An Early Look at the SEOAL: The 2008 Jackson Ironmen

[loganlocos]

2008 Jackson Ironmen

Head Coach: Shane Wolford (4th year, 19-12 overall)
2007 Record: 6-4 (4-3)
Division: II, Reg. 8
Returning Starters: 16 (8 OFF, 8 DEF)
Key Losses: Evan Osborne (WB/DB), Bruce Smith (FB/OLB), Greg James (FB/ILB), Koty Bowling (SE/CB), William Tomblin (OG/DE), Chris Trent (OT), Kris Wiseman (WB/OLB)
Key Returnees: Josh Brown (QB), Lukas Lindammod (SE/CB), Cody Huff (TB/OLB), Brandon Trace (TE/ILB), Ryan Hughes (OT/DE), John Adams (DT), Jeremy Kitchen (OT/DT), Ryan Klingaman (DE), Robbie Cantor (DT), Adam Jones (OG), John Waugh (OL), Tyler Glassburn (C/DE), Tyler Boggs (QB/CB)

2008 Schedule:
Aug. 23 - AT Wellston
Aug. 29 - AT Waverly
Sept. 5 - VS Vinton County
Sept. 12 - VS Portsmouth *
Sept. 19 - AT Gallia Academy *
Sept. 26 - AT Marietta *
Oct. 3 - AT Ironton *
Oct. 10 - VS Chillicothe *
Oct. 17 - VS Logan *
Oct. 24 - VS Zanesville *

Projected Line-Up:
Offense
QB - Josh Brown - 5'11 - 170lbs - SR
or.. - Tyler Boggs - 6'1 - 160lbs - SR
TB - Cody Huff - 5'10 - 185lbs - SR
FB - Nathaniel Haller - 6'0 - 210lbs - JR
WB - Derrick Meredith - 5'10 - 155lbs - Soph
SE - Lukas Lindamood - 6'3 - 170lbs - SR
TE - Brandon Trace - 6'0 - 195lbs - SR
OT - Jeremy Kitchen - 5'10 - 235lbs - SR
OG - Adam Jones - 5'9 - 185lbs - SR
C - Tyler Glassburn - 6'0 - 225lbs - SR
OG - Steven Rainey - 5'9 - 215lbs - SR
OT - Ryan Hughes - 6'2 - 265lbs - SR
Other Offensive Players:
OL - John Waugh - 6'0 - 230lbs - SR
WB - Eric Landrum - 5'10 - 180lbs - JR
WB - Kevin Speakman - 5'9 - 150lbs - SR
OT - Jon McManis - 5'10 - 250lbs - SR

Defense
DE - Ryan Hughes - 6'2 - 265lbs - SR
DT - Jeremy Kitchen - 5'10 -235lbs - SR
DT - Robbie Cantor - 5'8 - 205lbs - SR
or.. - John Adams - 6'0 - 190lbs - SR
DE - Ryan Klingaman - 5'11 - 185lbs - JR
OLB - Cody Huff - 5'10 - 185lbs - SR
ILB - Brandon Trace - 6'0 - 195lbs - SR
ILB - Nathaniel Haller - 6'0 - 210lbs - JR
OLB - Eric Landrum - 5'10 - 180lbs - JR
CB - Lukas Lindamood - 6'3 - 170lbs - SR
CB - Tyler Boggs - 6'1 - 160lbs - SR
FS - Derrick Meredith - 5'10 - 155lbs - Soph
Other Defensive Players:
CB - Josh Brown - 5'11 - 170lbs - SR

2008 Outlook:
With 16 returning starters including 4 offensive linemen and their top 5 defensive linemen from last season, it could be a banner season at Jackson High School next year.

But questions still linger, especially at quarterback where Josh Brown (5-11, 170) returns after a solid 2007 season, but could be pressed for playing time if classmate Tyler Boggs returns after missing all of last season due to academics. Other questions include fullback, where the Ironmen must replace 3-year starter Bruce Smith.

The Ironmen have two very good backs to count on in Brown and senior tailback Cody Huff (5-10, 185) and should see their production increase behind a more experienced offensive line in 2008. Huff led the Ironmen in 2007 with 8.62 yards per carry and also scored 8 touchdowns, second to Smith on the team. At fullback, junior Nathaniel Haller (6-0, 210) is the early favorite to get carries, but the return of senior Cody Ewing could add depth to the red and white backfield.

Sophomore Derrick Meredith (5-10, 155), junior Eric Landrum (5-10, 180), and senior Kevin Speakman (5-9, 150) should also time at wingback.

Split End Lukas Lindamood (6-3, 170) led Jackson with 13 catches (for 167 yards and 2 scores) last season and returns where he will be joined by Boggs, Meredith, and Speakman. Senior Tight End Brandon Trace (6-0, 195) led the Ironmen with 4 receiving touchdowns while making 12 catches for 201 yards.

Up front, the Ironmen will rely on seniors up front, including returning starters Jeremy Kitchen (5-10, 235) and Ryan Hughes (6-2, 265) at the tackle spots along with Tyler Glassburn (6-0, 225) at center and Adam Jones (5-9, 185) at guard. Seniors Steven Rainey (5-9, 215) and John Waugh (6-0, 230) will battle for the final guard spot. Jon McManis (5-10, 250) provides depth up front.

Defensively, Jackson's 4-4 defensive front will be anchored Hughes (6-2, 265) at end, a returning all league performer. Kitchen, John Adams (6-0, 190), and Robbie Cantor (5-8, 205) are all three returning starter at the two tackle positions and junior Ryan Klingaman (5-11, 185) will bookend the Jackons defensive line.

Huff and Trace are returning starters at outside and inside linebackers respectively and they will be joined by juniors Haller (ILB) and Landrum (OLB).

The defensive backfield will lean on Lindamood and Boggs, a pair of returning starters at cornerback. Boggs missed the '07 season, but started at CB for the Ironmen in 2006. Meredith is the early leader to claim the safety spot. Brown and Speakman provide depth.

The Ironmen will open their season on Saturday, Aug. 23 at Wellston and will then go to Waverly for a tough match-up with the Tiger before their home opener with Vinton County. After that, the Ironmen finish with 7 SEOAL games including road games at Gallia Academy, Marietta, and Ironton. The red and white will host Portsmouth, Chillicothe, Logan, and Zanesville.

[JHS4EVER]

Even thought the Ironmen lost some key players for this year, they will re-load and continue on as usual...GO BIG RED!!!!

[ironman02]

Locos,

Looks pretty good to me. I can't really be of much help with a lineup as of right now. Haven't heard much about this year's team so far.

[loganlocos]

Updated!

[TipTopShape]

Everything looks good except for Adam jones height and weight, My son goes to school with him and ive seen him. Hes about 5'7 150, no where near big enough to be playing one the line, and 60 percent of the time last year he was getting up after each play.
He has alot of heart though and i think thats why he has that spot locked.

[JHS4EVER]

Pac-Man will be a starter this season somewhere...........

[Paladin]

Jackson, at best, repeats at 6-4. Given the extremely weak non-league schedule as usual, thats doable. However, they'll get pushed around in the league where the competition is way better than Jackson is used to seeing. Losing season possible if injuries hit. The glory days are behind them.

[ironman02]

The glory days are behind them? Yeah, I'm sure that Jackson will never have a great season again. Give it a rest!

This is about the thousandth time I have said this, but I'll say it again. The non-conference schedule could be better. I doubt that it will change anytime soon though. As much as I would like to see Wellston off the schedule, they won't be. The Jackson-Wellston series has been going on for nearly 100 years, Paladin. Waverly is a very strong program right now and they're a good opponent for Jackson, just as Jackson is a good opponent for them. From a size and location standpoint, Vinton County makes sense as well.

I understand that you're entitled to your opinion, but I don't understand why you have to be so condescending every single time you make a post on here. There are about a thousand better ways to say what you just said without coming off as a jerk.

[Regulator]

2008 Schedule:
Aug. 23 - AT Wellston - Wellston breaks the streak this year. L
Aug. 29 - AT Waverly - Will be a great game, but Waverly is too much L
Sept. 5 - VS Vinton County- First W of the season W
Sept. 12 - VS Portsmouth *- Portsmouth is loaded L
Sept. 19 - AT Gallia Academy * Could be a good one, I see them winning. W
Sept. 26 - AT Marietta * - I see them winning . W
Oct. 3 - AT Ironton * - Lutz will not allow them to win this year. L
Oct. 10 - VS Chillicothe * - Toss up for me but I say a W
Oct. 17 - VS Logan * - another tossup but I say an L
Oct. 24 - VS Zanesville * - Too many athletes. L

I am guessing a 4-6 season, .500 at best.

[GrumpyOldFish]

2008 Schedule:
Aug. 23 - AT Wellston - Wellston breaks the streak this year. L
Aug. 29 - AT Waverly - Will be a great game, but Waverly is too much L
Sept. 5 - VS Vinton County- First W of the season W
Sept. 12 - VS Portsmouth *- Portsmouth is loaded L
Sept. 19 - AT Gallia Academy * Could be a good one, I see them winning. W
Sept. 26 - AT Marietta * - I see them winning . W
Oct. 3 - AT Ironton * - Lutz will not allow them to win this year. L
Oct. 10 - VS Chillicothe * - Toss up for me but I say a W
Oct. 17 - VS Logan * - another tossup but I say an L
Oct. 24 - VS Zanesville * - Too many athletes. L

I am guessing a 4-6 season, .500 at best.

Wellston is coming off an 0-10 season with not too many athletes, there is no way they will come close this year. Waverly lost too many leaders on the team, Jackson will handle them easily. The worst record I see for the Ironmen is 7-3. Losses coming from Ironton, Logan, & Zanesville. They have the talent to go 9-1, they just need to use it in the right places. This has got to be one of the best senior classes around if not THE best, Huff at tailback & outside backer, Trace at tightend & middle backer, Lindy at split & corner, Speakman at split & safety Brown or Boggs at QB(if Boggs doesn't get it then he will be split also and the other corner on defense), Ewing coming back to play fullback and middle backer, Hughes & Glassburn on both sides of the line, Kitchen is a good tackle... they're stacked.

[ironman02]

Wellston should be improved from last year, but I just don't see them beating Jackson this year. Last year's Varsity and JV games were extremely ugly in favor of Jackson. Things can certainly change from year to year, but I just don't see Jackson losing this game with the talent that they have returning.

Waverly lost a lot, but they have a lot of very talented players returning. I think Jackson has a good chance of winning this game, but it won't be easy in my opinion. Waverly always brings their best effort against Jackson and that won't change.

I don't know much about Vinton County's team this year, but this is a game that expect Jackson to win.

Portsmouth lost a lot from last year's team, but they have a lot of young guys who are very talented. They might be loaded, but they're not that experienced at the varsity level. Jackson can win this game, in my opinion.

The Ironmen finally got over the hump against GAHS last year. That should provide a lot of confidence for this year's matchup. Huge rivalry game, which means anything can happen, but I think the two teams will be evenly matched.

Much like Vinton County, I'm not sure about what Marietta has returning. I would probably take Jackson in this game, but making the trip to Marietta can be very tough.

I expect Ironton to be pretty good this year. Winning at the Tank will be difficult to do. Very tough game for the Ironmen.

Chillicothe will be very talented, especially with Knights still there at QB. Jackson gets the Cavs at home this time, but it should be a close ballgame.

Logan is the favorite to win the SEOAL again in my opinion. This game is usually a battle though. I think Jackson will give the Chiefs their best shot.

Zanesville lost some key players from last year's team, but they should still be solid. Another tough one in a four game stretch to end the season that is just brutal.

The possibility of a sub-par season is there, but I don't think that will happen. I can see Jackson having a pretty good year as long as they don't have the turnover problems that they had last season. The Ironmen are returning quite a few starters and possibly getting some key players back on the field for this season, which means that the talent and experience is there.

[billcox]

The upcoming season is a very difficult one to predict for the Ironmen. They do have the talent/potential to have a decent season (7+ wins), but, with the addition of Logan and Zville to the schedule, the potential for a sub-par season (4-5 wins) does exsist. Here is my guestimation of how the season will turn out.

2008 Schedule:
Aug. 23 - AT Wellston - the streak should continue (W)
Aug. 29 - AT Waverly - the Tigers lost a lot and Jackson is due (W)
Sept. 5 - VS Vinton County - a team Jackson should beat (W)
Sept. 12 - VS Portsmouth * - the Trojans have bundles of young talent (L)
Sept. 19 - AT Gallia Academy * - rivalry game and a tossup (L)
Sept. 26 - AT Marietta * - a long trip but Jackson should win (W)
Oct. 3 - AT Ironton * - The Tigers are on their way back (L)
Oct. 10 - VS Chillicothe * - tossup game (W)
Oct. 17 - VS Logan * - It's Logan! (L)
Oct. 24 - VS Zanesville * - tossup game (L)

There you have it. I have guestimated that the Ironmen will finish with a record of 5-5, give or take a game of course.

[boogerred]

My predictions:
Aug. 23 - AT Wellston - Ironmen by as much as they want (W)
Aug. 29 - AT Waverly - Waverly wins a close one (L)
Sept. 5 - VS Vinton County - Not the same caliber team as Jackson (W)
Sept. 12 - VS Portsmouth * - Jackson out-athleted (L)
Sept. 19 - AT Gallia Academy * - I hate Gallia Academy (W)
Sept. 26 - AT Marietta * - closer game than what everyone thinks (W)
Oct. 3 - AT Ironton * - Hard to win at the TANK (L)
Oct. 10 - VS Chillicothe * - Jax would have won last year except for the turnovers(W)
Oct. 17 - VS Logan * - Logan wins big but chokes in week 11 (L)
Oct. 24 - VS Zanesville * - Jackson wins a squeaker (W)

[ji81grad]

All kinds of predictions already in May. Let me throw my hat in the ring. I wont go game by game just an overall I basically agree with regulator. 5-5 would be my high water prediction.

This team lacks size and speed. I mean overall. It will take great effort to ovecome this and with a tougher league schedule, minus perennial wins Warren and Athens, plus favorite Logan and Zanesville. The outlook can't be as posy as 02 (I love ya man) would portray it.

We'll see what happens between now and then, but grumblings still echo from last fall and they aren't all positive.

[billcox]

The '08 version of the Ironmen will have what I would consider to be a typical Jackson offensive and defensive line. Overall they should have the size, strength and toughness needed to compete in the trenches with the better teams on their schedule. They also have a stable of runningbacks that consists of kids who are tough and durable. I would also consider this to be typical of a Jackson football squad. What this team may lack, as ji81grad alluded to, is overall team speed. This could end up hurting the Ironmen down the stretch against the likes of Logan, Ironton, Portsmouth and Chillicothe who all return their share of explosive athletes. IMO the Ironmen will have to win games by controlling the flow of the game on offense and playing hard hitting and aggressive defense, as many Jackson teams have done in the past. The amount of talented teams on the schedule makes it very difficult to accurately predict an overall record. If history is any indication though, the Ironmen will win enough games to be sitting above .500 and looking at a possible playoff berth when the dust settles following week 10. Only time can tell for certain.

[billcox]

Any news on the QB situation? Will Boggs be given a shot to win the position?

[ironman02]

Southern Storm,

I haven't heard anything about the QB position other than what I've read on here. I would think that Josh Brown has the advantage after starting last year, but I would be surprised if the QB spot wasn't open for competition this summer. Tyler Boggs was going to be the starting QB at Jackson as a sophomore until the arrival of Zane Holzapfel, so I think he has the talent to contend for the job. Obviously we'll have to wait and see what happens, but I would tend to think that Boggs would be given the chance to win the job. If Tyler shows that he's committed to the team and wants the job, then a competition for the starting spot makes sense to me.

[billcox]

I have always been told that every position is open for competition at all times, so I'm assuming that this situation is no different. What about Eric Landrum? Hasn't he had a lot of success on the JV and lower levels as a QB?

[ironman02]

SouthernStorm,

I have been impressed with Landrum when I've seen him play. I obviously haven't watched him play more than a few times, but I think that he might be the best runner of the three QBs. I would think that Landrum will definitely see time on the defensive side of the ball this season. The QB position might be a reach because of the two seniors in front of him, but he might be just as talented as any of them in my opinion.

[Army]

My predictions: 1-9
Aug. 23 - AT Wellston - Wellston returns Jr. Class, upsets Jackson in a close one (L)
Aug. 29 - AT Waverly - Waverly wins a close one on their homefield (L)
Sept. 5 - VS Vinton County - Not the same caliber team as Jackson (W)
Sept. 12 - VS Portsmouth * - Jackson out-athleted again by the Trojans (L)
Sept. 19 - AT Gallia Academy * - Gallia Academy in a close one (L)
Sept. 26 - AT Marietta * - closer game than what everyone thinks but loses (L)
Oct. 3 - AT Ironton * - Hard to win at the TANK (L)
Oct. 10 - VS Chillicothe * - Chillicothe loaded, and wins at Jackson this time (L)
Oct. 17 - VS Logan * - Logan wins big but chokes in week 10 at Chillicothe (L)
Oct. 24 - VS Zanesville * - Jackson loses in a close one against Zanesville (L)