Division V State Championship: Ironton (15-0) vs. South Range (15-0)

Who wins?

  • Ironton by 17+

    Votes: 6 3.7%
  • Ironton by 8-16

    Votes: 13 7.9%
  • Ironton by 1-7

    Votes: 27 16.5%
  • South Range by 1-7

    Votes: 39 23.8%
  • South Range by 8-16

    Votes: 52 31.7%
  • South Range by 17+

    Votes: 27 16.5%

  • Total voters
    164
  • Poll closed .
A lot of people in the SEO area kept labeling this season "State Championship or bust" for Ironton because of the influx of transfers they've received from several other schools.... as well as multiple players with D1 offers on the team

I'm not sure Ironton labels it as such, but they made it this far and undeniably are loaded with enough talent to win this game.

South Range is a machine, no doubt! Both teams are playing their best ball at the right time. I think Ironton wins this game but it'll be close the entire way.

Ironton 17
South Range 13
 
A lot of people in the SEO area kept labeling this season "State Championship or bust" for Ironton because of the influx of transfers they've received from several other schools.... as well as multiple players with D1 offers on the team

I'm not sure Ironton labels it as such, but they made it this far and undeniably are loaded with enough talent to win this game.

South Range is a machine, no doubt! Both teams are playing their best ball at the right time. I think Ironton wins this game but it'll be close the entire way.

Ironton 17
South Range 13
After looking at "film" of Ironton, I don't see them holding South Range to 13, of course I could be wrong...
 
I'm not familiar with South Range at all. But, Ironton has shut down some stout offenses the last couple of weeks. Harvest Prep was averaging 41 points a game & Ironton shut them out. Valley View's offense only scored 14 on them & one of those drives was the result of two long passes kinda thrown up for grabs - that were caught.
I admit my bias. But, somehow, I think a lot of posters are dismissing Ironton - perhaps because of the beatdown Kirtland put on them a couple of years ago. I don't think you'll find a more athletic defense anywhere in D5. Like always, I could be wrong...but I'm picking my alma mater 21-14.
 
This Ironton team seems to be much more prolific offensively than past Tiger teams that made the finals. I think they will have to be to win this game. The biggest reason they are 2-8 in title games is that they just really struggled to score in those games. I saw all of them except the first one in 73 and even in the two title games they won in 1979 & 89 they only scored 7 & 12 points respectively. They have never scored more than 14 in those 10 games. I'm not saying this year's Ironton team is not capable of scoring more, I just think they will have to. I don't think 14 or less is going to get it done against SR but that's just my opinion. We shall see. I'm really looking forward to seeing this one. Good luck to both teams. Enjoy it.

GO RAIDERS!
 
I will say, this Ironton team is much deeper with playmakers than the 2019 and 2020 teams that made the State finals. Those teams also had talent, but this team has an abundance of playmakers at WR and RB.

Valley View did a great job on Perkins on the outside but look what happened next - Terry became a FORCE as a WR and Keyes exploded from the backfield.

South Range is very good and deserving of the hype. But I'm telling ya, Ironton has weapons all over. If South Range takes away 2-3 threats, there's still 2-3 more at Ironton that can score a homerun play at any time.
 
I will say, this Ironton team is much deeper with playmakers than the 2019 and 2020 teams that made the State finals. Those teams also had talent, but this team has an abundance of playmakers at WR and RB.

Valley View did a great job on Perkins on the outside but look what happened next - Terry became a FORCE as a WR and Keyes exploded from the backfield.

South Range is very good and deserving of the hype. But I'm telling ya, Ironton has weapons all over. If South Range takes away 2-3 threats, there's still 2-3 more at Ironton that can score a homerun play at any time.
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.
 
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This Ironton team seems to be much more prolific offensively than past Tiger teams that made the finals. I think they will have to be to win this game. The biggest reason they are 2-8 in title games is that they just really struggled to score in those games. I saw all of them except the first one in 73 and even in the two title games they won in 1979 & 89 they only scored 7 & 12 points respectively. They have never scored more than 14 in those 10 games. I'm not saying this year's Ironton team is not capable of scoring more, I just think they will have to. I don't think 14 or less is going to get it done against SR but that's just my opinion. We shall see. I'm really looking forward to seeing this one. Good luck to both teams. Enjoy it.

GO RAIDERS!
Lutz played Tressel ball before Jim. Punting is fine. Build the best defense you can and play field position football. He did lose two or three heartbreakers they could have or even should have won. They were just normally undersized underdogs playing the SVSM and Benedictenes of the world but gritty as hell. They do have more playmakers than normal but this game as most will boil down to the kids up front. Irontons are young but have developed during the year. I have no idea how this game will develop but I’m sure Ironton will need to minimize their ever present penalties and not turn it over to give themselves a shot. I’ll be cheering for the tigers regardless
 
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 duel threat. This is going to be a great game no doubt. Both teams are loaded.
Fox Tv GIF by Family Guy
 
Ironton came back after being down 21-7 and physically beatdown VV in the second half. I have never seen players go down with cramps in November like VV had. This Ironton team is talented and very well conditioned to play hard all four quarters. If they keep their own stupid penalties down and don't have to beat the ref's too, they can win this game. I know one thing, they come ready to hit you. Don't know anything about South Range other than what I have read. They have to be very capable themselves to get here undefeated, too, so it should be a battle. I take the Tigers.

Go Tigers!
 
Lutz played Tressel ball before Jim. Punting is fine. Build the best defense you can and play field position football. He did lose two or three heartbreakers they could have or even should have won. They were just normally undersized underdogs playing the SVSM and Benedictenes of the world but gritty as hell. They do have more playmakers than normal but this game as most will boil down to the kids up front. Irontons are young but have developed during the year. I have no idea how this game will develop but I’m sure Ironton will need to minimize their ever present penalties and not turn it over to give themselves a shot. I’ll be cheering for the tigers regardless
I did not see Ironton vs SVSM or Benny, but did see both their Kirtland games. Those were games where Ironton looked like the bully, but got bullied. I'm sure the coaches learned a lot in those games to apply to this week. Are there any significant contributors left for the Tigers from those teams?

South Range had the exact same experience the last 2 years (v Kirtland) in Regional Finals. Over the last 3 years they have been one of the most dynamic/physical teams I've seen. Hard to believe this is their only trip to Canton in that recent run.

The Friday morning game is usually the one that gets lost as folks are still at work/school, but I'm as excited for this one as I am Kirtland/MSML.
 
I'm a little surprised to see Drew Pasteur has South Range favored by 15. No slight to South Range, I just really think a lo of Ironton. They have an awful lot of weapons at the DV level. They have a very balanced offense, good running game, dual threat QB, and two good WR's. I wouldn't be surprised to see either team win, but expect Ironton to keep it closer than two TD's.

Ironton is 2-8 in state championship games. I find that number to be really out of balance for a program of their caliber.
 
I'm a little surprised to see Drew Pasteur has South Range favored by 15. No slight to South Range, I just really think a lo of Ironton. They have an awful lot of weapons at the DV level. They have a very balanced offense, good running game, dual threat QB, and two good WR's. I wouldn't be surprised to see either team win, but expect Ironton to keep it closer than two TD's.

Ironton is 2-8 in state championship games. I find that number to be really out of balance for a program of their caliber.
Thanks for those #s. Was looking for the Tiger's record in title games. Didn't realize this was their 11th trip to final (WOW!)
 
I did not see Ironton vs SVSM or Benny, but did see both their Kirtland games. Those were games where Ironton looked like the bully, but got bullied. I'm sure the coaches learned a lot in those games to apply to this week. Are there any significant contributors left for the Tigers from those teams?

South Range had the exact same experience the last 2 years (v Kirtland) in Regional Finals. Over the last 3 years they have been one of the most dynamic/physical teams I've seen. Hard to believe this is their only trip to Canton in that recent run.

The Friday morning game is usually the one that gets lost as folks are still at work/school, but I'm as excited for this one as I am Kirtland/MSML.
Carpenter at QB and Barnes and Carter at LB have some experience with Kirtland. Maybe a couple other seniors. I’m sure someone closer to the program could provide better information. They do play lots of underclassmen and the future looks incredibly bright. 8th and 9th grade teams were undefeated and the 8th grade wasn’t scored on. The JV lost one game to Massillon at Massillon by one score.
 
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 did not see Ironton vs SVSM or Benny, but did see both their Kirtland games. Those were games where Ironton looked like the bully, but got bullied. I'm sure the coaches learned a lot in those games to apply to this week. Are there any significant contributors left for the Tigers from those teams?

South Range had the exact same experience the last 2 years (v Kirtland) in Regional Finals. Over the last 3 years they have been one of the most dynamic/physical teams I've seen. Hard to believe this is their only trip to Canton in that recent run.

The Friday morning game is usually the one that gets lost as folks are still at work/school, but I'm as excited for this one as I am Kirtland/MSML.
The first final against Kirtland was a good game. They got whacked in the second. Kirtland had one lineman that weighed over 200 lbs. They are fun to watch. Strong, and more importantly very quick as a team. Execution on both sides of the ball is nearly flawless. If you’re waiting on them to beat themselves I’d pack several lunches
 
Lutz played Tressel ball before Jim. Punting is fine. Build the best defense you can and play field position football. He did lose two or three heartbreakers they could have or even should have won. They were just normally undersized underdogs playing the SVSM and Benedictenes of the world but gritty as hell. They do have more playmakers than normal but this game as most will boil down to the kids up front. Irontons are young but have developed during the year. I have no idea how this game will develop but I’m sure Ironton will need to minimize their ever present penalties and not turn it over to give themselves a shot. I’ll be cheering for the tigers regardless

While all that is certainly true Bob Lutz was not the coach in Ironton's last two appearances and the Tigers scored a grand total of 7 points combined in those two games. I have to say that I had not seen Ironton for 20 years going into the 2019 title game. They were not really very Ironton-like, at least like coach Lutz's Tiger teams, in that they passed for over 200 yards, but they still only scored 7 points. I think they rushed for less than 50 yards. Kirtland is a tough nut to crack.
 
If Ironton can guard the pass I don’t think South Range can be one dimensional. LC took away the Run and south range made them pay 300 plus through the air LC held them to 59 yards on 30 attempts South Range has the speed and make you miss receivers that makes them so good on offense and on Defense they fly to the ball and attack the gaps with there linebackers better then any team I have watched in the last 10 years
 
Irontons defense will be ready as stated previously by others they have saw their fair share of potent offenses. I am more worried to if their offense will show up. Didn’t have a hot start against Valley View but picked it up as the game went
 
If Ironton can guard the pass I don’t think South Range can be one dimensional. LC took away the Run and south range made them pay 300 plus through the air LC held them to 59 yards on 30 attempts South Range has the speed and make you miss receivers that makes them so good on offense and on Defense they fly to the ball and attack the gaps with there linebackers better then any team I have watched in the last 10 years
The week before they basically handed the ball off to beat Perry. Badly. LC has a great DL. Outstanding. They made it really hard to run, certainly inside. I’d be surprised if Ironton is that good up front. They’ll be better in the back so SR will have to figure out how to attack them.

And yeah — the SR front 7 is really, really good. And I was still a little surprised at how well they played LC.

But, Ironton has a stud RB, stud WR and a really nice dual threat QB.
 
Irontons defense will be ready as stated previously by others they have saw their fair share of potent offenses. I am more worried to if their offense will show up. Didn’t have a hot start against Valley View but picked it up as the game went
IMO Valley View Isn’t even close to the talent of SR on Defense or Offenseand If you get behind I don’t think Ironton is a team that’s gonna win a shoot out. I also was surprised by the fact that SR will roll the dice and hit you with trick plays and onside kicks when you least expect it.
 
The week before they basically handed the ball off to beat Perry. Badly. LC has a great DL. Outstanding. They made it really hard to run, certainly inside. I’d be surprised if Ironton is that good up front. They’ll be better in the back so SR will have to figure out how to attack them.

And yeah — the SR front 7 is really, really good. And I was still a little surprised at how well they played LC.

But, Ironton has a stud RB, stud WR and a really nice dual threat QB.
As an outsider, that versatility is what make watching SR so fun. One week it's 90/10 run, then 70/30 pass, then split but with trick plays & on sides kicks. At this level seeing a staff develop a plan to attach each opponent vs just "this is what we do stop us" every week is so enjoyable
 
A delicious matchup in that it's the two widely accepted best teams in the state. Makes me smile that folks say make statements when most haven't seen the other team. And that's the beauty typically in the Finals when ya get teams from far-flung corners of the state...the "mystery", if you will.

Both teams have the resume, the tradition. I've personally seen SR on a few occasions this year. ...and oh my sweet Lord!!. 😮It'll take a team firing on all cylinders, both sides of the ball to beat them. Is that Ironton? Can't speak intelligently to that, not having seen them in person. (I did stream the VV game to get a feel. Good looking team, but,....) It'll be a whale of a game.
SR 3
Ironton 2
3 OT's
 
While all that is certainly true Bob Lutz was not the coach in Ironton's last two appearances and the Tigers scored a grand total of 7 points combined in those two games. I have to say that I had not seen Ironton for 20 years going into the 2019 title game. They were not really very Ironton-like, at least like coach Lutz's Tiger teams, in that they passed for over 200 yards, but they still only scored 7 points. I think they rushed for less than 50 yards. Kirtland is a tough nut to crack.
Agreed. In 2021 I was keeping track of the Kirtland/SR regional final. Stopped keeping track with Kirtland leading 38-7. Not sure how this game is going to go but I’m sure both teams are glad to be playing anyone but Kirtland. Sounds like SR plays a strong schedule. Ironton played Moeller last year and Johnson Central, KY this year. Don’t think either team will be intimidated
 
As an outsider, that versatility is what make watching SR so fun. One week it's 90/10 run, then 70/30 pass, then split but with trick plays & on sides kicks. At this level seeing a staff develop a plan to attach each opponent vs just "this is what we do stop us" every week is so enjoyable
Heard an interview with coach Yeagley on YSN. Interesting to hear him say that they have utilized maybe half of the playbook thus far. Apparently there are "wrinkles" they haven't shown yet.
 
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