Defense keys Ironton's shutout win over Prep

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 defense has been strong all season led by linebacker Ethan Sutton and swingman Ayden Justice.

The Fighting Tigers held the Warriors to just 27 net yards rushing and Bowling Green recruited quarterback Collin Boff to 12 of 22 passing for 104 passing and an interception.

Boff was just 2 of 6 for 4 yards in the second half.

Ironton had 332 total yards of offense as quarterback Wyatt Wolfe was 10 of 15 for 210 yards and a touchdown. Kayden Edwards had 6 receptions for 106 yards and a TD.

The Fighting Tigers got their running game started with 122 yards as Easton Caudill ran 17 times for 62 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ironton started slow, moving deep into Harvest Prep territory and failing to get any points on the first trip after recovering a fumble.

On the next possession in Warriors’ territory, Ironton only gained 6 yards and settled on a 31-yard field goal by Beckham Waginger with 2:37 left in the quarter.

A sack by Jacob Hughes left the Warriors facing a 4th-and-2 at their own 18 and they elected to go for the first down only to be stopped at the 15.

Ironton couldn’t connect on 3 passing attempts and Waginger kicked a 33-yard field goal just before the end of the quarter and it was 6-0.

Harvest Prep (2-6) had a fourth-and-2 but were stopped short and Ironton got the ball at the Warriors’ 41-yard line.

Edwards caught a screen pass and ran to the 21, Tyson Harvey ran for a yard and Bryson “Mr. Clutch” Kerns had a 15-yard reception to the 5. Wolfe kept the ball and went the final 5 yards and Ironton led 12-0 with 9:14 was left in the half.

The Fighting Tigers got some breathing room with the aid of a fake punt pass to Harvey to get to the Warriors’ 32.

After a loss back to the 40, Wolfe rolled left and threw a high pass that Edwards caught for the touchdown and it was 18-0 with 2:31 on the clock.

The Ironton defense remained stingy in the second half while the offense got on track and got a pair of third quarter touchdowns as Harvey ran 2 yards at the 3:57 mark and it was 25-0, and then Caudill went 10 yards on the final play of the quarter to make it 32-0.

The final Ironton touchdown came with just 34 seconds left in the game on a 1-yard run by Caudill.

Next Friday, Ironton will host Gallia Academy on senior night.

Ironton 6    12    14    6  =  38

Harvest Prep 0      0      0    0  =    0

First Quarter

Irn — Beckham Waginger 31 field goal, 2:37

Irn — Beckham Waginger 33 field goal, 0:04

Second Quarter

Irn — Wyatt Wolfe 5 run (kick failed), 9:14

Irn — Kayden Edwards 40 pass from Wyatt Wolfe (kick failed), 2:31

Third Quarter

Irn — Tyson Harvey 2 run (Beckham Waginger kick), 3:57

Irn — Easton Caudill 10 run (Beckham Waginger kick), 0:00

Fourth Quarter

Irn — Easton Caudill 1 run (kick failed), 0:34

———————

         Irn     HP

First downs  16      8

Rushes-yards         33-122 22-27

Passing yards        210  104

Total yards           332 131

Cmp-Att-Int         10-15-0 12-22-1

Fumbles-lost         3-0    2-2

Penalties-yards      4-25   5-60

Punts-average       1-42.0 5-328

——————

Individual Leaders

RUSHING — Ironton: Easton Caudill 17-62 2-TD, Wyatt Wolfe 6-26 TD, Tyson Harvey 6-18 TD, Kayden Edwards 4-16; Harvest Prep: Collin Boff 13-22, Maximus Madison 9-5.

PASSING — Ironton: Wyatt Wolfe 10-15-0 210 TD; Harvest Prep: Collin Boff 12-22-1 104.

RECEIVING — Ironton: Kayden Edwards 6-103 TD, Brycen Mullins 2-61, Bryson Kerns 1-15; Harvest Prep: S.J. Harris 5-42, Maximus Madison 4-30, Avante Jones 3-32.