2018 OVC Football Offseason Talk and Outlook

[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

[Matt77]

Bait- I definitely think ironton has the talent. It all comes off the off season, and discipline. I think Pendleton or Salmons would be a great move for ironton. But I don’t know if they’ll pull the trigger. This may be one of those years where we see Co or Tri champions in the conference. I don’t know if anyone is that much better than everyone else.

Raider - that 2013 team was probably the best team in fairland school history. I don’t know what Athens has now, I don’t see this fairland team beating Athens, Waverly, Ironton, Coal Grove, Rock Hill, or Gallia. I’d say 4-6, 3-7 is where fairland will finish. They relied so much on Cunningham last season, I don’t see them finding another work horse to replace him. He had 1700 rushing yards and 500 receiving last year.

[Geronimo]

Gallia will surprise !

[Firebreather]

Matt, I would argue with the best team in Fairland history all day with you, but you are right about one thing. This Team will not be a threat in the OVC this year. Your placement is about right on par with my feelings. No playmakers on the roster for a team that relies on big plays to score.

[Matt77]

Firebreather, I’m not from fairland, I’m a Grover. I just know of what I’ve watched. Which isn’t too many years. I hear the 1993 team from fairland was special. I just know as an outsider that 2013 fairland team was one of the better ones I’ve watched since I’ve been watching. Which is about from 2005 or so. Lol.

[Osu fan]

Interesting predictions for next year. I think the Tigers need to be in the top 3. If healthy, gotta believe hey are the team to beat. As far as talent and key players returning, we should finish first. The lack of respect given to us now is sad and I think this whole coaching mess has hurt our image. From what I seen last year I think Us, Gallia, coal grove, and Rock Hill will be atop the OVC. Fairland and Portsmouth could surprise people. Wilcoxen and parker will be top players in the conference. Fairland will have to replace cunningham which will be a tall order and Portsmouth will have to find some defense. They seem to get worse on defense every year

[Matt77]

Interesting predictions for next year. I think the Tigers need to be in the top 3. If healthy, gotta believe hey are the team to beat. As far as talent and key players returning, we should finish first. The lack of respect given to us now is sad and I think this whole coaching mess has hurt our image. From what I seen last year I think Us, Gallia, coal grove, and Rock Hill will be atop the OVC. Fairland and Portsmouth could surprise people. Wilcoxen and parker will be top players in the conference. Fairland will have to replace cunningham which will be a tall order and Portsmouth will have to find some defense. They seem to get worse on defense every year

Ironton lost 4 conference games last year, the coaching situation is a joke and Coal Grove is the defending champion with a 1,000 yard rusher and arguably the best quartback in the conference returning. I’m confident in my top 3 right now. (Of course it is only March) You can have all the talent in the world and it doesn’t matter if you can’t put it together and make it work on gameday. It will be a interesting season!

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I think it will be. especially if ironton makes a coaching change. but as matt said . the grovers are rightfully the team to beat right now until someone proves otherwise. and they bullied the ovc last year.

[OVC]

I'm gonna take a shot at this:

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

Record: (3-7; 1-6)

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

Record: (7-3; 5-2; DVI Playoffs)

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

Record: (3-7; 2-5)

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

Record: (9-1; 7-0; OVC Champions; DIV Playoffs)

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

Record (6-4; 5-2; On the bubble DV Playoffs)

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

Record (5-5; 3-4)

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

Record (8-2; 5-2; DV Playoffs)

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

Record: (2-8; 0-7)

[trojandave]

Portsmouth has beaten only 1 team with a winning record the last 2 seasons, and the defense continues to be porous even though there was a slight improvement in that time (from 32 PPG to 25 PPG). Offense is not the problem, and the last 2 seasons have produced near a 27 PPG average. For the Trojans to move into the upper echelon of the OVC, and just maybe challenge for the playoffs, continued improvement on defense is a must. Talyn Parker is truly a special back, and he might be the top home run hitter in the conference. If the defense can't get off the field enough, that means the offense with Talyn is standing on the sidelines.......and that is not a good thing.

I am hoping that Coach Kalb is the one who can finally get the football Trojans headed in a positive direction........and one thing I think is an absolute must is to get Wheelersburg back on the schedule. That game at the very least will fill the pocketbooks of both schools, and from Portsmouth's standpoint it would be a huge step in getting back our self-esteem.

GO TROJANS!!!

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

great post dave.

[Osu fan]

The Tigers seem to have difficulty making the transition to the spread on offense and defending it on defense. The T has been really good for our tigers for many years and the kids seem to be most comfortable when running it. I am a supporter of Coach Vass but the biggest complaints I hear in the stands on Fridays are about this. The Trojans on the other hand have been spread for a while and always score a whole lot of points but have trouble when teams play smash mouth football with them. Anybody that watched the game last season can attest to this. The glaring thing that stands out to me about my Tigers is the lack of athleticism as compared to teams of the past. I think Trojan fans could say the same. Trojan Dave brought up some interesting points. So I did some looking. It seems to be a football and basketball problem for both schools as neither sports team beat a school with a winning record this year. Maybe it just is what it is. I too hope the Trojans and Burg start playing again. I remain hopeful that the Tigers can rebound and once again be competitive with the Burg.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

ole Trojan dave is thee man to ask anything about Portsmouth sports to. if'n he don't know it about the Trojans , nobody does. he is an excellent, honest poster and a great long term poster here.

[SEOPS]

Schedules all filled?

[NoPain23]

Wilcoxen from fairland transferred to Huntington High

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I take it that is brent's son. isn't he the head coach at fairland, he was the qb on the 79 state championship fighting tiger team.