Irontonfootball.com

Just wanted to give everyone a head’s up about the new updates on Ironton Football.com which takes us to the end of the 2009 season.

First, we have the All Ohio State Playoff Appearance List which names every school that have made the playoffs, the years they appeared and if they finished 1st or 2nd. Then, we have the Most State Championship Game Appearances List which names every school that have made the final game. We also have the Most State Titles List and finally, The Most Successful Programs In The State, ranked by a point system.

I would like to thank Steve Ginsburg for updating these list for us again this year. I know it has to be a huge amount of work to do all that research, thanks Steve!

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I can’t believe it’s that time again. Today will be the start of what I feel will be a very good year for the Fighting Tigers. Physical fitness will begin this morning.  I’m very anxious to see how many athletes Coach Lutz will have out to continue a well known tradition in the State of Ohio. When you mention high school football in this state,  everyone has heard of the Ironton Fighting Tigers. Who wouldn’t want to be part of this great tradition?

I understand that the ninth week is filled and the Tigers have a full 10 game schedule, 5 games away and 5 at home. John has the schedule posted on the font page so you can go there and get the rundown of games to be played. Season tickets will be on sale very soon so get that check into the Athletic Department to reserve a good seat to see those Fighting Tigers in action!

The Athletic Department has discount cards they are selling for 10 dollars. If I’m not mistaken, you can purchase one of these cards from any student participating in athletics at the school. There are many fine discounts at just about all of the local merchants. A very good bargain so do purchase one of these and help out the athletic program at the high school while getting some good bargains for yourself.

When you drive by Tanks Memorial Stadium and Bob Lutz Field you will notice quite a bit of activity going on there. The pressure washers are in full go as they are cleaning the Old Lady in preparations for a new coat of paint. With the money the football program generates, I’m glad to see some of it put back into fixing up the stadium. It has been in long need of repair.

I will be back with more to report later but until then,

God Bless and as always

Go Tigers!

Joe Holtzapfel

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Congratulations are in order for two young men who made All-Ohio Division IV. Jon Monnig and Sam Cramblitt made First Team All Ohio. Monnig made it on Defense and Cramblit made it on Offense. Tres Wilks, Erin Edens and Robbie Webb made Special Mention and are also to be congratulated. Bob Lutz was also named Coach of the Year to go along with his record breaking year. What a very good year this has been for Coach Lutz and Ironton football.

I have been going back and reliving the last season by looking at the film that John shot at the games. He really has some fantastic footage. He also has 2003 film shot by Penny and Sam Heighton that he just put on the site and it is also of excellent quality. I have been very fortunate to have some of Penny and Sams work of the 1986 CAPE game and the 1989 State Championship game. If you’re looking for a gift for the man who has everything, see Penny and Sam, they’ll fix you up with some exciting video! (you can contact Sam and Penny about their tapes/dvd’s here)

Well this is State Championship week in Ohio football and I will be glued to my TV screen watching the final 12 teams fight it out for the big trophy. I will be very interested in the Division IV finals for obvious reasons. Most everyone is picking the Alter Knights to win it all again but looking at the schedule both these teams play, don’t count out Chagrin Falls. This looks to be a very good game.

I hope everyone had a very good Thanksgiving and until the next time, God Bless and as always,

Go Tigers!

Joe Holtzapfel

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UPDATE: I’ve been told that the 2009 DVD’s are now out and the cost is only 25 dollars, despite it being a two DVD set this year!  Again, you can contact the Heighton’s here to get this tape or any of the tapes they’ve produced in the past -  John

I have been asked to do an article on Ironton vs private schools. Most of the info I will use came from the records on the site.

The first private school that Ironton played was  Columbus St Thomas Aquinas in 1916. Ironton won that first game 25-0. Since that time, Ironton’s record against private schools is 23-32-2. Ironton has played just about all of the top private schools in Ohio. The following are some of the schools Ironton has met up with down through the years:

Akron St Vincent St Marys
Archbishop Carroll Washington DC
Ashland Holy Family
Cincinnati Elder
Cincinnnati Hughes
Cincinnnati St Xavier
Cincinnnati McNicholas
Cincinnnati Roger Bacon
Cleveland Benedictine
Columbus DeSales
Columbus Watterson
Columbus St Charles
Columbus St Thomas Aquinas
Hamilton Badin
Dayton Chaminade
Ironton St Joseph
Mentor Lake Catholic
Our Lady of Mr Carmel (Canada)
Portsmouth Catholic
Youngstown Mooney
St Thomas More (Canada)
Steubenville Central Catholic

I may have missed a few but I think I got just about all of them. There was also three colleges that appear on the Fighting Tigers list of teams played and they are Marshall, Rio Grande and St Edwards.

Ironton has appeared in the State Playoffs 27 times. This is tops for public schools. There are two teams who tops that total and both of them are private. Number 1 being Newark Catholic and number 2 being Cincinnnati Moeller.

Ironton’s all time record, up to date, is 621-314-44 The win total ranks 12th in the state for most wins.

Going through records writing this story, I found out that after many years of thinking that the Massillon Canton McKinley rivalry was the states longest, a teacher out of Mason Ohio has found records of a longer rivalry. Cincinnati Hughes and Cincinnati Woodward began playing each other in football in 1878. This is 16 years older than the Massillon McKinley first game which was played in 1894. Hughes and Woodward played each other 10 time between 1878 and 1894. Will wonders never cease? The Ironton Portmouth rivalry started in 1902.

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving. Until next time, God bless and as always,

Go Tigers!

Joe Holtzapfel

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A famous man once said, “I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and a devotion to the things you want to see most.” Well this can definitely be said of this bunch of Ironton Fighting Tigers. You could tell from the very beginning of the season that this group was going to be so very special. They possessed all the attributes needed to be a very successful group. I have said this all season how proud I am of all these young men. To the following players:

Zack Kriebel
Thomas Baker
Jonathan Norris
Taylor Barker
Erin Edens
Keith Wetzel
Jon Monnig
Ethan Preston
Casey Jones
J P Taylor
Sam Cramblit
Chris Warner
Ryan Sias
Josh Pancake
Josh Moore

How We'll Miss Our Seniors!

I personally want to thank all of you for the dedication, hard work and a devotion to the things you want to see most. The three things that make all men very successful. We will miss all of you more than you will know. You men have brought back a fire that hasn’t been seen for quite awhile at Dear Ole’ Ironton High. You set your sights high. Although things fell a little short, you set the bar high for  the next group that will follow you. I want all of you to remember to keep doing everything you do out of fear of being mediocre. From all of us here at Ironton Football Dot Com, Thank You for a great season!

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, boy do the Ironton fans know what that means. I don’t think I have a fingernail left. I live and die with these Ironton Fighting Tigers. I guess it’s what you call bleeding Orange. To all you men who come back next year, the weight room calls. Let’s make next year even better than this.

John sent me an e-mail and said he wants to rest for about 2 months. What do you guys think? You want us to continue keeping the blog going during the Winter and Spring? Let us know because I’m still pumped over this great year.

Until then God Bless all of you and thanks for letting us do what we do.

Go Tigers!

Joe Holtzapfel

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With the present football season quickly coming to a close, several of the post season awards are being announced and we thought we would pass some of those along and give some recognition to those players and coaches that were given awards.

First of all the All SEOAL awards were announced and the players receiving awards were as follows:

All SEOAL
Sam Cramblit
Erin Edens
Jon Monnig
Robbie Webb
Keith Wetzel
Tres Wilks
Honorable Mention
Ethan Preston
Brian Warner

Next the Associated Press All District Team
1st Team Offense
Sam Cramblit
Robbie Webb
Tres Wilks
1st Team Defense
Jon Monnig
Erin Edens
Honorable Mention
J P Taylor
Ethan Preston
Brian Warner
Keith Wetzel

Defensive Player of the Year: Jon Monnig
Coach of the Year: Bob Lutz

Ironton Football Dot Com would like to extend its congratulations out to all these deserving winners. Saturday will be here before you know it. We have made the trip to Nelsonville before so we know how to get there. Be very careful as there are a lot of deer being seen and they and a car just don’t get along well. The Regional Semi-final sites have been announced I think I’ll wait until next week to discuss that. Let’s just play these games one at a time. We’ll worry about next week at the appropriate time. Right now the only game that matters is those pesky Coshocton Redskins.

As we move on to the next game in the sequence to the State Championship, let’s get out and support these kids in their quest to achieve a very difficult task. I knew when we started physical fitness, we had a group who had their sites set in the right direction. I am so proud of these young men. Be sure and get those tickets early. Let’s be loud, be proud and keep on believing!

Until the next time, God Bless and as always, Go Tigers!

Joe Holtzapfel

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