Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

OAK HILL — After taking some tough licks the past few weeks, the Ironton Fighting Tigers decided to throw a few.

Ironton played well on both sides of the ball to get back on the winning side as they rolled to a 28-0 win over the Oak Hill Oaks on Friday.

Ironton (6-3) racked up 479 total yards with 405 coming on the ground. Patrick Lewis and Trevor White each ran for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Lewis carried 19 times for 179 yards and caught two passes for 47 yards. White ran 22 times for 138 yards.

But the big key for Ironton was the defense.

Oak Hill came in with 1,000-yard rusher Wes Harden and near-1,000-yard rusher Devon Davis. The Oaks finished with 41 net yards on 22 carries. Davis ran 13 times for 44 yards and Harden had 4 yards on four carries and was out of the game after halftime.

“Oak Hill isn’t a bad ball club. They were physical,” said Ironton coach Mark Vass. “But our kids had a great week of practice. We played the old type of Ironton defense. The kids got after it and they were flying to the ball.”

Ironton snapped a three-game losing streak with the win and clinched a home playoff game. The Fighting Tigers should finish second in Region 15 of Division IV and host the No. 7 team.

“We went through a tough three-game stretch, but we stuck together and played hard. We won the battle up front and that was the difference,” said Vass.

Oak Hill (7-2) came into the game leading Region 19 of Division V but managed just 18 net yards rushing in the first half.

The Oaks only offense came from quarterback Drew Haislop who was 9 of 21 for 183 yards. However, he was intercepted twice and Ironton dropped two potential pick-six.

After forcing a three-and-out to start the game, Ironton got the ball at the 48 and scored 14 plays later but not without its obstacles.

A holding penalty on first down pushed the start back to the 38. A big 17-yard pass to Aaron Stephens on third-and-19 keyed the drive. On fourth down, White ran 4 yards for the first down.

The next 10 plays were on the ground and Lewis went the final yard for the touchdown. Hunter Klaiber kicked his first career extra point and it was 7-0 at the 4:34 mark.

Ironton got the ball at its own 16 at the end of the first quarter and nine plays later scored on a 4-yard run by White. A 37-yard jaunt by Lewis sparked the drive. Klaiber’s kick made it 14-0 with 9:17 left in the half.

An interception by Derik Berry on the Oaks’ second play following the kickoff gave the ball back to Ironton. The Fighting Tigers used a 24-yard pass to Lewis to reach the Oaks’ 38 and two plays later White bullied his way 32 yards for the score and a 21-0 lead.

Oak Hill’s biggest plays of the first half were 15-yard penalties on Ironton.

A 35-yard kickoff return by Davis and 15-yard pass interference got the ball to the Ironton 15, but the Fighting Tigers held on downs at the 11.

After an Ironton punt, Oak Hill used a 24-yard pass to Garrin Stiltner to reach the Ironton 18. Two more penalties got the ball to the 4, but again, the Fighting Tigers’ defense held on downs at the 2-yard line.

It didn’t take Ironton long to score in the second half. Starting at their own 41, Lewis broke loose on a 37-yard scoring run four plays into the drive and it was 28-0.

The Fighting Tigers had another drive to the Oak Hill 1-yard line but fumbled the ball on fourth down with 1:21 on the clock.

Besides fumbling away a score, Ironton was plagued by penalties. The Fighting Tigers were whistled 10 times for 99 yards.

Ironton has an open date next week.

Ironton 7 14 7 0 = 28

Oak Hill 0 0 0 0 = 0

First Quarter

Irn — Patrick Lewis 1 run (Hunter Klaiber kick) 4:34

Second Quarter

Irn — Trevor White 4 run (Hunter Klaiber kick) 9:17

Irn — Trevor White 32 run (Hunter Klaiber kick) 6:43

Third Quarter

Irn — Patrick Lewis 37 run (Hunter Klaiber kick) 10:13

Team Statistics

Irn OH

First downs 21 10

Rushes-yards 56-405 22-41

Passing yards 74 183

Total yards 479 224

Cmp-Att-Int 4-8-0 9-21-2

Fumbles-lost 3-0 0-0

Penalties-yards 10-99 3-15

Punts-average 3-38.7 4-42.0

Individual Leaders

RUSHING—Ironton: Patrick Lewis 19-179, Trevor White 22-138, Matt Thomas 4-minus 1, Tristan Cox 6-20, Dion Brown 5-65, Tanner Price 1-4; Oak Hill: Devon Davis 13-44, Wes Harden 4-4, Drew Haislop 2-minus 13, Willy Harris 2-4, Matt Gilliland 1-2.

PASSING—Ironton: Tristan Cox 4-8-0 74; Oak Hill: Drew Haislop 9-21-2 183.

RECEIVING—Ironton: Aaron Stephens 2-27, Patrick Lewis 2-47; Oak Hill: Garrin Stiltner 3-63, Ryan Gaines 2-71, Luke Hammond 2-49, Colton Cox 2-0.

MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.