The snowball-effect started on the first play and just got worse as the Ironton Fighting Tigers buried the South Point Pointers under an avalanche of rushing touchdowns in a 60-0 victory.

Mistakes and turnovers allowed Ironton to play on a short field all night Friday at Tanks Memorial Stadium.

South Point fumbled the opening kickoff giving Ironton the ball on the 18-yard line. Five plays later, Josh Sands got the Fighting Tigers on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run, his first of three similar first-half scores.

The Pointers second possession did not go much smoother as they went three and out. Two offside penalties by South Point and six plays later Derique Bacon put the Fighting Tigers up 13-0 on 19-yard run.

Backed up deep in their own territory yet again, South Point fumbled the ball on fourth down giving the Tigers the ball on the 11-yard line. Sands kept the ball on the ground for his second score of the night, a 5-yard burst.

With less than two minutes remaining in the quarter, the mistakes continued to pile up for the Pointers as they lost another fumble.

"Obviously,

you can't make mistakes against any team, but you especially can't make them against Ironton," first-year South Point coach Dan McDavid said. "It really was an avalanche effect."

The second quarter was more of the same as the Pointers could not get the offense in gear and Ironton's ground game was clicking on all cylinders.

Sands capped a seven-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown scramble to put Ironton up 27-0.

Ironton coach Bob Lutz said he was obviously pleased with Friday's first half, especially when compared to the season opener versus Wheelersburg.

"We could have played better, but we got in some work," Lutz said. "We got to look at a lot of people. I would have liked to played the starters longer."

South Point turned the ball over three plays later as defensive end Steve Elswick deflected a Tommy Hayner pass and Marcus Williams made a diving interception.

Fullback Jarod Murphy closed the half strong as he powered his way to an 18-yard touchdown run. Halfback Marland Turner capped the first half scoring with a 1-yard jaunt with 2:05 on the clock and it was 40-0.

The second was a little sloppy with a combined six fumbles as both teams played their backups.

South Point never could sustain a drive. The Pointers didn't cross midfield the entire game until Rocky Roe ran a kickoff back 39 yards to the Ironton 45 with less than two minutes to play.

Ironton tailback Darius Lewis scored twice on short runs and Andrew Walker added a 5-yard touchdown run.

Although coach McDavid said he knows he has a young team learning a new system, it is time to start building.

"We are getting tired off taking our lumps," he said. "We would like to give out a few."

McDavid said he liked what he saw from some of his freshmen including Jude Crabtree, Jerrell Dean and Roe.

South Point0000--0

Ironton2119614--60

First Quarter

Irn -- Josh Sands 1 run (A.J. Lutz kick) 9:33

Irn -- Derique Bacon 19 run (A.J. Lutz kick) 4:31

Irn -- Josh Sands 1 run (A.J. Lutz kick) 2:24

Second Quarter

Irn -- Josh Sands 1 run (kick failed) 9;45

Irn -- Jarod Murphy 18 run (kick failed) 6:49

Irn -- Marland Turner 1 run (A.J. Lutz kick) 2:05

Third Quarter

Irn -- Darius Lewis 2 run (Shane Kerns kick) 4:00

Fourth Quarter

Irn -- Andrew Walker 5 run (Shane Kerns kick) 11:22

Irn -- Darious Lewis 1 run (Shane Kerns kick) 3:23

First Downs:South Point 2, Ironton16

Rushes-yards: South Point24-minus 14,Ironton 44-208

Passing yards:South Point 0,Ironton 39

Total yards:South Point minus 14,Ironton 247

Passes:South Point 0-8-1,Ironton 3-4-0

Fumbles-lost:South Point 4-3,Ironton 4-1

Penalties-yards:South Point 4-21,Ironton 3-25

Punts-average:South Point 4-30.5,Ironton 0-00.0

Individual Leaders

RUSHING -- South Point: Chris Chapman 3-6, Justin Workman 3-1, Caleb Copley 2-2, Rocky Roe 4-11, Jude Crabtree 1-2, Wes Patterson 1-0, Tommy Hayner 5-minus 16, Chris Smith 4-minus 9, Team 1-minus 11. Ironton: Derique Bacon 5-44, Jarod Murphy 6-42, Marland Turner 3-4, Marcus Williams 5-7, Josh Sands 5-16, Chris Collins 1-9, Andrew Walker 5-29, Eric Layne 1-5, Shane Kerns 6-18, Josh Adkins 4-13, Darius Lewis 3-21.

PASSING -- South Point: Tommy Hayner 0-7-1, Chris Smith 0-1-0. Ironton: Josh Sands 3-4-0

39.

RECEIVING -- South Point: None. Ironton: Nick Collins 2-25, Patrick Kouns 1-14.