2018 OVC Football Offseason Talk and Outlook

[GalliaGrad78]

South Point is not playing with a level field until all the OVC schools test all their atheletes. And I mean blind tests where the kids, administration and coaches cant "prepare " Some schools say they test but it is a few kids who people know are going to pass. Right now they are at a huge disadvantage. I applaud their efforts and putting the kids well being over wins, losses and gate receipts!

Agreed!

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I agree as well grad.

[EagleFan89]

Ironton 2018
8/24 A Wheelersburg
8/31 Unknown Opponent
9/7 A Fairland
9/14 Unknown Opponent
9/21 H South Point
9/28 H Chesapeake
10/5 A Rock Hill
10/12 H Dawson-Bryant
10/19 A Gallia Academy
10/26 A Portsmouth

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

that's what I was asking these 2 dates should be Ashland and Russell, ky.i hope these rivalries continue.i wasn't sure if the contracts just have not been signed yet or not.

[jgrlzz]

They are. Ironton plays at Russel on the 8-31, then hosts Ashland on 9-14.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

THAT'S COOL, KINDA HAD ME WORRIED. 2 RIVALRIES I WANTED TO SEE CONTINUED.

[The Flash]

With a few years of the new OVC having gone by, were the additions of Ironton, Portsmouth and Gallia Academy good for the league?

[trojandave]

I think initially there may have been some concern by the original members of the OVC that the addition of IHS, PHS, and GAHS might be counterproductive in terms of competing for the conference title. This past season, the 3 new members were looking up in the standings while Coal Grove walked away with the title, going undefeated in conference play. Ironton started out OVC play strong, but this year fell off noticeably. Portsmouth has been a big disappointment, having never seriously challenged for the conference title. Gallia Academy was 1-9 two years ago, but rebounded somewhat this past season but still had a 3 game losing streak after beating Portsmouth.

I do think that the addition of the 3 schools raised the bar in the OVC, and the original members have responded quite well. Now the challenge for all of the OVC schools is to make serious playoff runs on a consistent basis. Playoff football pretty much defines how good your conference is. Right now, the OVC doesn't have much of a resume in that department to boast about. Champion Coal Grove made a nice 2017 run, but that's not quite enough to call the OVC a football power.

[mattash]

I like the the new OVC. Pretty competitive and everyone is close to each other.

[The Flash]

I like the the new OVC. Pretty competitive and everyone is close to each other.

Agreed. And like Dave said, the smaller schools have responded well. Competition is good throughout

[goUK]

Ironton and CG are the two smallest schools and the only ones to win the ovc in FB

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I think initially there may have been some concern by the original members of the OVC that the addition of IHS, PHS, and GAHS might be counterproductive in terms of competing for the conference title. This past season, the 3 new members were looking up in the standings while Coal Grove walked away with the title, going undefeated in conference play. Ironton started out OVC play strong, but this year fell off noticeably. Portsmouth has been a big disappointment, having never seriously challenged for the conference title. Gallia Academy was 1-9 two years ago, but rebounded somewhat this past season but still had a 3 game losing streak after beating Portsmouth.

I do think that the addition of the 3 schools raised the bar in the OVC, and the original members have responded quite well. Now the challenge for all of the OVC schools is to make serious playoff runs on a consistent basis. Playoff football pretty much defines how good your conference is. Right now, the OVC doesn't have much of a resume in that department to boast about. Champion Coal Grove made a nice 2017 run, but that's not quite enough to call the OVC a football power.

I think that is a wonderful informative post right there.

[countywide35]

I think initially there may have been some concern by the original members of the OVC that the addition of IHS, PHS, and GAHS might be counterproductive in terms of competing for the conference title. This past season, the 3 new members were looking up in the standings while Coal Grove walked away with the title, going undefeated in conference play. Ironton started out OVC play strong, but this year fell off noticeably. Portsmouth has been a big disappointment, having never seriously challenged for the conference title. Gallia Academy was 1-9 two years ago, but rebounded somewhat this past season but still had a 3 game losing streak after beating Portsmouth.

I do think that the addition of the 3 schools raised the bar in the OVC, and the original members have responded quite well. Now the challenge for all of the OVC schools is to make serious playoff runs on a consistent basis. Playoff football pretty much defines how good your conference is. Right now, the OVC doesn't have much of a resume in that department to boast about. Champion Coal Grove made a nice 2017 run, but that's not quite enough to call the OVC a football power.

I think that is a wonderful informative post right there.

I concur

[Raider6309]

Chesapeake
08/24 A Oak Hill
08/31 A Albany Alexander
09/07 H Willow Wood Symmes Valley
09/14 H Gallipolis Gallia Academy
09/21 H Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant
09/28 A Ironton
10/05 H Portsmouth
10/12 A South Point
10/19 A Ironton Rock Hill
10/26 H Proctorville Fairland

Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant
08/24 A Bidwell River Valley
08/31 A Lucasville Valley
09/07 A West Portsmouth Portsmouth West
09/14 H South Point
09/21 A Chesapeake
09/28 H Portsmouth
10/05 H Gallipolis Gallia Academy
10/12 A Ironton
10/19 A Proctorville Fairland
10/26 H Ironton Rock Hill

Proctorville Fairland
08/24 A Fort Gay Tolsia (WV)
08/31 H The Plains Athens
09/07 H Ironton
09/14 A Waverly
09/21 A Ironton Rock Hill
09/28 A Gallipolis Gallia Academy
10/05 H South Point
10/12 A Portsmouth
10/19 H Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant
10/26 A Chesapeake

Gallipolis Gallia Academy
08/24 H Pomeroy Meigs
09/01 H Bidwell River Valley
09/07 A Jackson
09/14 A Chesapeake
09/21 A Portsmouth
09/28 H Proctorville Fairland
10/05 A Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant
10/12 H Ironton Rock Hill
10/19 H Ironton
10/26 H South Point

Ironton
08/24 A Wheelersburg
08/31 A Russell (KY)
09/07 A Proctorville Fairland
09/14 H Ashland Blazer (KY)
09/21 H South Point
09/28 H Chesapeake
10/05 A Ironton Rock Hill
10/12 H Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant
10/19 A Gallipolis Gallia Academy
10/26 A Portsmouth

Portsmouth
08/24 A Lucasville Valley
08/31 H West Portsmouth Portsmouth West
09/07 A Bidwell River Valley
09/14 H Ironton Rock Hill
09/21 H Gallipolis Gallia Academy
09/28 A Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant
10/05 A Chesapeake
10/12 H Proctorville Fairland
10/19 A South Point
10/26 H Ironton

Ironton Rock Hill
08/24 H Minford
08/31 A McDermott Northwest
09/07 H Oak Hill
09/14 A Portsmouth
09/21 H Proctorville Fairland
09/28 A South Point
10/05 H Ironton
10/12 A Gallipolis Gallia Academy
10/19 H Chesapeake
10/26 A Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant

South Point
08/24 H West Portsmouth Portsmouth West
08/31 A Ashland Boyd County (KY)
09/07 H Albany Alexander
09/14 A Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant
09/21 A Ironton
09/28 H Ironton Rock Hill
10/05 A Proctorville Fairland
10/12 H Chesapeake
10/19 H Portsmouth
10/26 A Gallipolis Gallia Academy

[Raider6309]

Thoughts?

[Pa Trojan]

Bruce Kaub era opens at Portsmouth. Just hope he brings the mojo juju to the land of Troy!

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

INTERESTING. IRONTON ONLY HAS 4 HOME GAMES. ASHLAND, SOUTH POINT, CHESAPEAKE , AND COAL GROVE.

AND 6 GAMES AWAY, THE BURG, RUSSELL, FAIRLAND, ROCK HILL, GAHS, AND PORTSMOUTH.

[Matt77]

How I see the conference shaking out this year.

1. Coal Grove (Well coached, returns a lot of skill players, will have to fill some holes on the O & D line, but the talent is still there, only 4 home games for the hornets but 3 of them are major advantages seeing Rock Hill, Gallia and Portsmouth all at home)
2. Rock Hill/Gallia (may surprise some people, but last year was one of those growing pain seasons, freshman quarterback, new coach, these kids were great in middle school, let’s see if it translates, think the conference will come down to week 10 this year)
3. Gallia/Rock Hill (Penrod done a great job at Gallia, From what I hear they return almost everyone and have some good athletes coming up, Rock Hill and Gallia could flip. That game is at Gallia this year, could go either way.
4. Ironton (Ironton has the talent, as they always do. It comes down to who the coach is and what the off season is like, if they kee Vass I see them being 4th-5th range, if they hire an outsider who can come in and fix the program, you’ll probably see them move up.)
5. Portsmouth (New coach always brings uncertainty, put they have one of the best players in SEO on their team. If the line can hold their blocks for him to get into the 2nd level he’s always a risk for 6. I think coaching killed this team last year as far as playcalling goes. The new coach needs to build his offense around Parker to be successful.
6. Fairland (Losing their two best players in Cunningham and Fisher will hurt majorily, they return a good quarterback and a couple play makers on offense. They will be competitive in a lot of games this year, but I don’t see it being like last year for the Dragons)
7. Chesapeake (Quarterback is a stud, heard he may be moving to the backfield this year, still every conference game last year they lost by 12 points or worse besides 2. Interesting to see how they work in the off season. Clark is a very good head coach)
8. South Point. (Good luck coach Gifford)

Just how I see it possibly shaking up. Excited for 2018!

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

matt I think that may be one of the most informative, knowledgeable posts I ever read. I used to be on top of things like this when I lived back home. but after moving away, I really have no idea. coal grove made the big statement that they are gonna be the team to beat. they always have enourmous linemen that can bench press a buick. and that smashmouth style payed huge dividends this year. and it's just not off tackle every play. but enough of that to keep people honest. ===================== that's exactly what ironton needs to do is re-establish and re-create themselves with a standby type attack and enough of the bells n whistles to keep teams guessing. and off season work that will translate to better physically complete athletes. ------------------------------------- let's face it when you talk about ole ironton football. half the teams were beat when the bus pulled up. they were big n mean n fast, and beat people into submission. no matter what anybody says, or how many or few kids came from outside. you did not want ironton on your schedule. burg was a team that won 3 games against ironton up to 2007. now they have owned us. nobody, I mean nobody will ever convince me that , that can never be duplicated again right there in the tank. with the same kids walking those hallways. I refuse to believe that. the perfect example is wheelersburg here locally. replicate what is working and what has worked in the past. and put the right people in the right spots, players and coaches to get this done.

[Raider6309]

Thanks for the insight Matt. Athens plays Fairland this year. A few years ago Athens took a loaded team to Fairland and they gave us a good game