One big win meant two more steps.

Wednesday, November 01, 2000

One big win meant two more steps. The Ironton Fighting Tigers 28-21 season-ending win over Columbus DeSales resulted in a two-place climb in the final Associated Press high school football poll.

Ironton (8-1) was eighth in Division IV prior to last week’s poll and DeSales was eighth in Division II, the second largest schools in terms of male enrollment. With the win, Ironton climbed to No. 6 in the final AP poll after starting the year 10th.

Sandusky Perkins (10-0) was the Division IV poll champion. The title comes on the heels of last season’s state championship when the Pirates edged Ironton 16-14 in the final seconds.

Cochocton (10-0) finished second after Germantown Valley View lost its season finale to Brookville, a Division V school, and fell to the fifth spot, just 10 points ahead of Ironton.

Valley View (9-1) had 174 points and two first place votes while Ironton had 164 points and one first place vote.

Licking Valley was third with 251 points, seven behind Coshocton, and Youngstown Ursuline was fourth.

Licking Valley, Ironton, and Coshocton finished 1-2-3 in the Region 15 final computer ratings.

Ironton has won three poll championships in 1986, 1988, and 1993.

Akron Manchester was seventh, Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph eighth, Wellington ninth, and Coldwater was 10th.

Portsmouth went 10-0 for the first time since 1953 and captured the Division III poll title. The Trojans had 345 points and 26 first place votes, well ahead of McConnelsville Morgan which had 271 points.

Gallipolis was 11th in Division III and Jackson was 13th.

Delphos St. John’s easily won another Division VI poll title and Portsmouth Notre Dame finished fourth. Mogadore was second and Norwalk St. Paul was third.

St. John’s had won the title four straight years and five times in the past seven seasons.

Only Massillon Washington, which won seven straight from 1948 to 1954, when the poll included all Ohio teams in one division, and Cincinnati Moeller, the big-school winner from 1979 to 1984, have longer strings of consecutive poll titles than St. John’s.

Cleveland St. Ignatius continued its dominance in Division I with its seventh poll crown but first since 1995. St. Ignatius had 354 points and 32 first place votes to Upper Arlington’s 288 points and two first place votes.

In Division II, Youngstown Chaney was first followed by Defiance. Columbus DeSales was 10th with 47 points.

Liberty Center was the poll champion in Division V, its second in three years.

A final poll list appears on Page 12.