Ironton @ Coal Grove UPDATES (if anyone even wants this)

[dilligaf]

where r all the CG fans hideing at ?

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

frankly i've said this a thousand times, this is a scrimmage that is for nothing but money. a scrimmage against coal grove does nothing for ironton to get them ready to open with the burg. either ironton needs 2 scrimmages, one with coal grove for the money. and 1 with a stiffer opponent. this proves nothing. and frankly i see it as a huge emotional setback for the grove. they just cannot compete with ironton.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

this is absolutely not a knock for the fine football program at coal grove. it's like a person you've tryed to whip before, and he beats you up. but you keep trying him. nothing is proved or solved by doing this. the coal grove community has to feel this way as well. why not a coal grove/wellston scrimmage, symmes valley, greenup county, boyd county, somebody like that. so you can actually run your teams and see what you have. and what you need to work on. please don't take this wrong , the people from coal grove. that would be like ironton scrimmaging hilliard davidson every year. what would we accomplish.

[rico suave]

been waiting on you ytb to get on here and downgrade another program. that's all u know how to do. u r just another one of those jerks who like to put others down. u claim to be a christian on here but all u ever do is put others down unless they r from ironton. u r a fake and it makes me sick. how many other coaching jobs have u taken a quit in the last 2 yrs, u quitter. see it doesn't feel so good when someone puts u down does it.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

really rico. what did coal grove or ironton learn from this scrimmage. i clearly was not trying to put anybody down. if you don't think ironton is a bit above the teams in the ovc. then add them to the ovc. ironton is just one of those teams. that through solid coaching, weightlifting, and training. is a football machine. heck , i've got friends all over the ovc. who did not see this coming. and it will be the same next year. the last 2 times coal grove played ironton in a regular season game, it was a combined 100-0. i'd like to hear from some realists. do ironton fans really think this is a good test , to get ready for burg. do coal grove fans really look forward to this, i doubt it seriously. and frankly i couldn't care less if you question my christianity. i know i am. i think i put this as accurately and as pleasant as can be said. ironton needs to scrimmage, a washington court house, circleville, portsmouth west, waverly, cabell midland, spring valley. there are several teams in the ovc with considerably higher enrollment than ironton, but cannot compete with them physically. this is no revelation. just simply a fact. i've been saying it for years, this is no good for anybody. other than coal groves gate.with no malice intended. honestly. think what you want of me, i'm not trying to put anybody or any team down. it's just that i'll say it. where others won't.

[ItownBrowns]

We did not see Ironton kick because the only kicker they have did not play. Although coach did not have glaring reviews of the kicking game, we did'nt get a chance to see it. The offense was'nt bad, backs ran hard and there were some holes. Wilks showed good acceleration again this year. Warner ran hard, would like to see him get a bit more forward lean but he's still a load. Did'nt show much passing game, forced some throws and laid one up too much. made a nice decision to check down out of the covered receiver and hit rb in the flat. Defense did get pushed around a bit, but CG did have a decent looking line. CG's fullback is a load, I'town did a very poor job tackling. Way too much grabbing and not enough sticking and wraping. Will have to straighten that out. All in all, I thought both teams looked pretty decent. CG will have to rely a bit more on their offense to carry them. I see alot of high scoring tight games for them again this year. I'town will do well, how much the defense improves will deteremine how good they can be.

[rico suave]

ty itownbrowns a good assessment of the scrimmage, unlike ytb who cuts other programs down. the grove did move the football on irontons def. which is a plus to look at. ironton ran the ball really well, good blocking and hard running.i agree the grove better get some things straightened out on def. or they will have to score alot of pts each game to win. the cg qb passed and ran the ball well, not big but was very athletic. ironton will ball control alot of teams with that strong running game.

[tigermack]

YTB,

I agree with much of what you have said. I don't think Portsmouth West would be any better than the stronger ovc teams though as I have seen them struggle with the likes of Fairland, etc during West's good years. Teams that the Grove handled fairly easily. Although I know that comparing teams really doesn't always mean anything. I remember one year, in the early '80s I believe(84?), that the Grove trounced Gallia Academy and Gallia Academy marched over to the tank and handed it to us the following week. :122246 I was shocked...sorry, Grovers, but I was.

Rico,

YTB means no malice towards CG. I don't think he has it in him to degrade kids. Coal Grove is getting better every year and I do believe they will have no problems winning the ovc title. I also think they may make another playoff appearance this year. Good luck.

[Malcontent]

Seems like in just about every scrimmage reported the offenses are way ahead of the defenses. Look for some high scoring games next week.

[pembrook burrows III]

I thought it was a meaningful scrimmage for both teams. Offensively, both squads proved that they could move the ball against the other team. Ironton's offense should be fine this year, as should the Hornets. I liked the Hornets switching from a standard power look to their spread series, because it gives opponents something else to think about and prepare for. The Tigers showed it had real weapons in Warner and Wilks, and Wags should grow nicely into the QB spot, showing the potential to make plays with both his arm and his feet. Both Coal Grove's and Ironton's starters easily had 250+ yards in total offense.

It was a fairly long night for both defenses. Neither defense showed great speed or pursuit. From Ironton's standpoint, you have to wonder if this unit can be as strong as last year's. Last year, guys like Monnig, Edens, Chris Warner, and Taylor were physical guys who could run and make plays, while Preston was a reliable tackler from his safety spot when things broke down in front of him. I get the feeling that the coaching staff is still looking for some kids to fill these big shoes on the defensive side of the ball. I am sure this group will get better with experience, as Lutz does an excellent job with his defenses year-in and year-out. The Hornets' defense may have been a bit overmatched by Ironton, and should fare better within the OVC.

A scrimmage should be able to tell a team something about their weaknesses and what they have to work on. Mission accomplished. Lutz and company will have plenty to work on this week in preparation for Wheelersburg and their speedy backs. You can never read too much into scrimmages, but if last week was any indication, then bet the over in this week's Ironton-burg matchup.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

i did not get to go to the scrimmage, my dog was having severe epileptic seizures. and is still having them today, some. he is on medication. but it kept me from coming friday. if you want a further example of this read on the chesapeake /green jamboree. i was merely going by the score. on facebook i was hearing the game was stopped because it was out of hand, and the scoreboard had been turned off. i guess maybe i came over wrong, because ironton has used a fairly simple proces to their respect and winning tradition, great coaching, awesome weightlifting , and their feeder systems doing basically the same things that the high school does. so it's not such a dramatic change at the high school level. but the first and foremost key to their success, is scheduling strength. they have always scheduled up. and it has paid huge dividends, and when they make the playoffs , i don't care if they are the 8th seed. they have already been battle tested. and a playoff foe, is not usually somebody capable of just running roughshod over them. i guess what i'm saying is this option is available to each team. i don't see why more have not followed suit. but i've been on this soapbox for years, so it's no suprise to anyone. anyway with that said , i hope each team goes 10-0, in the regular season. i want all the local teams in the playoffs. but i'm gonna have to learn to keep my feelings to myself, and i'm truley sorry , if i offended anybody from either community. bait.

[86Tiger]

Well Ironton's kicker will be back this week. He has been cleared to play. Thank God (not just for him to play but also for him having a quick recovery) Mom was just a wee bit scared his injuries could have turned out to be much more serious. Thanks to those who prayed and sent well wishes.

[tigersportsfan]

Just wondering who you think is the kicker. I don't think that anyone has this position. I think it's still up in the air considering that no one stands out. Don't get me wrong, I hope we have a hidden secret. We sure could use a kicker. I quess that we will find out friday. Either way, Ironton will be fine. I think that we will see a different defense this week than we did at Coal Grove.

[hornet8088]

i think this scrimage is a good thing. the grove looked good early on offence but ironton was running on all cylinders the grove needed that after running over vinton defence . i think when the grove comes together as a team they will be good they just didnt come together on defence but ironton is loaded with backs also. at times groves offence was great. ironton starting out strong lookout burg. as long as coal grove keeps working together i think they will come together and hopefully peak at the right time. i would love to see both teams go undefeated threw out there seasons.

[86Tiger]

Tigersportsfan I have been told by coaches and my son that Trevor White will most likely be kicking the extra points and field goals. This could change if someone else steps up that is better but right now he is the most likely candidate.

[fuzzhead]

This scrimmage is good for Coal Grove. Ironton is by far the toughest team CG will face all year long and they make the Grove play up and give their best. There is no shame in losing to Ironton. It only makes Coal Grove better and shows them what they need work on and helps them adapt to become better. No team on CGs schedule would do any better against the Tigers.

[cghsbuck]

YTB,

We didn't scrimmage often in the 60s, 70s or 80s - but we did play them one time I can remember: in 1980 when Randy Hardy was the fullback, Kevin Markins was the tailback and we had Shannon Neal and some other pretty big boys up front - not to mention a nasty Defense.

As I remember, it was 68-0 Coal Grove before anybody on Ironton's end knew what was happening. As far as I know, as I live out of the area now, it took from then until the last couple of years for the scrimmage to happen again. So as far as "who hit John" re repetative beatings, the Grove got in the first shot. As I remember, that was also the year that Ironton won the state title....when it was the newspapers voting and not the computer rankings that came in a couple of years later.

Now, why the history lesson? Just to emphasize that it was a scrimmage. Both teams got a benefit from it, I think. But it doesn't mean that it would have gone down that way the next day or the next week.

Nobody got within 20 points of Coal Grove that year and Ironton went all the way.

[Gray Fighting Tiger]

Ironton won the Ohio Class AA championship in 1979; in 1980, Ironton lost in round 1 (which at that time was the regional finals) of the playoffs.

[kantuckyII]

Hold on, are you saying..(and I really wouldn't know either way) that Ironton was down 68 - 0 in a scrimmage against Coal Grove in 1980? I'm really confused here. Also, I thought that they always used computer rankings since the inception of the playoff system?

Ironton did play Coal Grove in a real game in 1987, 2000 & 2001

Are you sure it wasn't Ironton St. Joe you have them confused with?