Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

As Officer John McClane said to L.A. policeman Sgt. Al Powell in the first Die Hard movie, “Welcome to the party, pal.”

The Ironton Fighting Tigers, Coal Grove Hornets and Symmes Valley Vikings all received their invitations on Sunday to the Ohio High School Athletic Association postseason football playoffs.

Ironton (6-3) qualified in Division IV and will host the Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs (5-5) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tanks Memorial Stadium.

Ironton was the second seed in Region 15 and Bloom-Carroll was at No. 7.

The Vikings (8-2) also play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday but travel to Zanesville to play Bishop Rosecrans (7-3) in the No. 5 vs. No. 4 game.

Coal Grove (6-3) finished eighth in Region 19 of Division V and will play at top-seeded Lucasville Valley (10-0) at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams met in week three with Valley winning 34-18.

The other games in Region 15 have top-seed St. Clairsville (10-0) at home against Harrison Central (7-3), No. 6 Indian Valley (6-4) at Johnstown-Monroe (8-2) and No. 5 Piketon (8-2) at No. 4 Minford (8-2).

The winner of the Ironton and Bloom-Carroll game will face the winner of Indian Valley and Johnstown-Monroe while the Harrison Central-St. Clairsville winner meets the Piketon-Minford winner.

Those winners play in the regional finals.

In Division V, No. 7 Hillsdale (7-3) plays at No. 2 Oak Hill (8-2), No. 6 Liberty Union (8-2) goes to No. 3 Wheelersburg (8-2) and No. 5 Loudonville (8-2) visits No. 4 Bucyrus Wynford (8-2).

The Coal Grove-Valley winner will meet the Loudonville and Bucyrus winner while the Hillsdale-Oak Hill winner plays the Liberty Union-Wheelersburg winner.

In Division VI, No. 7 Fairfield Christian (8-2) plays at No. 2 Newark Catholic (8-2), No. 8 Hannibal River (7-3) visits No. 1 Danville (9-1), and No. 5 Colonel Crawford (8-2) travels to No. 4 Trimble (9-1).

The semifinals matchups have the Symmes Valley-Rosecrans winner against the Fairfield Christian and Newark Catholic winner while the Hannibal River-Danville winner plays the Colonel Crawford-Trimble winner.