| Tigers Banner Year Couldn't Escape Tragedies, Frustration Or Disappointment By Don Ruane Herald-Dispatch Sports Writer A 9-0 record, statiistics that bury opponents under mounds of numbers, a sophomore running back with more than 1,000 yards rushing...life looked like a big bowl of cherries for the Ironton Fighting Tigers this past season. The whipped cream topping was the undisputed return of the SEOAL title to Ironton. But like any other bow of cherries, there were plenty of pits on which a lesser team might have choked on. Tragedy, both on personal and team levels struck during the year and shortly afterward, keeping one player from enjoying the almost perfect season more than two days after it concluded. Death claimed relatives of two players, including the father of offensive guard and linebacker Joe Singleton this past Sunday. Joe Singleton Sr. 38, was killed in an auto accident in Ashland, Ky. The team met earlier this week and collected money for flowers for the family. On September 29, sophomore Larry Lambert, a starting guard, was forced to stop playing. A rare disease of the optic nerves whittled his vision into the realm of legal blindness. He had fought the progressive deterioration of his sight since the spring. Back in August, three goals were set for the team and posted in the lockerroom according to senior fullback Rod Boykin. The Fighting Tigers wanted to finish undefeated, win the SEOAL and get into the state playoffs. In a given year, accomplishing two of three goals would be highly satisfying. But this year, when Head Coach Bob Lutz had one of the best balanced attacks in his six year tenure, the snake continued to bite. Ohio's system of determining playoff teams is based on points received for victories. The number of points is determined by the size of the opponent's school. More points are available to Ironton for wins by a team Ironton defeated. Logan, the defending SEOAL champion, played two games, winning none, before a teachers strike stopped the Chieftains. Valuable points were lost. Portsmouth, which Ironton whipped 29-0, wone none, thus depriving the Fighting Tigers of more points and greatly reducing their chance of being the Class AA, Region 7 representative. The picture began to come into focus about Oct. 12, when the Logan game was scheduled. The team was confused, but Lutz and his staff helped by trying to explain the situation, Boykin said. Winning the league was the main motivation for Boykin after that. "I wanted to win the league because we'd never really won it while I'd been playing. We tied when I was a sophomore and came in second last year," he said. "About halfway, we didn't think there was any chance at all," said Singleton. "When we moved up to second, I thought there was a slim chance," he added. "We got up and won our games. We had something to look forward to, kind of." Win they did, beating their opponents by an average score of 39.8 to 9.2. The Fighting Tigers rushed for 2,907 yards against 984 by their opponents and quarterback Greg Ainsworth led an air war that netter 706 yards. Ainsworth was responsible for more than 500 yards of the total. The nine opponents penetrated the defense for a mere 596 yards passing. Boykin, a muscular runner who has been compared to all sorts of military armor this season, rushed for 777 yards and scored 154 points, including 25 touchdowns. Sophomore Terry Royal began meeting expectations of coaches and teammates about the fifth game of the season. Royal, 5-7 and 150 pounds, snaked his was to 1,145 yards with six games of 100 yards or more. His best efforts were 222 yards against Washington Court House, 195 yards at Gallipolis and 194 yards against Jackson. Overcoming the personal tragedies, enduring the loss of a shot for the Ohio Class AA championship and piling up the points, wins and yards point to one thing, Ironton fielded a good football team, but one question remains. How good was it? It rolled over the opposition. Was it ever really tested? "We were toughter than anybody we played," said end Marty Scior. Ironton tried to schedule tougher teams in place of Logan, but couldn't find a game, he added. " The coaches weren't as hard on us this year as they were last year. Everybody worked harder." Scior added. "I don't think we played anybody who could beat us," two way tackle Robert Clay said. The worst scare probably came against Washington Court House on Sept. 22. The Blue Lions devoured a 14-0 Ironton lead and went ahead 24-21 in the third period. Ironton tied it with a 27 yard field goal and ran off 22 points in the fourth quarter to win 46-24. "We just got our offense fired up and we scored," said Singleton. Waverlys two quick touchdowns last Friday also spooked the Fighting Tigers, Scior said. "We had big heads Friday. Really, we were just big headed all along, " he said, adding Ironton wanted to shut out every SEOAL opponent. When a game did get close, Lutz said after the Waverly game, it was because the team wasn't ready to play. "It kind of makes you wonder, " Boykin said. Back to 78 Tigers |