JACKSON — While the offense ate up the clock, the defense feasted.

Ironton used ball control on offense to rack up 408 total yards and the defense shut down the Jackson offense as the Fighting Tigers posted a 28-7 win Friday and handed the Ironmen their first loss of the season.

“The difference was up front. We wanted to control the line of scrimmage and we did that on both sides of the ball,” said Ironton coach Bob Lutz.

“Our defense played well and our secondary did a good job. We had a couple of lapses, but we played pretty well for the most part.”

Ironton (5-2, 3-1) allowed Jackson 268 total yards, but 74 yards came against the reserves and another 38 rushing yards came on three plays at the end of the first half against a loose Fighting Tigers’ prevent defense.

Ironton had the ball for more than 34 of the game’s 48 minutes.

After trading punts to start the game, Jackson’s second possession also ended in a punt but this time Tres Wilks brought the ball back 51 yards for a touchdown — his third punt return for a score this season.

Keith Wetzel’s conversion kick made it 7-0 at the 6:11 mark.

Another punt had Ironton back on its 21, but four plays later Ethan Preston hit Jon Monnig with a pass-and-run that covered 65 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead with 1:50 on the clock.

The Fighting Tigers got the ball at their own 20-yard line late in the first quarter and began a nine-play drive that spilled over into the second quarter and culminated on Wetzel’s 4-yard run. J.P. Taylor ran for the conversion and it was 21-0 with 8:09 left in the half.

Jackson gained 38 of its 53 first half rushing yards in the final 27 seconds against Ironton’s prevent defense.

The Fighting Tigers came out the second half and showed no signs of letting up as they drove from the 37 to the Jackson 11 before the drive bogged down. Wetzel attempted a 28-yard field goal that missed wide left and it remained 21-0.

On the first play of the drive, Wilks went 82 yards for a touchdown only to have the play called back on a downfield holding call.

Given new life, Jackson put together its best drive of the game thanks to a 46-yard pass from Kruize Wandling to Kip Winchester. But Wandling was stopped a yard short at the 6-yard line on a fourth-and-2.

Taking over with 4:40 on the clock, Ironton then went on another time consuming drive that concluded 13 plays later with Brian Warner going 1-yard with 10:45 left in the game. Wetzel’s kick pushed the lead to 28-0.

Jackson avoided the shutout as Drew Irvin ran 49 yards for a touchdown against Ironton’s reserves with 4:09 left. Ryan Mullins’ conversion kick made it 28-7.

The Fighting Tigers return home to host rival Portsmouth on Friday. A win over the Trojans would enable Lutz to tie Terry Malone for the most career coaching wins in Ohio high school football history.

Ironton 13 8 0 7 = 28

Jackson 0 0 0 7 = 7

First Quarter

Irn — Tres Wilks 51 punt return (Keith Wetzel kick) 6:11

Irn — Jon Monnig 65 pass from Ethan Preston (kick failed) 1:50

Second Quarter

Irn — Keith Wetzel 4 run (J.P. Taylor run) 8:09

Fourth Quarter

Irn — Brian Warner 1 run (Keith Wetzel kick) 10:45

Jck — Drew Irvin 49 run (Ryan Mullins kick) 4:09

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Irn Jck

First downs 15 11

Rushes-yards 53-319 26-144

Passing yards 89 120

Total yards 408 268

Cmp-Att-Int 2-4-1 9-20-0

Sacks-yards 1-12 0-0

Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties-yards 5-69 11-83

Punts-average 2-36.0 5-38.8

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING—Ironton: Keith Wetzel 16-94, J.P. Taylor 7-57, Brian Warner 10-36, Tres Wilks 6-46, Ethan Preston 3-15, Tyler Hager 2-8, Erin Edens 1-8, Michael Lawless 5-12, Leron Beach 3-43. Jackson: Drew Irvin 9-75, Klay Arthur 9-35, Kruize Wandling 6-18, Eric Landrum 1-16, Kip Winchester 1-0.

PASSING—Ironton: Ethan Preston 2-4-1 89. Jackson: Kruize Wandling 9-20-0 120.

RECEIVING—Ironton: Jon Monnig 2-89. Jackson: Kip Winchester 4-73, Klay Arthur 2-20, Drew Irvin 2-15, Ty McNelly 1-12.