed also. Something has to give with the play calls that was terrible all night long!!!!! With all the assistants down there surely someone can call plays better than that!!!

been preaching this for MONTHS and even most of last year!!!

not 1 adjustment was made on all those onside kicks !!! (kept 5 guys up front entire game ) no 1 ever moved up any closer

we throw the ball long way too much burg was playing 10-15 yds off receivers at times gotta be able to pop those short passes

and we only throw the ball when they know were going to throw ball (gotta mix this up alot)

burg is good but not better than last year team IMO

[Gus]

We'll I think the tigers need to spread the wealth a little bit. #8 can't do it all if the coaches want him to be a running back then put him there. The kid can play anywhere but playing several positions all night long is a lot of wear and tear. We have several good backs so let them run the ball. #8 was a qb,rb,safety, punter, punt return man. Heck I think I even seen him running some water to some team mates! Hard to be productive for 4 quarters when you are worn out! Give him credit kid was out there all night!!! Heck of a job #8!! Heck of job to the rest of the tigers too!!! Think we were gassed also. Something has to give with the play calls that was terrible all night long!!!!! With all the assistants down there surely someone can call plays better than that!!!

been preaching this for MONTHS and even most of last year!!!

not 1 adjustment was made on all those onside kicks !!! (kept 5 guys up front entire game ) no 1 ever moved up any closer

we throw the ball long way too much burg was playing 10-15 yds off receivers at times gotta be able to pop those short

and we only throw the ball when they know were going to throw ball (gotta mix this up alot)

burg is good but not better than last year team IMO

how about when they loaded the box and we kept running up the gut!!!!

[Trojan_Pride]

we had 3 leads in this game and was only down 5 at the half , that is so hard to figure out how the final got to that score!!!

[ohbuckeye2]

My opinion: We need to try and give the big guys a break from playing both ways, I think a smaller and quicker Defensive Line may work better for us. I'm sure we have a couple smaller and quiker Linemen setting on the bench that are more than capable of doing this. Cox doesn't need to be playing both ways, Isaac is more than capable of playing Safety. These guys are just getting wore out playing both ways, especially when it's as hot as it is. It can't hurt to try that's for sure!!

[wobycat]

I know this is a hard pill to swallow because fans just don't want to admit it, especially tiger fans because of their tradition, but ironton is not good at all. Yes ironton had a few leads but anyone could see burg was going to win the game easily. The only players out there were #8 and 32. Palladino is fast but should be a receiver, doesn't like to get hit. I'm not sure if ironton will have a winning season.

[local superstar]

JMO: Ironton easily had the players to win this game. Play calling is bad. Alot of coaches would love to have this group of players. In this day and age with down census in all area schools, this is a "dream" team. But so was the first year Vass coached with all those experienced seniors. Not sure why this has been acceptable in Ironton for this many years already. JMO.

[youthsportsfan]

My opinion: We need to try and give the big guys a break from playing both ways, I think a smaller and quicker Defensive Line may work better for us. I'm sure we have a couple smaller and quiker Linemen setting on the bench that are more than capable of doing this. Cox doesn't need to be playing both ways, Isaac is more than capable of playing Safety. These guys are just getting wore out playing both ways, especially when it's as hot as it is. It can't hurt to try that's for sure!!

I agree. This game reminded me of the OSU vs LSU big strong buckeyes vs the "speed" of the SEC Not sure if small is better and committ to that. But I would agree that some adjustments each game could help. At half time we could've made that call n went small quicker line 2nd half.
1. We seen they were quicker than us on line
2. We new the heat was a big factor
3. We should know if the keep pounding it inside and not getting a bunch the sweep, pass etc is coming . We can say what we want but Burgs gameplan and play calling set up every big play they
got. We passed 3rd and 8 or went spread and passed. 90% from the spread. No offense here to ladies but my daughter and wife knew we were passing the ball. That shouldn't be. Play calling is an art IMO Example. 2 nd and inches at mid field. Burg calls pass play and scores. Goal line in side the 15. 3rd and 8. Pass right ?? If not kick fg. Nope they plan on NO fg and we are running 2 plays and will surprise them on this run and if we don't get Td or 1st down we have them pinned in deep for our Def. It's easy for me to think this way now and everyone else that's on here , that's normal easy to 2 nd guess the nxt day. Good coaching and play calling gets these thoughts during the game.

That being said. Coaches are not perfect and can have bad games too. Good coaches admit that to themselves n staff and go bk to the drawing board and I guarantee you 1 thing . Our Head coach is up right now doing just that. I think we will be just fine this year. IMO if #8 can do all he does maybe our head coach does the same. Head coach and play call both. I think outside of our plays we were right there. Congrats Burg on nice game and congrats to our Tigers that fought hard and didn't give up. Stay focused and we still go 8-1

[local superstar]

I say Ironton will win a few YSF and I would love to see them win the rest, but how many excuses can you make for this stafff and for how much longer?

[yabbadabbadoo]

Burg played really solid on both sides of the ball. Moved the ball very well on offense and swarmed the ball on defense.



IMO I think this ?Burg team is as good if not better than last years team. They get the ball to a lot of different players on offense. The long TD pass to number 24 totally caught Ironton off guard. Ironton had trouble picking up who had the ball all night. Burg ran quite a few different offensive sets


74 for Ironton is going to be a stud but seeing that he was only a Sophomore he needs to grow up on the field. I have never seen that many cheapshot, pushing in the back after the play as what he got by with. The one he got the penalty on he was lucky he didn't get ejected and then have to miss a couple of games.

[youthsportsfan]

I say Ironton will win a few YSF and I would love to see them win the rest, but how many excuses can you make for this stafff and for how much longer?

No excuses. Good head coach takes the blame as he should. He can approve or alter and decision and when you accept that position you know that comes with it. My only point or excuse that we need to fix is play calls, strategy not saying pass more or spread more just don't give your play away. I understand your point and any good head coach does. You have to win. Especially at ironton , no one maintains a spot if you don't. And knowing that I choose to support and back this head coach. Because a new head coach isn't the answer , it's exciting new and full of uncertainty , IMO. Keep improving staff. I would add a new off cord / play caller or the HC call the plays. I know he's fully capable.

[victor creed]

i said earlier that i liked the may kid at qb and i said i like this burg offense to be on par with last years offense by year end. just want to say i never said he was as good as last years qb or even really compared them, but the qb play looked pretty darn good to me last night. didnt get the stats but it was good. the defense did a great job, whoever onthe burg coaching staff is teaching tacklling especially in space they need a raise. excellent game for week one. again, this offense is going to be different than last year but it could end up being just as good if not better. the difference last night was conditioning and then execution. ironton looked like they were starting to fade by halftime. they played hard the whole game and the cox kid is very good. but at the end of the day it came down to burg being in better shape and playing 4 quarters no turnovers no stupid penaltys i think ironton needs to go back to work they still have the potential to win 7-8 more of their remaining games andmake the playoffs there is definately enough talent.

[Westfan]

Against Fairland in the previews Ironton was sucking wind by the second series. You could see they weren't in shape then.

Lutz wasn't calling plays much different than what they do now, in fact he was more conservative if anything. He just had Jackson, Lewis, or Harmon to make a play. They don't have the road graders they had then to block or the difference makers in the backfield like they did. I like the T some, but the problem is you hate to get behind the chains. You don't like to pass on first down because if it's incomplete your whole approach changes. Maybe Ironton needs to go away from the straight T as much and run more wing T more. It would make them alot more balanced and capable of running the same formation more in different down and distances.

[local superstar]

INo you are wrong. not the play calling of Lutz because he would set plays up. This play calling does too many things without rhyme or reason. They could be a great option team out of the I formation or the buckeye formation. Perfect players for it. Again, any coach would love to have this team.

[Westfan]

I've watched plenty of Ironton games in person and on tape. Yeah he would set up the option, by running Dives and Iso's. But it was alot easier to do because the dive would get 4 yards about every time because the lines were so good along with the backs. Teams would load the box and he would run the option or after the safety creeped up he would hit the Tight End. That doesn't take an offensive genious when you have talent. Some teams he had my kids could've called the plays and did well.

What's funny is the Ironton people keep saying how much talent they have, but people from different teams who aren't looking through rose colored glasses say differently. Yes they have some talent. But it is far from great talent.

And I'm not defending Vass. Lutz was a great coach and Vass isn't in the same timezone as far as a coach. But it isn't playcalling as much as execution of what they do. That is coaching or lack of. But also this Ironton team has many flaws as do alot of teams in the area.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

IRONTON PLAYED A VERY COMPETITIVE FIRST HALF-----and frankly I was pleasantly surprised. but that last scoring drive wheelersburg had before the half we looked gassed.i can't believe they have our front peeling back so quickly on kickoffs, that is something that should have been addressed more. you go no where till you see that ball kicked.i am seeing way too much standing around by lineman , especially offensive lineman. there were times ironton's qb was sacked with 5/6 lineman just standing there.i was very impressed with a lot of the improvising we did on offense, mostly from the qb.i'm very impressed with the young boy. he looks very solid. the running back palladino looked very durable, he can hit the edge quick, and has power.was impressed with 74 on defense , but he was getting through the line and over running plays because he had his head down. our secondary was pourous at best. I was impressed way more offensively than defensively. we stuffed the run pretty well in the first half, but looked like a very tired, poorly conditioned team after the half. wheelersburg had an excellent effort running and passing, and refused to be tackled on many long plays.our tackling just is not there right now.i hope we are tackling in practice right now. the tigers needs their butts ran off Monday. like we used to, and get an attitude. the players are there, no excuses this year. we have to get it done. we have the horses to do it. kudos to burg they have been bringing it to ironton, and are just a more polished determined team right now than the fighting tigers are.-------------------the tigers have the potential to be a very hard team to beat. I'm not going to be pleased with anything less than seeing growth, and maturity, and solid line play. it happened the first half last night. but then-------------well there are 4 quarters in a game and 2 halves.beautiful evening for a game I left a few minutes into the 4th after the interception because our 35th reunion started last night. great to see great crowds on both sides. with football becoming less of a priority in many cities, it's refreshing to see it's alive and well in ironton, and wheelersburg.we have the people and the potential to win a lot of games. but you can't run if you ain't got blocking. and you can be productive on defense with poor tackling and lackluster secondary play.we should have had all this nailed down after 2 scrimmages.congrtulationsto the pirates, in tiger land, great effort as well, but we have some work to do there.YTB

[BurgGrad6]

JMO: Ironton easily had the players to win this game. Play calling is bad. Alot of coaches would love to have this group of players. In this day and age with down census in all area schools, this is a "dream" team. But so was the first year Vass coached with all those experienced seniors. Not sure why this has been acceptable in Ironton for this many years already. JMO.

Ironton did not have the players yo win this game. Burg beat Ironton in every position last night.... I'm not saying that Ironton doesn't have a talented team they just are not up to par with burg THIS YEAR! The game was never in doubt for burg. Ironton needs to do more conditioning in the off season, this hurts them every year.

[doubleplay643]

From an outsider's point of view (not that anyone gives a crap), but I went to watch the game because it was clearly the feature local game this past Friday night. I have no horse in the race whatsoever and know no one in either program.

Watching both teams warm-up Burg was clearly the more athletic team and Ironton was clearly the team with more size, so question was how was that going to translate on the field of play. There a lot of athletic teams that don't play football well and a lot of team's with size that are more athletic than they look. So I was looking forward to watching the first quarter.

First of all let me say the atmosphere was awesome, the Burg community know how to make it electric, the fans, the music, the darn cannon lol, everything about the venue is what High School football should be about. Just a great experience overall.

First half was a ball game obviously, to me Ironton was clearly the more physical dominant team but Burg never seemed to be out of the game. Even when Ironton was up they still seemed in control as odd as that seems. Kudos for Ironton taking the first possession and scoring in that atmosphere. Burg tried an on-side kick three times total, two in the first half and once in the second half. To me that says we don't care to give you field position at mid-field because first we think we can stop you and second even if you score we know we can score right back. Don't think I ever seen 3 on-side kicks in one game in the first 3 quarters of play by one team.

Ironton's "muscle" started wearing off late in the 2 quarter, Cox was clearly gassed and so were the big guys up front on the line. Not sure why Palladino didn't return kicks or punts or play some defense but maybe he was banged up I don't know. There were a couple option plays, particularly one in the second half on the Burg sideline that if Cox would have pitched it he would have went to the house. When Burg scored in the 3rd quarter and Ironton didn't answer the wind was taken out of the Tigers and that along with the conditioning just took its toll.

Burg just plays with a lot of swagger and with a lot of athletic kids and are going to just get better...Ironton is clearly on the right track and just ran out of gas and faced a group that put on the field 11 athletes both offensively and defensively.

Unfortunately lol Jackson has to play both squads this year...so we have our hands full. By the time Ironton gets here in Week 8 I think they are going to be a very, very good team with a ton of physicality and will be better conditioned and it won't be 90 degrees lol either. Traveling to Burg in Week 5 is going to be a tough match-up we haven't even been close the last two years, hoping for a better performance this year.

Summary: Ironton clearly has gotten better, a physical team, but need some conditioning and playing time to evolve a bit, thought coaching was good, need to design some plays in space for their playmakers (screens, options, etc.), but can win with pounding it in the T as well, maybe mix it up. Ironton I think can make play-offs, be nice if they had a 10-game season but can do it with 9.

Summary: Wheelersburg, exactly what you have read about it in pre-season. Re-loaded and gonna make your 11 beat their 11 for 4-quarters. Play-offs clearly within their grasp.