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| The ultimate goal of anyone that is involved in high school athletics is to win a state championship. That is what you shoot for. I am fortunate to have been a part of two state titles while coaching football at Ironton High School during the past eighteen years. I look back and think of the time and effort put forth by so many foorball players, coaches, and fans in order to achieve these titles, that it is overwhelming. The almost year around conditioning and work of the players, the preparation of the coaching staff and the following of the many fans of Tiger football has allowed the city of Ironton to bask in the sunlight of success. The teams of 1979 and 1989 were very much alike, but at the same time, were different types of teams with their own personalities. Both teams had their own strong work ethic and great enthusiasm. They were different because the 1979 team was smaller and more basic than the 1989 team. The 1979 team was the greatest bunch of overachievers that I have ever worked with in the eighteen years I have spent at Ironton. We had come off a super year the previous season with a team that had blown all teams away, but, had ironically failed to make the playoffs. It was a team loaded with size, speed and depth. Many of those players graduated and big things were not expected of the 1979 team. We struggled early in the season and were tied by a Washington Court House team that we should have beaten. Our game came together late in the year. Starting with the Jackson game at the end of the season, the team played three super games. With the win over Jackson to make the playoffs, the exciting victory over Hamilton Badin, and the come from behind win aagainst Akron St. Vincent, it was a great stretch run. This team was blessed with great athletes in Brent Wilcoxen, Joe Fletcher, Tim Hodges and Gabriel Lewis. It also had a group of linemen that accepted their roles and blended together beautifully, culminating with the big upset of Akron. This team will always remain special because it was our first state championship. The 1989 team was also special. It followed a team that had come so close the year before only to fall short in the title game. The players that returned were instilled with the idea that if everyone gave their best efforts, we could again make a run for the title. This team had an exceptional season. They struggled early in the season against strong competition and then put all the pieces together from the middle of the season on to the final conquest of the state championship. The 1989 team was blessed with great athletes such as Heath Brownstead, Delandual Conwell, and J.D. Coffman. This team was unique in that they were expected to win and they were able to do it. I have been asked many times to compare teams and players down through the years. I have refused to make such comparisons because there have been so many fine players and teams. Each possessed unique qualities that they stand alone both as individuals and as teams. It takes a great deal to be a championship team and I think all of our teams through the years have been able to earn that label. The 1979 and 1989 teams won state titles because they were able to put together their game coming dowh the stretch and playing as close to mistake free football as possible. I salute these two groups of young men for allowing us all to be part of two wonderful championships and for giving the Ironton Tiger fans a great collection of memories. |
| Coach Bob Lutz recalls 1979 and 1989 team in Ironton Sports Day Program 1990 |