Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

GALLIPOLIS — People need a little balance in the diet. The Ironton Fighting Tigers know they need a little balance in their offense.

Ironton racked up 448 total yards with a near even split between the running game and the passing games as the Fighting Tigers rolled past the Gallipolis Blue Devils 43-0 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Friday.

Ironton had 248 yards rushing led by Jaquez Keyes with 11 carries for 89 yards and Landon Wilson with 74 yards on just 5 attempts.

Quarterback Tayden Carpenter was 10-of-12 passing for 206 yards and a touchdown. Although he did suffer his first interception of the season, he ran 3 times for 27 yards and a score.

With the win, Ironton (8-1, 6-0) clinched at least a share of the OVC title and fifth in 7 seasons in the conference.

Gallipolis (3-3, 1-2) was limited to just 131 total yards with 68 on the ground and 63 through the air.

Ironton didn’t waste much time by building a 28-0 halftime lead.

Keyes had an 8-yard scoring run with 7:49 left in the first quarter and Matt Sheridan kicked the first of 5 extra points for a 7-0 lead.

After forcing a Gallipolis punt, Ironton scored with 1:15 left in the quarter on a 3-yard run by Wilson and Sheridan’s kick made it 14-0.

Getting some vegetables to go with the first quarter steak, Ironton went to the air and Carpenter teamed up with Aaron Masters on a 70-yard scoring pass and it was 21-0 with 10:50 left in the half.

The next touchdown came on a 1-yard run by Carpenter with 2:20 to go in the half and Sheridan’s kick made it 28-0.

The Fighting Tigers’ defense registered a save early in the second half and Keyes ran 2 yards for the score with 1:29 to go in the third quarter as Ironton built 37-0 lead.

The final Ironton touchdown came with 2:29 to play as Keyes got loose and ran 21 yards for the score. The conversion failed due to a bad snap.

Next Friday in regular season finales, Ironton will host Portsmouth in a pivotal OVC game that will determine if the Fighting Tigers win the league outright or share it with Portsmouth and Fairland.

Gallipolis will play at South Point.

Ironton            14        14        9          6          =          43

Gallipolis         0          0          0          0          =          0

First Quarter

Irn – Jaquez Keyes 8 run (Matt Sheridan kick) 7:49

Irn – Landon Wilson 3 run (Matt Sheridan kick) 1:15

Second Quarter

Irn – Aaron Masters 70 pass from Tayden Carpenter (Matt Sheridan kick) 10:50

Irn – Tayden Carpenter 1 run (Matt Sheridan kick) 2:20

Third Quarter

Irn – Safety 8:39

Irn – Jaquez Keyes 2 run (Matt Sheridan kick) 1:29

Fourth Quarter

Irn – Jaquez Keyes 21 run (run failed) 2:29

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Irn       Ga

First downs     17        6

Rushes-yards  27-242 30-68

Passing yards  206      63

Total yards      448      131

Cmp-Att-Int    10-12-1           4-13-2

Fumbles-lost   3-2       1-0

Penalties-yards            7-45     7-61

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING —Ironton: Jaquez Keyes 11-89 2TD, Landon Wilson 5-74 TD, Tayden Carpenter 3-27 TD, Amar Howard 4-23, Blake Porter 1-19, Ty Perkins 2-7, Aaron Masters 1-3 Gallipolis: Hudson Shamblin 11-55, Hunter Shamblin 3-8, Brody Fellure 14-5, Paolo Jones 2-0.

PASSING — Ironton: Tayden Carpenter 10-12-1 206 TD; Gallipolis: Brody Fellure 4-13-2 63.

RECEIVING — Ironton: AaronMasters 4-104 TD, Ty Perkins 3-59, Landon Wilson 1-17, Jon Wylie 1-13, C.J. Martin 1-13; Gallipolis: Kenyon Franklin 2-40, Cole Hines 1-14, Hunter Shamblin 1-9.