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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
Ironton shuts out Highland
IrontonÕs Keith Wetzel is brought down by Kyle Davies of Highland during the high school football Ohio Division IV, Region 15 playoffs on Saturday at Bob Lutz Field at Tanks Memorial Stadium.
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IRONTON -- The first playoff game on newly-named Bob Lutz Field at Tanks Memorial Stadium went just as the field's namesake wanted.
Lutz watched as the Ironton team he coaches dictated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, dominated the time of possession and got out of the first round of the Ohio Division IV, Region 15 playoffs injury-free in a 36-0 win over Highland on Saturday night.
"I thought we played pretty well," Lutz said. "We had a big size advantage on them up front. It was a good effort and I don't think we got anyone hurt."
Ironton's defense gave up a 61-yard run to Justin Staton on the game's second play, but settled in nicely following the big gain. The Fighting Tigers limited Highland to just one first down from its second drive of the game until the 7:30 mark of the fourth quarter.
Staton came in with more than 1,500 yards on the season and finished with 129 yards in the contest, but Ironton stopped him from the 1-yard line with less than one minute to play to preserve the shutout. Highland had just 195 yards total, including 90 in the final three quarters.
"Defensively, we played really well," Lutz said. "They broke out on a quick trap on us, but that was about it. Our twos (second team) did a good job on the goal line and held them out, too."
Highland came in averaging 30 points per contest and had only lost to a pair of undefeated teams but it was evident early that the Fighting Scots were no match for the Fighting Tigers.
Offensively, Ironton's T formation was too much for Highland early in the contest as the Fighting Tigers racked up eight first downs on their first 14 carries and amassed 144 yards in the first quarter en route to a 15-0 lead.
Keith Wetzel's first carry took the ball into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown to open the scoring at the 5:48 mark and quarterback Ethan Preston's 4-yard run with just 32 seconds left in the first quarter opened the two-score lead.
Penalties at crucial times also proved to be a bugaboo for Highland. Just before halftime, an offside call on fourth-and-2 gave Ironton a first down inside the red zone.
Two plays later, the Fighting Tigers caught Highland in an all-out blitz and Preston hit J.P. Taylor for a 19-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 22-0 at the break.
"It kind of loosened them up when we screened them at the end of the half," Lutz said.
Taylor also scored on a 3-yard run following a pair of fourth-down conversions on the opening drive of the second half to put the game out of reach. The biggest conversion was a fourth-and-7 swing pass from Preston to Tres Wilks when the receiver made a man miss, reversed his field and went for 27 yards.
Ironton had five rushers with at least six carries and four with at least 40 yards. The Fighting Tigers rushed for 259 yards. Wilks led with 66 yards on the ground.
"The second half, we dominated from the get-go," Lutz said. "They were physical enough up front on defense to give us work, but other than that, we dominated."
Ironton (9-2) advances to take on Heath in the second round. Location of Saturday's matchup has yet to be determined.
HIGHLAND 0 0 0 0 -- 0
IRONTON 15 7 14 0 -- 36
I - Wetzel 8 run (Taylor run)
I - Preston 4 run (Wetzel kick)
I - Taylor 19 pass from Preston (Wetzel kick)
I - Taylor 3 run (Wetzel kick)
I - Hager 47 run (Wetzel kick)
H I
First downs 8 19
Total Yards 195 323
Rushes-yards 36-177 51-259
Comp-Att-Int 3-8-1 4-5-0
Passing yards 18 64
Penalties-Yards 8-53 0-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Highland: Staton 19-129; Green 4-25; McAndrew 8-18; Young 1-4; Ulrey 4-1. Ironton: Wilks 6-66; Hager 3-54, TD; Taylor 7-41, TD; Wetzel 10-40, TD; Warner 7-34; Lawless 3-7; Dutey 2-6; Kratzenburg 1-4; Jones 2-4; Preston 8-3, TD; Waginger 2-0.
PASSING -- Highland: Ulrey 3-of-8, 18 yards, INT. Ironton: Preston 3-of-4, 54 yards, TD; Waginger 1-of-1, 10 yards.
RECEIVING -- Highland: Patrick 2-10; Young 1-8. Ironton: Wilks 1-27; Taylor 2-27, TD; Lawless 1-10.
