The Marcus Williams Interview

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After playing for Ironton, Marcus went on to become a key contributor for The Ohio State University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We recently got the chance to speak with former Ironton and Ohio State University great Marcus Williams, The Interview went as followed.

1.  What was your most memorable game as a Tiger?

My most memorable game as a tiger was probably my junior year @ belfry. We had a couple RB’s injured and I knew coming into the game I was going to have to carry the load, and really up to this point I had not carried the ball more than 10 or so times in a game. Anyways, I came out balling and ended up rushing for like 125 yards and a couple td’s. This game definitely boosted my confidence as a runner and that confidence carried over through my senior year.

2.  What was the toughest place you ever had to play on the road?

The toughest place to play during my time at Ironton was definitely The Burg. They get a lot of community support and Ed Miller Stadium was always rocking. The fact it was always the opening game of the year didn’t hurt matters either.

3.  Who was the best player you played against while playing for Ironton?

I played against a lot of studs in my days, but one that sticks out is Tyler Clifford for Portsmouth. He was definitely a beast and always brought it when we played them.

4.  What do you remember most about playing for Ironton?

Football at Ironton is an event. It’s like mardi gras for 3 months, every week was hype from tuesday through game time. You can’t get that anywhere else, football is truly a priority in Ironton.

5.  What did it feel like to play in front of the Tiger fans?

Tiger fans are by far the hypest fans i’ve ever encountered. Tanks would be rocking every week rain or shine, hot or cold! If you couldn’t get excited to play in front of those fans you weren’t normal!

6.  In what grade did you know you had a chance to play college football?

Going into my 8th grade year I started to realize that I had the opportunity to do something special if I continued to work hard and hone my skills.

7.  What is something you learned while playing for Ironton that you took with you for later in life?

While at Ironton I learned that hard work alone will take you along way in life. There were several times where we beat teams that were more talented than us, because we would out work them. Not only would we out work them that day, but we were out working cats year around.

8.  Why did you choose to play for Ohio State?  What did you like most about Ohio State?

I chose OSU, because to me it was the collegiate version of Ironton. It was a prestigious program with a winning culture and represents the heart and  soul of columbus.

9.  What other schools were you interested in?

I drew varying levels of interest from numerous schools at varying levels. I had contact with Iowa, MSU, Indiana, N.Illionios, Marshall, WVU, Cincinnati, OU, Dayton, Robert Morris, Harvard, Penn, Oberlin, Princeton, Yale, and Columbia.

10.  Who was the best player you played with or against at Ohio State?

Beanie Wells was by far the most talented individual i’ve ever had the opportunity to play with or against. He’s truly a man amongst boys even now at the professional level. When healthy he is an unstoppable force.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tim Hodges Interview

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We recently got the chance to speak with former Ironton great and member of the 1979 Ironton Division AA State Champion Football Team Tim Hodges, The Interview went as followed.

1.  What was your most memorable game as a tiger?

The 1979 State Championship vs Akron St. Vincent St. Mary. It was my last high school football game and the victory also brought the first Class AA State Championship in football home to Ironton. We were able to get revenge for the ’73 Tigers and that meant a lot to me as one who grew up with Fighting Tiger football. It was also revenge for the ’78 team that many believe would have been the first state champion, as do I, had it not been for the point system that was in place at the time and Logan’s lost season due to a teacher’s strike. We were actually fortunate that the Jackson Ironmen had a good season that year since Meigs did not play due to a teachers strike. It is a great feeling to walk off the field, for the final time, a champion. I finally experienced the feeling that the ’72 baseball team felt when they won it all.

 

2.  What was the toughest place you had to play at on the road?

Putnam Stadium, Ashland, KY. The fans feel like they are right on top of you and Tomcat fans are just as vocal and enthusiastic as Tiger fans when it comes to their Friday night football.

 

3.  Who was the best individual player you ever played against and what team did they play for?

Dan Sutter. He was the only two-way player on the Akron St. Vincent St. Mary team that year. He played guard on offense and anchored the line on defense. When I was able to get a DVD of the state championship game, thanks to Sam & Penny Heighton, it was fun to watch us go at each other. We both ended up playing at Akron University together and remain great friends today. I was able to meet many of the players on the St. Vincent team from that year through our friendship and also played alongside other Irish alumni at Akron including Steve Stams, yes that Stams, older brother of Frank. I sent Dan a DVD of the game last year and he enjoyed it so much, he ordered about 20 more copies from Sam and Penny. He told me it was the only video footage he had of himself in high school football. A class act and great friend. He never once made excuses for them not winning and still considers it one hell of a football game.

#7 Tim Hodges fighting for some tough yards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.  What do you remember most about playing for Ironton?

Tradition and pride. When you have an alumnus in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, George McAfee, and consider the success of Coy Bacon and Danny Pride in the professional ranks, you know when you walk onto that field on Friday night, you are part of something special. Add to that the success of the Ironton Tanks and Tanks Memorial Stadium comes alive with memories of all on Friday nights for our small river community. There is a lot of pride in wearing the Orange & Black. Every team wants to do at least as good, or better, than those that came before them. It was an honor to be a Tiger for two seasons.

5.  What did it feel like to play in front of the Tiger Fans?

There is no feeling to describe it. It is something that just comes together at the right time. Tiger fans are the most loyal fans there are. They follow their Tigers everywhere and never get down on their team. I experienced it best during the ’79 season. We were predicted to finish in the middle of the SEOAL that year. We barely beat Ashland in the first game and had to come from behind to beat Portsmouth in the second. We tied Washington Court House in the third game and things were looking bleak. Maybe we were the weakest team that Lutz had fielded during his tenure at that time after all. But the fans never failed us. We turned things around against Waverly in the next game and did not stop until the horn sounded when Steve Sutton’s interception ended the game, shortly after Gabriel Lewis scored the tying touchdown with 31 seconds left and Bubby Fletcher kicked the extra point, twice, to secure the victory. It seemed like half of the town of Ironton poured onto the field in celebration. They never gave up on us, and pride would not allow us to give up either.

6.  What is something you learned while playing for Ironton that you took with you for later in life?

Life is a constant of ups, downs and challenges. The ’78 team was so successful throughout the season but were disappointed in failing to get a chance to play for a state championship through no fault of their own. The ’79 team faced many challenges. We were young in experience at the varsity level, Gabriel and Bubby being the only players that had 2 years varsity experience and were not as strong as the ’78 team or many other Lutz teams. There were a lot of questions to be answered at the beginning of the season and they were not answered early on. But we held on, we believed in ourselves and nobody gave up on us. The team that took the field against Ashland in the first game of the season was the same team that walked off the field a state champion. We faced our challenges. We struggled through injury, adversity and setbacks. We emerged a winner. Define winner how you please, but pride and tradition had a lot to do with our success and always will.

#7 Tim Hodges looking for some running room.

 

2012 Ironton Fighting Tigers Football Preview

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Ironton Fighting Tigers Football

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We know there is about two more months to go before practice even starts for the Fighting Tigers.  But, I ask my Tiger Fans this is it ever to early to talk Fighting Tiger Football?  I am sure some of you might answer yes and that’s fine, but for some Tiger Fans including myself it is never to early to start talking Fighting Tiger Football.  So for the rest of this preview we are going to try to get you ready for the 2012 Season.

This season will be a little different with Coach Lutz and his top assistant Coach Burcham not on the Tiger’s sideline.  But we all knew that the state of Ohio’s Winningest coach of all time would step down sooner or later.  He will definetly be missed by all the Tiger Fans for all he has done for the football program and the community.  He is definetly a true living legend.
So now that Coach Lutz has moved on.  It is a new era of Ironton Football.  The Mark Vass era will begin this fall after he was named the new head coach earlier this year.  I really don’t expect much to change as he has been on Coach Lutz’s staff for a few years and he also played for Coach Lutz.  He might try to make some changes just to put his stamp on the program, but I still expect to see the T formation and the 5-2 defense.  Both of which are staples of Ironton Football.  Coach Vass is fortunate to have some good talent returning this year to build around.  If he can find some other kids in the program to step up and takeover some key positions there could be another deep playoff run in the future for the Tigers.
On Offense the Tigers will have a new QB taking over for the graduated Tyler Kratzenburg.  I would say the frontrunner to take over the QB position will be Senior Tanner Dutey who was the backup last year.  Dutey is a good athlete that could be a good fit for the Tiger’s Offense.  The backfield is loaded with talent and experience.  At RB the Tigers have speedsters Dion Brown and Patrick Lewis, who are both capable of taking it to the house any time they touch the ball.  At FB they have a beast in Trevor White that has a habit of carrying defenders into the endzone with him.  They also have hardnosed FB Tanner Schweickart that could start and if so they could move White to a RB position.  They also have RB’s Matt Thomas and Brandon Wilson that are capable of doing a good job.  The Tigers have alot of options for how to lineup their RB’s.  The biggest question marks on offens could be the O-Line and End positions.  On the Line they have Big Adam Webb and Nick Culbertson have some experience on the line.  There are some spots that need to be filled after losing some really good players to graduation like Tom Saul, Gage Roach, and Dakota Taylor.  I am sure Coach Vass and the rest of the staff will find some players that are capable of filling those spots.  At the end position the Tigers have Senior Aaron Stephens.  The other end position could go to a number of young Tigers, I’m sure someone will stepup in fall camp and takeover the spot.
On Defense the Line has some open spots.  They do have Aaron Stephens and Nick Culbertson returning from last year in which they were both dominate at times.  Their will be alot of competition to fill the other spots on the D-Line.  At linebacker the Tigers must replace Cody Roberts who had some of the hardest hits I seen all last year and Brandon Leach who was solid for the last couple of years for the Tigers.  The good thing is they have a couple of really good players to turn to in Trevor White who also played some DE last year and could be great at both positions and Tanner Schweickart who could be a natural at LB where he can run around and hit people.  The secondary does have some players with experience in Dutey who could play safety or CB, Patrick Lewis who did a great job when he got the chance to play last year, and Dion Brown who has battled injury his whole Tiger career, but he has fought his way back from every injury and you have to respect a kid that refuses to give up.  If Dion is healthy and could play on both sides of the ball that would be a big boost to the Tigers.  There are also other players such as Matt Thomas and Brandon Wilson that could contribute in the secondary.
Key Returning Players : Nick Culbertson, Adam Webb, Tanner Dutey, Trevor White, Dion Brown, Patrick Lewis, Aaron Stephens, Tanner Schweickart, Matt Thomas, and Brandon Wilson.
2011 Record : 7-5, Lost in the 2nd round of the D4 playoffs to Johnstown Monroe 7-34
Key Losses : Tyler Kratzenburg, Michael Lawless, Tyler Hager, Brandon Leach, Cody Roberts, Laron Beach, Tom Saul, Codey Jones, Dakota Taylor, Schylar Fields, Gage Roach, and Jake Rawlins.
Key Games : Other than the regular rival games like Wheelersburg, Ashland , and Portsmouth which are always key games.  They have a tough stretch of three games which include @ Johnson Central, Ky. , and Columbus Bishop Watterson and Columbus Bishop Hartley at home.  Johnson Central is usually a very good team from Kentucky, While Watterson won the D2 state title a couple of years ago although they struggled last year, I expect them to have talent and be ready for the Tigers.  And there is the loaded Hartley team that has almost everybody coming back including TE Jacob Matuska who is committed to Notre Dame, RB/LB JaWuan Woodley who is committed to Toledo, and Junior WB/DB Alonzo Saxton who is one of the top Juniors in the state of Ohio.  Last year their JV and Freshmen teams did not lose a game so they must having some good talent coming up the pipeline to.  If the Tigers can win all three of these games I think it will really help their playoff chances as these games should be worth alot of computer points.
2012 Tigers Schedule at this time there is still one open game.
2012 early Projected Depth Chart
Discuss the 2012 Tigers Schedule and Depth Chart in our new free forum.

Catching up with former Ironton Basketball Standout Travis Elliott

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Travis as a Fighting Tiger

 

 

 

 

 

 

We recently got the chance to speak with former Ironton Basketball Standout Travis Elliott who is currently playing Basketball for Rio Grande University, The Interview went as followed.

Question #1.  What do you remember most about playing for Ironton?   What do I remember most about playing for Ironton is a tough one but I would have to say I remember when we were playing Peebles,Ohio and Malcolm Morton hit the buzzer beater shot to beat Peebles in the District Finals. I also remember Coach Lafon telling me that if I work hard enough I can play at the next level, and he was right.

 

Question #2.  What other sports did you play at Ironton?   I also played football for 2 years and ran track for a year.

 

Question #3.  Who was the best Individual player that you played against when you played at Ironton?   The best individual player I ever played against would have to be Lee from Huntington Prep and now is playing at Clevland State University.

 

Question #4.  Why did you choose to play at Rio Grande? What did you like most about Rio Grande?   I chose Rio Grande Univeristy because they are a fast pace get in you team, and I was use to playing like that because Ironton and my AAU team also plays like that. Also, they are ranked 5th in education department which caught my eye because education is the most important factor. My parents, friends, and my girlfriend were also big factors in my decision to choose Rio. It was closer to my parents so I can visit them whenever I need them or if they needed me, and I can still count on my friends to be there for me as well as my girlfriend.

 

Question #5.  What other schools were you interested in?   I knew after high shcool I wanted to play college ball and there were several schools that were interested in me such as Ohio Wesleyan, Bethany University, Kentucky Christian University, Mount Vernon, Davis and Elkins University and the University or Rio Grande.

 

Question #6.  What position are you playing at Rio Grande?   I am currently playing Shooting Guard and at times Point Guard. Its a different feel because in High School at times they had me running center and going from Center to Point is a total change in the game. I am doing great up here, I had a Carrer High in points for the J.V. with 33 points. I average nearly 20 points a game on J.V. and now I made my way up on the Varsity.

 

Question #7.  What player has impressed you the most while playing for Rio Grande?   The player that impressed me the most at Rio is probably Terrel Morris, a small forward that has so much athletic ability. He can shoot, block shots, and he throws it down hard. He is a great person and a great leader and I can’t wait to play by his side this year.

Question #8.  What are you majoring in?   I am currently majoring to be a Math Educator and for my minor a Science Educator.

 

Question #9.  What is the biggest difference between playing basketball at the high school level and playing at the college level?   The biggest difference from High School basketball and College is the speed of the game. At the college level the speed of the game is so much faster and if you don’t keep up you will get left behind. Also, the positions is a big difference because the size of college athletes are usually bigger then what they are in High School, so you have to learn to play different positions.

 

 

Catching up with former Ironton standout athlete Pierce Reeves

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Pierce running for the Tigers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We recently got the chance to speak with former Ironton Standout Athlete Pierce Reeves who is currently running for Morehead State University, The Interview went as followed.

Question #1.  What do you remember most about playing football for Ironton?  The thing I remember most about playing Ironton Football is the Ashland game my Senior year, just the energy in the stadium and how much more we wanted that game.

Question #2.  Who was the best individual player you played against in football or ran against in track?  The best player I ever played against in football was probably Noah Key from Bishop Hartley he had one of the best seasons of any running back in Ohio High School State history.  And as a runner probably Jacob Swords from Akron St. Vincent St. Mary’s, he ran a 1:50 in the 800.

Question #3.  Why did you choose to run at Morehead State? What did you like most about the school?  I chose Morehead because it was a chance for me to make an immediate impact on a D-1 team.  I liked that it was close to home.

Pierce and Gary Monroe running for Morehead St.

Question #4.  What other schools were you interested in?  Shawnee State, St. Catherine in Ky., Adrian College in Michigan, and Tiffin.

Question #5.  What events are you running in?  I run the 5K as my primary event, I also run the 1500.

Question #6.  What are you majoring in?  I’m majoring in Accounting.

Question #7.  What is the biggest difference between running at the high school level and the college level?  The biggest difference is the training for sure, especially for me playing many sports in high school my training wasn’t as good as it could have been.  Running full time is a huge adjustment.

Pierce also added that he loved playing for Coach Lutz and Coach Burcham and that he had so much respect for them.  He also said that he was glad he was apart of history.

Catching up with former Ironton Football standout Robbie Webb

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Robbie Webb as a Knight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We recently got the chance to speak with former Ironton Football Standout Lineman Robbie Webb who is currently playing football at Kentucky Christian University, The Interview went as followed.

 

Question #1.  What do you remember most about playing for Ironton?  Just the chance to play at the same school as some of my family Wolfgang Kratzenberg and Jimmy Peyton.  Also just the chance to play for Coach Lutz on Friday Nights at Tanks.

 

Question #2.  Who was the best Individual player you went against in high school?  Pat Angle the QB from Logan.  He had never been knocked out of a game or anything and I remember on a play hitting him harder than I ever hit anybody and he went off the field, but he came back in.  He was very tough.

Robbie Webb as a Tiger

 

 

 

Question #3.  Why did you choose to play at Kentucky Christian? Coach Mike Furrey, He played as a WR in the NFL and he knows what it takes to get to the next level. It is also a new program that can only grow. In previous seasons they had no wins and last year they had five wins.

 

 

 

Question #4.  What other schools were you interested in?  I had offers from Malone College and Lake Erie College.

 

Question #5.  What position are you playing at Kentucky Christian?  I started out at Right Tackle and now I’m at Left Guard.

 

Question #6.  What are you majoring in?  Business Administration with an emphasis on Sports Management.

 

Question #7.  What is the biggest difference from high school football to college football?  For me it was the change in offenses.  I went from running the T Formation at Ironton to a wide open no backs in the backfield offense here at Kentucky Christian.

 

4-6-12 Ironton Baseball Report

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Ironton has been off to a fast start.  They lost to Meigs today 13-2, but have a 5-3 record. Steve Easterling and Derek Battise have given the Tigers some good innings on the mound.  Easterling struck out 13 in the win over Symmes Valley 11-1.  Ashland a powerhouse every year gave Ironton fits as they were able to score 10 runs off 14 hits.  Ironton hit 6 times but wasn’t able to score.  Ironton hosted a tournament were they won 2 games in a row the first against Coal Grove. Ironton won 8-2 and Battise didn’t allow an earned run.  He struck out 7.  Ironton got 6 hits Sean Lawless went 2-3, but Kellog brought 2 runs home off a single then the other runs came off Easterlings triple.  The Next game was a real close one.  Ironton won 4-3 after managing only 2 hits.  They used 5 walks and good timing to beat East Carter.  Easterling gave up no earned runs and struck out 6. Kellog and Easterling had the 2 hits in the game.  On the season Seniors Trey Spencer, Brandon Leach, and Cody Roberts have also contributed to their great start.  Ironton looks to be a solid team headed in the right direction.

The Jermon Jackson Interview

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The Jermon Jackson Interview-HB-Class of 94

  Question #1.  What was your most memorable game as a Tiger?  My most memorable game as a Tiger was probably my game against Portsmouth my Junior year.  I had hurt my groin that week in practice and was questionable leading up to the game the game.  We were undefeated and ranked #1 in the division and looking to win state that year.  They went up on us by 2 touchdowns going in to halftime, everybody was shocked.  We got the ball to start the second half and I took the kickoff to the house with some great blocking.  then I scored again on another play, My uncle got to see me play that game and was so happy afterwards. Sadly, he passed like a month later.  I had so many memorable games it’s hard to choose but this one comes to mind because I was hurt and my uncle got to see that game.

Question #2.  What was the toughest place you had to play on the road?  The toughest place I had to play was Russell County because they had the hardest field known to man.  I didn’t want to get tackled on that field and had some of my best games playing on that field.  The field was very challenging at best.  The hardest place I felt to play.

Question #3.  Who was the best Individual player you ever played against and what team did they play against?  The toughest player was probably Michael Parker of Portsmouth and the best player was Randy Moss that played at Dupont.

Question #4.  What do you remember most about playing for Ironton?  What I remember most about playing for Ironton is when our band’s drums started playing and lines formed for us to come out of the tunnel.  The fans in the stands and on the fence and ropes screaming let’s go Tigers and having Giovanni’s pizza after each game.

Question #5.  What did it feel like to play in front of the Tiger fans?  It felt wonderful playing for Ironton fans because their the best fans in the tristate bar none.  I felt like I was home on game day, the fans supported me when I was scoring touchdowns and when I was hurt and missed games.  Special town with special people.

Question #6.  In what grade did you know you had a chance to play college football?  My 10th grade year I thought I had a chance to play college ball.  I got a letter that Coach Burcham gave me from Texas and it was Coach Mack Brown telling me that they were watching me and wanting me to keep competing on the field and in the classroom.  I knw then I had to put the work in and then I would be able to choose my college.

Question #7.  What is something you learned while playing for Ironton that you took with you for later in life?  I learned while playing ball at Ironton that hard work, preparation, and unity is a winning combination.  I learned you don’t have to be flashy to get your point across, always lead by example and put the team first.  My coaches at Ironton will surely be missed.

Jermon also shared some thoughts about how much the Ironton football program meant to him.  Jermon said he grew up in Huntington,WV.  His father was in the Freshman class that came in after the Marshall University Football plane crash.  He said he could remember playing pop warner football at age 9 and telling his dad they were going to watch Ironton play football.  His father told him he couldn’t go, So he waited and ran down to the place to meet the bus and went anyway.  He said when he got to the game he was in a state of amazement you wouldn’t believe and when he got back home he got the beating of his life but he said it was worth it to see Ironton Football.  then with in the next year or so his mother remarried and they moved to Ironton.  He said he was in the 5th grade.  So he said coming up with all of his future teammates was the best thing ever for me because we were opponents young and then we were a team representing the Tigers.  Ans as we all know the rest was history which included 2 trips to the state title game and alot of wins and good Tiger memories.