CANAL WINCHESTER — There’s an old saying that offense sells tickets, defense wins championships. If that’s true, Ironton fans may be in line for a 2-for-1 experience. The Fighting Tigers put together another strong defensive performance in a 38-0 shutout of the Harvest Prep Warriors on Friday. Ironton (7-1) has clinched first place in the Division 5 Region 19 postseason playoff ratings and will get a first-round bye in the playoffs. With the offense still scoring points, the

IRONTON — For the Ironton Fighting Tigers, it might be better to receive than to give. Ironton had 3 receivers gain more than 100 yards led by Kayden Edwards as quarterback Wyatt Wolfe threw for 434 yards in a 37-0 rout of the Bloomington South (Indiana) Panthers on Saturday at Tanks Memorial Stadium. Wolfe was 18 of 23 passing for 434 yards and 3 touchdowns. His passing yardage benefitted from nearly half the yards coming after the catch, including Edwards who went 49 and 85

PROCTORVILLE — The Fairland Lady Dragons got a shutout from goalkeeper McKaila Thomas as they blanked the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers 4-0 on Tuesday in an Ohio Valley Conference game. Fairland (6-3-2, 5-0-1) scored first when Yardley Gorby's free kick snuck in between the crossbar and the reach of Ironton's goal keeper just 19 seconds into the game to give the Lady Dragons all the goals they really needed. The Lady Dragons scored again less than a minute later when Maddie Co

WILLIAMSPORT — As a team, the Ironton Fighting Tigers just missed a trip to the state tournament. But golf also has a way to reward individuals and Ironton senior Asher Keyes got a special reward: A trip to the state tournament. The top two finishers qualify for the state tournament and Ironton finished third in the Division 2 district golf tournament on Wednesday. But Keyes and junior Connor Chandler of Greenfield McClain each shot a 77 over the par 72 course and earned a tr

IRONTON — In the intra-city battle of the big school vs. the little school, the winner is…no one. The St. Joseph Flyers hosted the Ironton Fighting Tigers Tuesday in a non-league soccer game that ended in a 2-2 tie. "Our midfield looked sluggish all game and our spacing wasn't the best, which (Ironton) took advantage of," said Flyers coach Mike Balestra. "Make no mistake that was a good Division 4 team and they're intensity was there all night." Ironton (7-3-2) got a break an

IRONTON — A late fourth quarter rally from quarterback Eli Stumpf and a Big Walnut defense came up with the stops when the game was on the line to help the Golden Eagles escape with a 47-40 overtime win over the Ironton Fighting Tigers at Tanks Memorial Stadium on Friday night. The loss makes Ironton 5-1 on the season and — not counting their forfeit loss at home last season — it marked their first loss at home since their week four game against Cincinnati Moeller during the

BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. — When you have 4 of the top 13 golfers in the tournament including the best player, your chances of winning should be pretty good. For the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers, they weren’t just good. They were the best. Led by the Player of the Year Mairin Walters, Ironton won the Ohio Valley Conference Golf Tournament Friday at Esquire Golf Course. Walters shot an 81 to take medalist honors while Samiya Blackburn of Chesapeake was two shots back. Ironton had a

JACKSON — The Ironton Fighting Tigers were expecting a tough test from a physical Jackson Ironmen team. Gaining only 18 net yards rushing in the first half, the Fighting Tigers figured out that to pass this test all they had to do is pass. Behind the passing of quarterback Wyatt Wolfe and a talented corps of receivers, Ironton racked up 207 yards through the air in the first half and 264 for the game in a 38-7 rout of Jackson on Friday. Wolfe finished 14 of 20 with two touchd

McDERMOTT — Showing steady improvement all season, the Gallia Academy Blue Devils capped off that climb by winning the Ohio Valley Conference Golf Tournament on Tuesday at the Portsmouth Elks Country Club. Led by medalist Christopher Conley, Gallia Academy posted a 318 team score to finish ahead of the second-place Fairland Dragons by 14 strokes. The Ironton Fighting Tigers were third just 4 shots behind Fairland. The Coal Grove Hornets were fourth at 376, the Rock Hill Redme

SOMERSET, Ky. — When your running game is stymied, just turn to the passing game. Worked for Ironton. The Fighting Tigers were having trouble getting their running game going in the first half, so they beckoned the passing game and the call produced a 35-9 win over the previously unbeaten Somerset Brian Jumpers on Friday. Quarterback Wyatt Wolfe was 12 of 20 for 197 yards and 3 touchdowns with a pair of interceptions, his first two picks of the season. The main recipient of t

IRONTON — It was a split with identical scores as the Fairland and Ironton soccer teams met on Saturday at Tanks Memorial Stadium. In the girls’ game, the Lady Dragons blanked Ironton 2-0 as they scored a goal in each half. Fairland’s Yardley Gorby scored at the 25:20 mark of the first half with an assist from Ava Runyon to make it 1-0. Gorby had a hand — or rather a foot — in on the second goal with an assist as Laekyn Wilks scored the goal with 74:55 on the clock. The Iront

IRONTON — There’s a saying that an ugly win is still a lot better than a pretty loss. While Ironton head coach Trevon Pendleton wasn’t happy with how his team won, he was still happy that they did get a 17-10 win in a tough physical game against the Cincinnati McNicholas Rockets on Friday. “Hats off to them guys. They are physical. They’re well-coached,” said Pendleton. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up on. It’s bad when after a win, you feel like you lost, and that’s not

IRONTON — A group of tigers is called a swarm or ambush. In the case of the Ironton Fighting Tigers, it’s a swarming ambush. Ironton’s defense ambushed the Salem (New Jersey) Rams with a swarming defense as the Fighting Tigers cruised to a 55-14 win on Saturday at Tanks Memorial Stadium. The Ironton defense gave up a meager 25 net total yards including a minus 20 yards rushing and only 45 yards passing. “Our defense right now is playing pretty well. They’re applying a lot of

WILLIAMSBURG — First, Kayden Edwards provided the wake-up call. Then, he provided the knockout punch. With the offense sluggish to start the game, Edwards used a punt return to set up Ironton’s first touchdown. He then had a long touchdown catch that opened the game up as the Fighting Tigers routed the Williamsburg Wildcats 42-0 in the season opener on Thursday. Ironton went 3-and-out on its first series of the game, but the defense stuffed the Wildcats two straight series to

They are the second line of defense, but that’s the only thing second about them. Linebackers make up the second line of defense and are needed to read the situation and react quickly. And their jobs are plentiful. While the defensive linemen tie up the offensive linemen, the linebackers are versatile players who fill holes, stop the running gaps, blitz the quarterback and drop back into pass coverage. Here’s a lot at five of the top linebackers to watch this high school foot

Members of the 2026 Ironton Fighting Tigers’ football team. IRONTON — Are the Ironton Fighting Tigers trying to gaslight the opposition? Ironton head coach Trevon Pendleton is making several moves that may confuse opponents and have them thinking it’s a practical joke. All the questions arose when senior Kayden Edwards (5-11, 175) was moved from quarterback to wide receiver. Last season playing strictly as the quarterback, Edwards was 74 of 113 for 1,167 yards and 15 touchdow

ATHENS — Vince Vaughn’s character in the movie “The Wedding Crashers” said the famous line, “Rule #76. No excuses.” Ironton head baseball coach John Hunt didn’t quote the rule or line, but he wasn’t offering any excuses after the Fighting Tigers suffered a 9-2 loss to the Minford Falcons in the Division 5 district title game on Friday at Ohio University. “Usually it’s about who makes the least amount of mistakes. (Minford) just came out and won the game. They played really we

ATHENS — Hughes came up huge. Jacob Hughes pitched a one-hitter as the Ironton Fighting Tigers blanked the Zane Trace Pioneers 2-0 in the Division 5 district semifinals. “We played well but Jacob just dominated the game,” said Ironton coach John Hunt. “We didn’t have an error and got some clutch hits, but Jacob was just so dominant.” Ironton (17-6) will play Minford in the district finals at 2 p.m. on Friday at Ohio University. Minford (24-3) edged Wellston 7-6 in the other s

PEDRO — “Can you hear me? That when it rains and shines It’s just a state of mind Can you hear me? Can you hear me” — Rain by The Beatles While the rain fell and caused some throwing errors, the Ironton Fighting Tigers fought through the weather, and used the two-hit pitching of Braydon Baker to blank the Portsmouth West Senators 4-0 in the Division 5 district semifinals on Friday. “We had a few miscues, but our kids are mentally tough and can put things behind them and keep

IRONTON — The Ironton Fighting Tigers fell behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning. No problem. Despite falling behind early, Ironton chipped away and got a 4-3 walk-off win over the Amanda-Clearcreek Aces on Monday. “We gave up some runs to start the game, but the kids fought back and won it in the seventh,” said Ironton coach John Hunt. “Dawson (Philyaw) pitched a great game. They didn’t get anything after the first inning.” Dawson Philyaw allowed just 5 hits, struck out