WEEK 5 Gallia Academy (4-0) @ Ironton (4-0)

[victor creed]

hopefully the ironton kids realize that the blue devils will be taking a page out of their own book this week. ironton had to hear all last week how they had to play mistake free, etc etc to even have a chance. i have a feeling that is what the gallipolis kids will hear all week this week. i bet they come in focused and ready after what is probably gonna be a very intense week of practice. ironton should be ready to play but they have to be prepared to match the gallipolis intensity. i would just love to see hagar get healthy, it had to be killing him to not be able to go against ashland.

[GAHS83]

I've never been as unsure about how good a team really is after 4 games as I am with this year's GAHS team. They've done a nice job on both sides of the ball, but have been a bit inconsistent. They've shown flashes of brilliance as they did last night in the third quarter, but have also been lackluster at times as they were in the first half. Also, I question how good our competition has been up to this point. I honestly thought that our first three wins were against opponents who would all finish above .500, but now I'm beginning to wonder. Marietta looked good last night, but how good are they really?

This will be a game of strenght vs. strength. Both teams want to control the LOS, play physical and wear their opponents down. I feel like GA has the athletes to play that game with Ironton, but it will take their best effort. If they can come out mentally ready to play and not have any lapses during the game where they lose intensity, I feel good about our chances. However, I haven't seen a game yet this year where they've been able to maintain that for a whole game.

I expect us to come out jacked up and play really well for at least the first quarter. After that, it will depend on how well we can maintain our focus. If that happens, it should be a dandy of a game.

Go Devils!

[jottings]

Last year on Memorial Field Ironton pounded GAHS 39-6. The Tigers led 7-0 after one period, 19-6 at halftime and 32-6 going into the final period.

The Tigers racked up 17 first downs to Gallia's eight, and rushed for 442 yards and passed for 45 yards for 487 total yards. IHS ran 52 plays to the Gallians 48.

Wilkes, who destroyed Ashland Friday night, rambled for 103 yards in nine trips (11.4 average) against GAHS last year. Warner had 22 yards in four tries and Taylor 135 yards in 10 attempts.

Moore completed eight of 17 passes for 94 yards.

Wilson had two catches for 21 yards. Top rusher back for GAHS this year is Wilson who had 14 yards in four trips (3.5).

[jottings]

GAHS, Opponents Grid Standings
(All Games)
(2010)
Team W L P OP
Ironton 4 0 108 32
Gallipolis 4 0 121 77
Jackson 3 1 153 76
Warren Local 3 1 125 93
Portsmouth 2 2 103 92
Marietta…… 2 2 91 102
Athens 1 3 81 98
Wellston 1 3 83 98
Hillsboro… 1 3 70 169
Chillicothe… 0 4 67 138
Logan…….. 0 4 62 157
SEOAL ONLY
Team W L P OP
Portsmouth…. 1 0 47 7
Jackson……. 1 0 49 28
Gallipolis…. 1 0 34 21
Marietta….. 0 1 21 34
Logan……. 0 1 28 49
Warren Local 0 1 7 47
Chillicothe… 0 0 0 0
Totals 3 3 186 186
August 27 results:
Gallipolis 36 Athens 21
Hamilton Twp.55 Chillicothe 30
Lancaster 37 Logan 24
Marietta 14 Morgan 7
Warren Local 42 Belpre 12
Hillsboro 35 Western Brown 34
Ironton 12 Wheelersburg 7
August 28 results:
Wellston 33 Jackson 13
Portsmouth 14 Wilmington 7
September 3 results::
Gallipolis 44 Hillsboro 14
Ironton 29 Russell, Ky. 13
Coal Grove 18 Athens 13
Minford 23 Wellston 21
Big Walnut 28 Chillicothe 7
Jackson 49 Waverly 9
Pickerington North 24 Logan 7
Parkersburg 40 Marietta 21
Portsmouth West 44 Portsmouth 14
Warren Local 42 Morgan 6
Sept. 10 results:
Gallipolis 41 Wellston 21
Ironton 24 Chillicothe 6
Jackson 42 Vinton County 6
Reynoldsburg 47 Logan 7
Marietta 35 Cambridge 21
Wheelersburg 34 Portsmouth 28
Warren Local 34 Athens 28 (ot)
Wilmington 28 Hillsboro 14
Sept. 17 results:
SEOAL Only
Gallipolis 34 Marietta 21
Jackson 49 Logan 28
Portsmouth 47 Warren Local 7
Others
Athens at Chillicothe, ppnd, reset Saturday
Clinton-Massie 63 Hillsboro 7
Ironton 43 Ashland, Ky., 6
Sept. 18 results:
Oak Hill 21 Wellston 8
Athens 19 Chillicothe 10
Sept. 24 games:
SEOAL Only:
Portsmouth at Chillicothe
Warren Local at Jackson
Marietta at Logan
Others
Gallipolis at Ironton
Parkersburg South at Athens
Wellston at Fairland
Hillsboro at Washington CH
Oct. 1 games:
SEOAL Only
Gallipolis at Logan
Marietta at Chillicothe
Jackson at Portsmouth
Others
Parkersburg South at Warren Local
Athens at Meigs
Nelsonville-York at Wellston
Plain City at Ironton
Hillsboro at Zanesville

[tk421]

Ironton big.

[thirty two]

Fighting Tigers by at least three scores. Sorry Bluedevils.

[boilermaker]

Looking forward to the outcome of this game. My Rockets lost 41 21 to the Bluedevils. Gallipolis is the best team Wellston has faced this year by far.

[kantuckyII]

This might come as a surprise to a lot of people but..I think I'm going to have to say I favor the Tigers again this week

[I-town-90]

I think Ironton is going to start rolling out some of the young talent pretty soon. The two Sophs., Brown and White, are going to slowly but surely start becoming part of the offense. I have seen it a million times. Lutz is bringing them along slowly as usual. White didn't get a carry against Ashland with the first unit. He was mainly a blocking half back. That will slowly change as the season goes on and the opponent focuses on Wilkes and Warner. Brown and White are seriously talented running backs. Both will be better than Wilkes and Warner. Once Brown and White become part of the offense, along with Wilkes and Warner, it is going to be tough on defenses to key on anyone. There will be quite a few backs to stop.

Ironton is going to start polishing the defense and unleashing some new talent on offense. I haven't seen Gallia so I cannot predict a score. Gallia maybe be able to beat the Buckeyes for all I know. I do know the Tigers will be better than they were last week, and better the next week, etc just as a Lutz coached team is year after year. That is why I have been saying all along to people to have patience, the team will improve each week. Ironton fans get spoiled and expect us to blow everyone out from the first game of the year. It takes time, and the first couple of games is too soon to judge anyone.

Go Tigers.

[jottings]

After more than 30 years at Ironton, Bob Lutz will have his Tigers do the following against GAHS Friday night.

1--Take away the Blue Devils bread and butter plays.

2--Play an air-tight defense.

3--Take advantage of Blue Devil mistakes (fumbles, intercepted passes, penalties).

4--Get an early lead and then play "keep-away" the rest of the game.

5--It will be a game of computer points for the post-season playoffs. Ironton is number one in its division and the Lutzmen plan on staying number one.

[kantuckyII]

[osu 77]

It is only GAHS !!!!!

This is the best team Ironton has had for how long.

You tell me how long ago did we have a team like this?

[runner23]

Totally agree, it is only gahs!! They have beat no one!! And there O OR D line can't even compare to irontons. Should be another blowout.......

[pbuck]

I've got the Fightin' Tigers

[caglewis]

Totally agree, it is only gahs!! They have beat no one!! And there O OR D line can't even compare to irontons. Should be another blowout.......

As I said before - will you and OSU 77 and all others of your ilk just SHUT UP!!! Do you not see that when you belittle an opponent you are trivializing the effort the Fighting Tigers, individually and as a team, put into practice, preparation, and playing for each game. I'll lay LONG odds that Bob Lutz never EVER has said "this game's a guaranteed blowout so don't strain yourselves getting ready"!! In fact, that kind of attitude almost certainly guarantees a loss, not a win. And yes, we're mostly "fans" on here, not participants; and our "attitudes/opinions" don't really affect TEAM preparation or play.
Except attitudes trickle down, and hearing - via media or word-of-mouth - that any given opponent is a "cupcake/pushover" doesn't really inspire hard work, extra effort, or setting higher personal goals!
The cliche "any given night" is a cliche because it's true!! DO NOT EVER DISCOUNT ANY OPPONENT!!

[mglight88]

Should be a close one but going with the Fighting Tigers

[GalliaGrad78]

Totally agree, it is only gahs!! They have beat no one!! And there O OR D line can't even compare to irontons. Should be another blowout.......

And so it begins............

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

The Blue Devil Road Show travels to Lawrence County for another installment of the annual Blue Devil-Fighting Tiger rivalry.

As others have posted, GAHS has shown flashes of brilliance in their thus far 4-0 season, but the second half at Athens, and the first half at Marietta serve as reminders that they still have work to do in the area of consistency. Let downs to a team like Ironton will turn a game around in a hurry. Intensity plus for four quarters must be the order of the day to come home with the "0" on the right side of the record intact.

This is the perfect opponent ( a mid term exam if you will) to see exactly where we are as we will be exclusively in the SEOAL league season the rest of the way. A win serves notice to the rest of the league that these Blue Devils are for real as well as garnering mega computer points in the Harbin System.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------it was good talking to you today.

Four tests taken; four tests passed thus far. The strongest opponent on the schedule is in our sights. GO BLUE DEVILS!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------don't know how i did that, it was good talking to you today.

[BigCarlito72]

With all due respect to The Devils, and acknowledging that on any given friday night anyone can beat anyone, Ironton wins this one in a big way. Once again the difference is up front on both sides of the ball. Irontons o and d lines are just to big, quick and physical!

[kantuckyII]

Anyone got that old photo of GAHS4Ever wearing his Ironton gear?