OVC should invite the Ironton Tigers to join the league

[Bear]

During the time frame Chesapeake was darn good. The closest game they had in the 99 regular season was 28-0 against a good Wayne team.

[Frogtownbuckeye]

Chesapeake's 99 team sounds like they must have been pretty good. The 1999 Ironton team lost in the state championship game to Sandusky Perkins in the closing seconds of the game. This is just another confirmation of how absurd the Ironton vs OVC thread is.

[fuzzhead]

More dominant than Chesapeake? Are you serious?

So what you are saying is that since the 2005 season, South Point has improved so much and Ironton has dropped off so much that the 62-7 score is nowhere near indicative of what would happen if they played today?

That's exactly what I'm saying. Ironton wouldn't beat Coal Grove by more than 3 scores this year - I've said that before on this forum. Ironton has been on the decline for the past decade - slowly, but surely. South Point's scheduling these past few years has been just flat out brutal at times and you can tell that their standards are rising.

Anyone from this area who follows high school football must find this amusing. And when Lutz quit before, for 1 year, Ironton made the playoffs under a new head coach IN SPITE of the turmoil surrounding the team.

That team had the potential to be a much better team than it was - and everyone knew it. That's why some people on here treated the coach like a sub-human even though no one else had the courage to step up and fill Lutz's shoes. . . and the next year, under Lutz, they missed the playoffs.

In no year, past, present, or future would CG, South Point, or any other OVC school go toe to toe with Ironton in football. They have not dropped off like you are stating and will not any time in the near future. I do agree that all other sports would be very competetive and Ironton would be happy to win the conference now and then in basketball and baseball, but football would not be in question for a long time.

Come on down off your high horse and look at reality. To say that the OVC will never in the future be competitive with Ironton in football is an extremely arrogant and dilusional statement. Ironton's football program is nowhere near what it was 10 years ago and to even think that it's close is absolute tomfoolery. Ironton is starting to settle into the same ol' routine: beat big schools with poor football programs and rack up the playoff points (pretty much every game Ironton won in the SEOAL last year was the same story) then get in the playoffs and make an early exit. Logan does the same thing every year in DII.

Not trying to insult anyone or hurt feelings, but if we're gonna get cocky, lets just see what we have to be cocky about. Lets quit focusing on the good ol' days when daddy or big brother played and lets jump into the here and now. For the record, I'm not an Ironton-hater and I've actually made the case against that sort of foolishness on this very thread. I'm being realistic.

[fuzzhead]

and whoever thought they wouldn't make the playoffs at 10-0 is a complete moron,. . .seriously dude, you are an idiot. . you'd sniff playoffs from 8-2 fo sho

I'd say 7-3 would even be cutting it close, especially if they dropped down to D5 and played South Point, Rock Hill, Fairland, and River Valley every year plus the annual games against Wheelersburg, P-mouth, and Ashland. I mean lets get real here. The city of Ironton isn't getting any bigger.

[OVCfan32]

but don't forget ironton is the only school with a city, not a town, like i said before this would be a good match until they build new schools and the such, you know they are gonna jump up off that border line with div 5, every school gets a lil' hike in numbers with a new facility,
Now i would say they can take the place of RV as soon as they finish, and itown can make a short stint in the ovc till they get the new schools built, not like they aren't used to joining leagues for 5 years and out anyways, god knows the gate from cg and rock hill would end the recession for seo,
plus might as well keep itown dominant, they can't compete with the logans now, the team i saw last year wouldn't have beaten old peake teams i played on, not even close. . . .
so if RV builds a school before itown, let itown join the ovc, get some rivalries goin, make some $, save on gas, and get to the playoffs until they get whatever junk from their levy built, and only god can hope the OVC elevates their play

[Frogtownbuckeye]

More dominant than Chesapeake? Are you serious?

So what you are saying is that since the 2005 season, South Point has improved so much and Ironton has dropped off so much that the 62-7 score is nowhere near indicative of what would happen if they played today?

That's exactly what I'm saying. Ironton wouldn't beat Coal Grove by more than 3 scores this year - I've said that before on this forum. Ironton has been on the decline for the past decade - slowly, but surely. South Point's scheduling these past few years has been just flat out brutal at times and you can tell that their standards are rising.

Anyone from this area who follows high school football must find this amusing. And when Lutz quit before, for 1 year, Ironton made the playoffs under a new head coach IN SPITE of the turmoil surrounding the team.

That team had the potential to be a much better team than it was - and everyone knew it. That's why some people on here treated the coach like a sub-human even though no one else had the courage to step up and fill Lutz's shoes. . . and the next year, under Lutz, they missed the playoffs.

In no year, past, present, or future would CG, South Point, or any other OVC school go toe to toe with Ironton in football. They have not dropped off like you are stating and will not any time in the near future. I do agree that all other sports would be very competetive and Ironton would be happy to win the conference now and then in basketball and baseball, but football would not be in question for a long time.

Come on down off your high horse and look at reality. To say that the OVC will never in the future be competitive with Ironton in football is an extremely arrogant and dilusional statement. Ironton's football program is nowhere near what it was 10 years ago and to even think that it's close is absolute tomfoolery. Ironton is starting to settle into the same ol' routine: beat big schools with poor football programs and rack up the playoff points (pretty much every game Ironton won in the SEOAL last year was the same story) then get in the playoffs and make an early exit. Logan does the same thing every year in DII.

Not trying to insult anyone or hurt feelings, but if we're gonna get cocky, lets just see what we have to be cocky about. Lets quit focusing on the good ol' days when daddy or big brother played and lets jump into the here and now. For the record, I'm not an Ironton-hater and I've actually made the case against that sort of foolishness on this very thread. I'm being realistic.

You want to look at reality yet you are still refusing to. Coal Grove teams of the past 5 years couldn't touch the Coal Grove teams of the mid-late 80s or early 90s. They used to make the playoffs on a fairly regular basis. Now they are nowhere to be found in week 11. I posted before that Ironton's record vs the OVC in the past 20 years is 19-0 and the scores have been outrageous. The scores against Coal Grove alone were 100-0. In 2005, a mere 3 football seasons ago, Ironton beat South Point and their rising standards at South Point 62-7. To say that Ironton's program has fallen off of the map and South Point's has grown by leaps and bounds in this amount of time is the true meaning of "absolute tomfoolery." I guess you feel that since Coal Grove was 6-4 with such a tremendously difficult schedule in 2008 makes the Hornets capable of staying within 3 scores of Ironton in the upcoming year. If you believe that, you really need to get out more on football Friday nights.

[fuzzhead]

You want to look at reality yet you are still refusing to. Coal Grove teams of the past 5 years couldn't touch the Coal Grove teams of the mid-late 80s or early 90s. They used to make the playoffs on a fairly regular basis. Now they are nowhere to be found in week 11.

No one's debating that fact. Wouldn't you say that the program has gotten considerably better since the early part of the decade, though?

I posted before that Ironton's record vs the OVC in the past 20 years is 19-0 and the scores have been outrageous. The scores against Coal Grove alone were 100-0. In 2005, a mere 3 football seasons ago, Ironton beat South Point and their rising standards at South Point 62-7.

You're bringing up that early-decade stuff again, which isn't anywhere remotely indicative of where CG's program is today (or Ironton's, for that matter). In 2005, Ironton was a playoff team and South Point finished 3-2 in the OVC. But I'm glad you brought that up because Rock Hill, who went undefeated in OVC play that year, hung with Ironton in the Playoff game (and kept it within three scores). The OVC is catching Ironton, like it or not.

To say that Ironton's program has fallen off of the map and South Point's has grown by leaps and bounds in this amount of time is the true meaning of "absolute tomfoolery." I guess you feel that since Coal Grove was 6-4 with such a tremendously difficult schedule in 2008 makes the Hornets capable of staying within 3 scores of Ironton in the upcoming year. If you believe that, you really need to get out more on football Friday nights.

Didn't say Ironton's program had fallen completely off the map. It's not where it was at the start of the decade and anyone who's not biased will tell you that. South Point's program has grown by leaps and bounds compared with some of those awful teams of earlier in the decade. They can compete with teams like Wheelersburg, for example, who has beaten Ironton for two straight years after losing to them every year for nearly two decades. Also, since I'm on the subject of the past two years and since you seem to be calling CG's record of last year mediocre, I'll just go ahead and bring up the fact that the combined record of teams Ironton has beaten in the regular season is a mediocre 48-61 (this record left off the record of the Canadian team they played last year). In the past two regular seasons, Ironton has only beaten one team that went on to qualify for the Ohio State Playoffs ('08 Nelsonville-York D5).

[billcox]

OVC vs. Ironton - Are you serious?

Ironton would have won the OVC the past 25 years in a row, and would most likely continue to do so for some time to come. However, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Mighty Tigers pull something like this. After all they will once again be looking at filling a ten game schedule after ducking out of the SEOAL.

[Frogtownbuckeye]

You want to look at reality yet you are still refusing to. Coal Grove teams of the past 5 years couldn't touch the Coal Grove teams of the mid-late 80s or early 90s. They used to make the playoffs on a fairly regular basis. Now they are nowhere to be found in week 11.

No one's debating that fact. Wouldn't you say that the program has gotten considerably better since the early part of the decade, though?

I posted before that Ironton's record vs the OVC in the past 20 years is 19-0 and the scores have been outrageous. The scores against Coal Grove alone were 100-0. In 2005, a mere 3 football seasons ago, Ironton beat South Point and their rising standards at South Point 62-7.

You're bringing up that early-decade stuff again, which isn't anywhere remotely indicative of where CG's program is today (or Ironton's, for that matter). In 2005, Ironton was a playoff team and South Point finished 3-2 in the OVC. But I'm glad you brought that up because Rock Hill, who went undefeated in OVC play that year, hung with Ironton in the Playoff game (and kept it within three scores). The OVC is catching Ironton, like it or not.

To say that Ironton's program has fallen off of the map and South Point's has grown by leaps and bounds in this amount of time is the true meaning of "absolute tomfoolery." I guess you feel that since Coal Grove was 6-4 with such a tremendously difficult schedule in 2008 makes the Hornets capable of staying within 3 scores of Ironton in the upcoming year. If you believe that, you really need to get out more on football Friday nights.

Didn't say Ironton's program had fallen completely off the map. It's not where it was at the start of the decade and anyone who's not biased will tell you that. South Point's program has grown by leaps and bounds compared with some of those awful teams of earlier in the decade. They can compete with teams like Wheelersburg, for example, who has beaten Ironton for two straight years after losing to them every year for nearly two decades. Also, since I'm on the subject of the past two years and since you seem to be calling CG's record of last year mediocre, I'll just go ahead and bring up the fact that the combined record of teams Ironton has beaten in the regular season is a mediocre 48-61 (this record left off the record of the Canadian team they played last year). In the past two regular seasons, Ironton has only beaten one team that went on to qualify for the Ohio State Playoffs ('08 Nelsonville-York D5).

First of all, yes, I do agree that Coal Grove has gotten considerably better over the past few years. They seem to be getting some better athletes coming out for football every year. That is the only thing we can agree on I guess. Last year South Point lost to 1-9 SEOAL school Portsmouth 28-15. Ironton played Portsmouth, a team which typically plays Ironton very tough due to the rivalry, on the same field and beat them 37-6. So tell me again how the OVC is catching Ironton. I believe this is very indicative of how South Point and the entire OVC for that matter measures up with Ironton. No, Ironton is by no means the team they were in the mid-late 80s or early 90s either. They are still head and shoulders above the entire OVC. The OVC is not catching Ironton. I think you will be very surprised at the difference in speed, size, and talent of this years Ironton team from the past few years. From what I hear, you'll get to see first hand at the Ironton/Coal Grove scrimmage.

[lostcause]

I for 1 am not an ironton fan.(b) It Wouldnt benefit Ironton to join the ovc what so ever.(3) the money would be good for the first year or two but after that it would decline after the score of the games . nobody want to watch a blowout year after year..........................

[peake450]

This is more than football, you'll never get the Ironton folks to agree solely because of one sport. This is something that would help all involved. Ironton is tough in football so with that being said lets move past that and discuss the benefits of them joining the OVC. Not sure who makes these kind of decisions for schools but the new AD might lean toward joining the OVC.

[Frogtownbuckeye]

This is more than football, you'll never get the Ironton folks to agree solely because of one sport. This is something that would help all involved. Ironton is tough in football so with that being said lets move past that and discuss the benefits of them joining the OVC. Not sure who makes these kind of decisions for schools but the new AD might lean toward joining the OVC.

I have agreed (see above) that both the OVC and Ironton could benefit from the move in several ways. Less travel and big gates are two ways that quickly come to mind. I also have stated (see above again) that Ironton would not win the OVC every year in baseball or basketball but could at least be competitive. Football would not be competitive. It would not even be interesting. I have heard some OVC posters state that when Lutz leaves the Ironton program for retirement that it will fold. Ironton has another Lutz waiting to step in and take over. I do believe that playing Ironton every year would help OVC teams improve and prepare those who reach the playoffs for a good postseason run. But to state that the OVC is catching Ironton's football program and that some OVC teams could go toe to toe with Ironton on the football field is just absurd. They may eventually be able to compete with Ironton, but not in the near future.

[fuzzhead]

Last year South Point lost to 1-9 SEOAL school Portsmouth 28-15. Ironton played Portsmouth, a team which typically plays Ironton very tough due to the rivalry, on the same field and beat them 37-6. So tell me again how the OVC is catching Ironton.

Ironton's quality of play going down + the OVC's level of play going up = OVC is catching Ironton. That's simple. I've said on here before that the OVC has this huge inferiority complex where even though their schools are the same size as other schools and they have a pretty good program, they look on the schedule and see Portsmouth or Ironton or Wheelersburg and say "Oh man! That's Portsmouth! They have a tradition. They're gonna beat us just because they're Portsmouth!"
Until people in Lawrence County wake up and realize they have as much potential as everyone else, they'll keep losing.

No, Ironton is by no means the team they were in the mid-late 80s or early 90s either. They are still head and shoulders above the entire OVC. The OVC is not catching Ironton. I think you will be very surprised at the difference in speed, size, and talent of this years Ironton team from the past few years. From what I hear, you'll get to see first hand at the Ironton/Coal Grove scrimmage.

Early 90s? They aren't even the same team they were 5-10 years ago.

[sider]

Like many have said this would be good for the Ovc as far as giving them more creditiblity and causing the other programs in the ovc to become better, but would be bad for Ironton (from a strictly football standpoint). However, I'm sure if you made this move by 3-5 years time, the Ovc would be start to catch Ironton after getting sick of being thumped by them every year. This, in turn, would help the Ovc teams to make more noise against other conferences such as the Soc, and more noise in the playoffs. Don't forget in 2005 when a very strong Ironton team played a very strong Rock Hill team, it wasn't that bad of a game, and you can't tell that in 2007 that Ironton would of completely destroyed everyone in Ovc, they might of lost to Rock Hill or South Point that year, so the idea isn't completely ridiclous...just my opinion

[Frogtownbuckeye]

fuzzhead, please tell me that you're kidding. Again, South Point, who went 5-1 in the OVC last year with a 1 point loss to "powerhouse" Coal grove at Coal Grove, lost 28-15 to 1-9 SEOAL Portsmouth. Ironton beat Portsmouth by 31 in a rivalry game. What you are posting does not make sense. The OVC is not and will not catch Ironton for years to come. I wish Ironton would make this move. I would love to hear the boatload of excuses coming from Coal Grove as to why they lose by 35 every year.

[fbbacker]

I think this would be great for the OVC but the Ironton faithful would never, ever let this happen. I feel that they still feel that they are above the OVC and that is just not the case anymore. The kids at the other schools are catching up with their talents. It's obvious the SEOAL was too tough for Ironton. They should really consider the OVC.

[earp]

This would be kind of the same scenario as when Marshall got in the MAC!THey made the rest of that conference raise their level of play just to compete!I think it is a win win for both sides here!Plus it just makes sense geographically!

[bengalfan76]

Ironton would be a better fit in the SOC II.

[WitnessProtection]

Ironton v current lineup of OVC schools

2-0 v. Chesapeake (last played in 1934)
2-0 v. River Valley (last played in 1993)
3-0 v. Rock Hill (last played in 2005 playoffs)
18-3 v. South Point (last SP win 1966)
1-0 v. Fairland (last played in 1993)
4-0 v. Coal Grove (last played in 2001)

W-L
Ironton 30
OVC 3

[Manxious2]

Bengalfan76: It would be interesting to see the SOC II schools have to play OVC schools (across the board) in all sports. What in the world makes you think that Ironton would be better off in the SOC?