To be fair SR has the same on their side of the ball. 3 wr that are tough to defend and a stable of rb’s that can break one at any time. Plus the qb is a dual threat. This is going to be a great game no doubt. Both teams are loaded.
I saw this in Struthers or Canton Central Catholic gameIve watched 5 straight complete games now) so I am 90% sure it was this one, where the oposing D was getting to Skirpic (qb) & stuffing the run
& they were able to trade offensive punches untilm late 2Q or few series after HT. Both SR & IHS have similar depth to go to if any 2-3 are focused on. I think this game will be closer than expected. If Carpenter #10QB gets any time, he will produce & really blew out the VV D in semi final.
Pasteur had Ironton at 9 to win state they’ve beaten #2 Harvest Prep and #3 Valley View, no reason I can’t see them beating his pick South Range to win it all
I also noted this the Thursday B4 The HarVest Prep Blowout. I kinda ended up there through a Joe Eitel supplied link.
I was taken aback he had HP as #2 in state DV to win it all behind SR. So, i naturally thought, IHS is going to have another battle with Harvest Prep as in 2019.
Instead, the IHS DeFense stuffed all HP tried, FAST.
Then-
IHS came out of the shotgun used so dominantly all year, quickly mixed it up with under center pro set3-4 replacements after each play & HP was done fairly fast as they were winded from the quick change ups & fresh set of 4 players rushing in to mix it up on them. They were expecting carrico mirror from 2019 of run, run, run.
& there was a teeny bit until not needed.
I was there too. I was shaking my head at the call because they just got stuffed on 3rd down. Immediately I thought of the 93 Steubenville CC vs Liberty Center D5 title game where SCC did the same thing on their own 19-yard line with about 45 seconds left in the game. They also turned the ball over on downs and LC scored with about 10 seconds left . The difference was that SCC had a 7-point lead and won in OT. Ironton also had a heart-breaking loss in 93.
After that 99 game I remember coach Lutz saying something along the lines of "The kids played their hearts out. They didn't lose the game, their dumb coach did."
i was there. I flew into Akron For thst gsme from OrLando. It was a call many MANY scratch their heads on. Many were not happy , BUT
if you lay it out on paper, what Coach Lutz Had in his mind…
IHS punted 4-5 ‘s & all were nearly blocked. One was, That led to a Sandusky Perkins score. IHS had gotten 3-4 yards a rush most all game & it was right in front of me. It was less than the nose of the football for first down &/or punt from near the 10 yard line.
The final placement of the ball by the ref marking it “back” a step & equalling a 1inch rush was a gut buster.
I back the coach now, knowing what i do.
i still enjoyed the “sick week” off work & the ride back to Ironton with my Aunt & fkew back out of Huntington, WV the next thursday.
Heartbreakingly a good time!!!