JACKSON — First, Ironton played keep away. Then they played winner take all.

Using a ball control offense that dominated the clock in the second half, Ironton rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat the Jackson Ironmen 20-14 in overtime Friday in a Southeastern Ohio Athletic League game

“That was gut check time,” said Ironton coach Bob Lutz. “We started coming off the football and just wearing them down with long drives, and we did a good job by not turning the ball in the second half.”

Ironton had two long drives in the second half and ran off 38 plays to 21 for Jackson counting the overtime.

The overtime began with Jackson on offense at the 20-yard line. Two running plays netted 2 yards and a third down pass to Coty Bowling was good for just 4 yards.

Ryan Mullins attempted a 30-yard field goal that went wide right.

The Fighting Tigers went on offense and Murphy ran for a yard. Chance Freeman then scooted 14 yards to the 5-yard line.

Murphy plowed through the defense for 4 yards to the 6-inch line and Schweickart’s second effort on the next play produced the touchdown and Ironton’s second win.

“That was a heck of an effort to get into the end zone,” said Lutz.

Ironton went three-and-out to start the game and Jackson took over at its own 47.

Bruce Smith ran twice for 8 yards and then Cody Huff bolted up the middle for a 45-yard touchdown jaunt. Mullins kicked the point after and it was 7-0 with 8:48 on the clock.

Ironton (2-2) came to life and drove to the Jackson 20, but the march ended on a fumble that was recovered by the Ironmen at the 14-yard line.

The Fighting Tigers got the ball back late in the half and a 16-yard pass from Schweickart to Carter moved the ball to the 48. Murphy then ran 7 yards to the Jackson 45.

But on the next play, a swing pass was dropped behind the line of scrimmage and Jackson’s Lukas Lindamood scooped up the ball and returned the fumble 49 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 1:18 on the clock.

“We gave them one touchdown. We just blundered. We talk about that in practice that you have to cover the ball. It should have been 7-0 us or 7-7 at the half,” said Lutz.

Jackson got a taste of the fumble-it is on a drive that reached the Ironton 26 to begin the second half. The Ironmen fumbled on a hit at the line of scrimmage and Wes Runyon pounced on the ball at the 19.

Ironton then took over with an 81-yard, 16-play drive that chewed up the clock for all but one play the rest of the quarter.

The drive culminated when Murphy pounded his way into the end zone from 2 yards out. Schweickart added the conversion kick and Ironton trailed 14-7.

The clutch drive in the fourth quarter began at Ironton’s own 16-yard line. It took 15 plays and included two fourth down conversions.

Keith Wetzel ran 13 yards on a fourth-and-4 for a first down at the Jackson 47, and four plays later Schweickart hit Carter for 10 yards on fourth down to the Jackson 35.

Four plays got the ballot the 8 when Schweickart and Carter hooked up again, this time for 8 yards and the touchdown. Schweickart’s conversion kick tied the game with 1:12 on the clock.

Jackson managed to get to the Ironton 39, but Jon Monnig tackled quarterback Josh Brown for now gain on third-and-12 and forced the overtime.

Murphy ran 23 times for 96 yards despite battling leg cramps. Wetzel added 55 yards on eight tries and Freeman had 48 yards on eight attempts.

Schweickart was 11 of 16 for 93 yards and Carter had five catches for 51 yards.

Ironton had 20 first downs to 10 for Jackson and outgained them 302 to 178. Jackson had 136 of its yards in the first half.

“The defense played well. We played our positions better and we were more aggressive,” said Lutz.