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SPORTS
Region final: Tigers meeting Coshocton
HUNTINGTON -- Over the last month, Nelsonville-York has been a bit of a good luck charm for the Ironton Fighting Tigers.
It was against Nelsonville-York that head coach Bob Lutz earned his 361st win, breaking the record for Ohio's all-time coaching wins held by Terry Malone of Hamilton Badin.
And last week, Ironton earned a hard-fought 20-14 overtime win over Heath in a game at Nelsonville-York's Boston Field.
That win put Ironton in Saturday's Division IV, Region 15 final against Coshocton at -- you guessed it -- Nelsonville-York's Boston Field.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. in Nelsonville.
The Fighting Tigers have made a living out of their balanced attack this season with running backs J.P. Taylor, Keith Wetzel, Tres Wilks and quarterback Ethan Preston producing solid numbers out of Lutz' T-formation.
There is no one superstar on the team, but if the players had to be classified, Taylor and Wetzel would be the thunder to Preston and Wilks' lightning.
It is the perfect storm for a team racking up nearly 250 yards rushing per game.
The rushing attack gets much of the praise, but it is a consistent defense that produced the team's 10-win season.
When Ironton's offense has provided its defense with three scores, the team is undefeated at 10-0. Consequently, the Fighting Tigers' defense has also allowed two scores or fewer in eight of 12 games this season.
That figure includes both playoff games where the defense has bowed its back and gotten the big stop when it had to.
They will need much of the same this week as Coshocton has scored 30 or more points in eight of its 12 games.
In fact, the Redskins have only been held to less than 20 points on three occasions with two being losses. The lone win was last week's 15-12 upset of No. 1 Amanda-Clearcreek.
The key for Coshocton has been the rushing prowess of Marcus Johnston, who has amassed 1,995 yards on 203 carries. In each game the 6-1, 210-pound running back has scored at least one touchdown en route to 30 on the season. Even more impressive is that in 10 of 12 games, he has broken a run of at least 30 yards.
The game will once again be a battle of powers on Saturday night, and the team that can assert its will shall be heading to Ohio's Division IV Final Four.
