Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

When starting quarterback Tayden Carpenter went down with a broken ankle on the fifth play of the game, Ironton Fighting Tigers’ coach Trevon Pendleton dialed 911.

The emergency call went to Jon Wylie who came on to run for 47 yards and completed 4-of-8 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown as Ironton rallied from a 9-0 deficit to rout the Portsmouth Trojans 36-9 on Friday.

“Wylie didn’t practice this week and we only dressed him in case of an emergency,” said Pendleton.

Carpenter had come back from an early season injury that sidelined him for 4-to-6 weeks. He was in top form until being sacked by Jalen Jones.

Portsmouth (7-3, 4-2) then used a 54-yard pass from Drew Roe to Donavan Carr to take a 6-0 lead.

The Trojans later put together a drive from their own 39 to the Ironton 6 before stalling and settling for a 27-yard field goal by Zach Roth with 11:05 left in the half.

Ironton (9-1, 7-0) went on a long drive capped by Landon Wilson’s 4-yard scoring run and Matt Sheridan’s conversion kick with 5:01 on the clock.

Portsmouth managed to reach the Ironton 1-yard line but a bad snap enabled the Fighting Tigers to tackle Roe at the 6 as the half ended.

Ironton called on its own paramedic in Aiden Young who came up with an interception in each half to help slow the high-powered passing game of the Trojans and Roe who now has more than 2,000 yards through the aid on the season.

With the defense stopping the Trojans, the offense took off with 3 third quarter touchdowns as Wilson scored on runs of 3 and 2 yards and Wylie hit Ty Perkins to made a leaping catch for a 28-yard scoring strike and a 29-9 lead with just 34 seconds left in the quarter.

Ironton capped the scoring with Amar Howard getting loose on a 17-yard scamper with 2:32 to play.

Wilson finished the game with 87 yards rushing on 12 carries and 3 TDs.

Perkins had 2 catches for 81 yards and a score while Aaron Masers caught 4 passes for 26 yards. Wylie also caught a pass for 9 yards.

Roe was 11-of-17 for 125 yards with an interception and a touchdown. He left the game late in the third quarter with an injury but is expected to play next week.

The two teams await their official Division 5 playoff destinations for next Saturday. Ironton should be No. 1 in the region and host a first-round game against Wellston. Portsmouth goes to Zane Trace.

With the win, Ironton also won its third straight OVC title and fifth in seven seasons since joining the league.

Portsmouth 6 3 0 0 = 9

Ironton 0 7 22 7 = 36

First Quarter

Prt – Donavan Carr 54 pass from Drew Roe (kick blocked) 8:19

Second Quarter

Prt – Zach Roth 27 field goal 11:05

Irn – Landon Wilson 4 run (Matt Sheridan kick) 5:01

Third Quarter

Irn –Landon Wilson 3 run (Matt Sheridan kick) 5:04

Irn – Landon Wilson 2 run (Ashton Duncan pass from Jon Wylie) 2:39

Irn – Ty Perkins 28 pass from Jon Wylie (Matt Sheridan kick) 0:34

Fourth Quarter

Irn – Amar Howard 17 run (Matt Sheridan kick) 2:32

Prt Irn

First downs 11 19

Rushes-yards 18-28 40-229

Passing yards 170 131

Total yards 198 360

Cmp-Att-Int 19-28-2 8-14-0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0

Penalties-yards 6-48 12-112

Punts-average 4-32.3 2-36.0

Individual Leaders

RUSHING —Portsmouth: Drew Roe 11-40, Reade Pendleton 2-3, Amare Johnson 2-2, Beau Hammond 1-minus 3, team 1-minus 5, Tyler Duncan 1-minus 9; Ironton: Landon Wilson 12-87 3TD, Jon Wylie 9-47, Jaquez Keyes 10-45, Amar Howard 5-39 TD, Aaron Masters 2-32, Tayden Carpenter 1-minus 4, team 1-minus 17.

PASSING — Portsmouth: Drew Roe 11-17-1-125 TD, Tyler Duncan 8-11-1-45; Ironton: Jon Wylie 4-8-0-106 TD, Tayden Carpenter 3-3-0-16, Landon Wilson 1-1-0-9, Aaron Masters 0-1-0-0, Matt Sheridan 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — Portsmouth: Reade Pendleton 8-76, Dariyonne Bryant 6-34, Donavan Carr 1-54 TD, Jayden Duncan 3-5, Beau Hammond 1-1; Ironton: Ty Perkins 2-81 TD, Aaron Masters 4-26, Angelo Washington 1-15, Jon Wylie 1-9.