Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

It’s a good thing Friday’s game between the Ironton Fighting Tigers and South Point Pointers isn’t rated “R.” Most of the players from both teams wouldn’t be allowed to play without a parent or guardian.
Two teams who have lineups filled with underclassmen will meet in at Ohio Valley Conference game at Tanks Memorial Stadium.
South Point (0-4, 0-1) has four seniors and eight underclassmen who play on the offensive side and three seniors and eight underclassmen including a freshman on the defensive side.
Ironton is a mirror image in terms of starting numbers with four senior and eight underclassmen on offense and three seniors and eight underclassmen including a freshman on the defensive unit.
“When you play young kids, they’re going to make a lot of mistakes. With so many young kids on the field, you’re going to make more than your share of mistakes,” said Ironton coach Mark Vass.
“We’ve just got to limit our mistakes and not turn the ball over. The same thing goes for them. We need to be mentally prepared to play as well as physically.”
The teams run similar offenses are well.
South Point is led by the running tandem of sophomore Owen Chafin (5-10, 185) and junior Jared Whitt (5-11, 185). The wingback is junior John Kuhn (5-8, 140) and the quarterback is senior Brandin Jackson (5-11, 145).
“Their backs run hard and their skilled players have some speed,” said Vass.
The tight ends are seniors Williams Borders (5-10, 205) and Drew Adams (6-0, 240).
Up front the Pointers have senior Corey Allison (5-10, 200) at center, junior Hunter Koukos (5-8, 215) and sophomore Sam Nicely (6-1, 225) the guards while junior Caleb Eplion (6-2, 225) and sophomore Hayden Sullivan (5-8, 240) are the tackles.
Both teams prefer a 50 look on defense with the Pointers strength in Whitt and Chafin at linebacker.
“The linebackers are pretty aggressive and I really like the Adams kid. He’s pretty hard-nosed,” said Vass.
The nose guard is Eplion, the tackles are Koukos and freshman Jakob Belcher (5-10, 185) and the ends are Adams and sophomore Wyatt Brammer (6-1, 225).
Borders and sophomore Derek McCarty (6-0, 150) are the corners with Jackson and Kuhn the safeties.
The secondary has been missing Elijah Adams and Joel Morrison due to injuries.
Drew Adams handles the punting with Whitt the placements.