Statistics tell story for Lutz

Published 12:00 am Friday, November 2, 2001

Statistics can tell you something about a team.

Friday, November 02, 2001

Statistics can tell you something about a team. They tell Ironton Fighting Tigers head coach Bob Lutz quite a bit.

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When Lutz looks at some of the statistics of the Portsmouth West Senators, it confirms his initial thinking.

"West is a pretty good team. They’ve got some size, they have some speed, and they’ll hit you," Lutz said. "They have a lot of balance on offense and their defense gets overlooked. Teams have trouble moving the ball on them. They had three shutouts and three games where their opponent only scored once."

Ironton , 10-0, will host Portsmouth West, 9-1, at 7 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the Region 15 Division IV Ohio High School Athletic Association postseason playoffs.

The West defense has allowed just 1,078 rushing yards and 738 more passing along with just 104 points.

Heading up the defense is middle linebacker Brent Rollins (5-7, 150) who has 97 tackles. Justin Cantrell (5-10,1 85) is next with 83 stops and Jeremiah Lens (6-0,175) had 61 tackles.

Freshman Eric McCormick (5-10, 24) had four quarterback sacks and Zach Evans (6-4, 225) three. Rollins and Cantrell had three interceptions each.

Cantrell, Lens, Rollins, and junior quarterback Bryson Williams (5-10, 155) lead the offense as well.

Cantrell had 667 yards rushing on 92 carries for a 7.2 average and he had scored 10 touchdowns. Williams has 650 yards rushing on 66 tries for a 9.9 average and another 10 TDs.

Lens has rushed for 401 yards on 67 attempts and six scores while Rollins had 44 attempts for 280 yards and a touchdown.

Williams doesn’t throw a lot, but he’s effective when he puts the ball in the air. He has completed 34 of 60 attempts for 799 yards and seven touchdowns. He has four interceptions.

Lens tops the team with 17 receptions for 505 yards and six TDs. Michael Lachey (5-10, 155) had nine catches for 150 yards and a score while Daniel Dever (5-9, 155) has six grabs for 117 yards.

West has 3,507 total yards on the season including 2,685 rushing.

Ironton has a balanced offense as well from a running standpoint.

Fullback Matt White leads the running game with 645 yards on 91 carries and he has scored 14 touchdowns. Fullback Maurice Murphy had 78 carries for 453 yards and eight TDs to give Ironton combined 1,098 yards and 22 touchdowns out of the fullback position.

Halfback Hugh Scott has carried 50 times for 282 yards while quarterback Drew Mains has rushed 41 times for 258 yards and five touchdowns.

With the success of the running game, Ironton hasn’t needed to throw very often. But Mains has been exceptional when called upon.

Although he missed two games, Mains has completed 17 of 31 passes for 329 yards and six touchdowns. He’s been intercepted just once.

Chris Frazer had five receptions for 182 yards and four TDs and Jeff Townsend four catches for 51 yards.

The key to the running game has been the offensive line which features center Tommy Lutz, guards Roman Fry and Chad Parker, tackles Eddie Zeek and Tyler Whaley, and ends Frazer, Townsend, and Chuck Murnahan.

The winner of the Ironton-West game will face the winner of the Portsmouth-New Lexington game at a site to be determined.

If the game is an Ironton-Portsmouth rematch, one possibility could be Ohio University’s Peden Stadium.

A New Lexington game could put the game at Portsmouth regardless of who wins the Ironton-West game. A win by West could also put the game at Chillicothe, Waverly, or Athens.