There are two significant teams sitting right behind the Ironton Fighting Tigers in the first Associated Press high school football poll.

Wednesday, September 12, 2001

There are two significant teams sitting right behind the Ironton Fighting Tigers in the first Associated Press high school football poll.

Ironton opened at third in the AP Division IV poll Tuesday. Ranked fourth is Licking Valley and fifth is Portsmouth, the two teams that dealt Ironton its only losses last season.

Ironton has two first-place votes and 163 points. Licking Valley has 127 points and Portsmouth, the Division III poll champions last year, has three first-place votes and 118 points.

Another familiar name nearby is Coshocton which is sixth with 90 points. Ironton beat Coshocton in the regional semifinals 27-6 last year.

Youngstown Ursuline, the defending Division IV champions, gathered up 17 first-place votes and leads Division IV with 246 points. Canton Central Catholic is second with 200 points and four first-place votes.

Cincinnati Wyoming is seventh, Chargrin Falls eighth, Germantown Valley View ninth, and Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas 10th. Every team in the top 10 is 3-0 with the exception of Wyoming which is 2-1.

A couple of other Ironton opponents are ranked in Division III. Gallipolis, a 27-7 loser last week to Ironton, is 21st while Dayton Dunbar has 16 ponits and one first-place vote to share 23rd place.

Other division leaders include Cleveland St. Ignatius in Division I, Cincinnati Roger Bacon in Division II, Akron Hoban in Division III, Delphos St. John’s in Division V, and Maria Stein Marion Local in Division VI.

The final poll champion will be crowned at the end of the regular season.