They’re big.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

They’re big. No, take that back. They’re REAL big.

Not only is Campbell County a big Kentucky high school – Class 4A – but the Camels have plenty of big players in their starting lineup.

That size will be a major concern for Ironton Friday night when the Fighting Tigers play host to the Camels.

The offensive line has 5-foot-10, 235-pound senior Brian Doward at center, 6-4, 240 senior Brandon Woods at right guard, 6-3, 270 Kenny Schroder at left guard, 6-0, 270 senior Steven Scharold at right tackle, 6-4, 270 senior Bill Rogers at left tackle, and 6-4, 235 senior Jon Neace at tight end.

"They’re huge. This is one of the biggest teams we’ve faced. We can’t match up with them physically, so we just have to hope we are quicker. If we’re not, we’ll have a lot of problems," Ironton coach Bob Lutz said.

Running behind the massive offensive line will be senior tailback Kip Mason (5-8, 180) and sophomore fullback Brad Bickler (5-7,170). The quarterback is sophomore Chris Cornetet (6-1, 180), the flanker senior Nathan Hater (5-10, 175), and juniors Josh Zappa (5-11, 165) and Mike Mockbee (6-1, 165) share the split end duties.

"Mason is a good back. He has good speed and he runs hard," said Lutz. "Their quarterback can throw the ball and he’s pretty accurate. We can’t let him set in there with a lot of time and just pick us apart."

The Camels are 2-2 after losing 29-14 to Newport Catholic despite leading late in the first half. The game was interrupted by lightning and completed Sunday afternoon.

"You look at their schedule and see Newport Catholic, Highlands, Ryle, and others, and you can see they play a pretty tough schedule," said Lutz.

While the offense has great size, the defense is virtually an entirely new unit that is smaller and relies on speed and quickness.

"They’re a little like Gallipolis is the fact they are quick and get to the football," said Lutz.

Junior Jordan Caudill (5-10, 170) is the nose guard, senior Mitchell Baumgard (5-9, 220) and senior Thomas Vaught (5-7, 210) are the tackles, and seniors Donny Steffen (5-9, 185) and Justin Mason (6-0, 210) are the ends.

Senior Cameron Coleman (5-11, 185) and junior Derrick Jordan (6-0, 175) are the linebackers while the secondary is comprised of four seniors, Ryan Jordan (5-11, 170) and Hater at the corners , senior Billy Vogt (6-2, 187) at free safety, and senior Jacob Unger (5-11, 180) is the strong safety.