Chasing Ghosts: The Haunting of Ironton football

[hoot]

I dont remember any transfers in the 70's. Snyder and Pemberton in early 80's are the first ones I can think of. Transfers certainly helped but they had already built a decade of powerful football before any of that occured.Those days are gone.

[Game day]

A steady stream of Catholic kids started leaving St Lawrence and St Joe in the 1980's and IHS benefited from that. None that I know were recruited, just playing for Lutz and playing for State Championships and playing in front of 7000 at the Tank was enough. St. Joe lost not only a ton of great athletes but great kids also. Hard to blame them for leaving but we sure missed them.

I can certainly understand the kids wanting to play. and missing the loss of saint joe football as well.

It really started in the early 70's when ST Joe went to uniforms for all the kids at school. By the time Lutz got there were several kids from St. Joe on the team.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I didn't know that. the team I was on was all guys from ironton. but that is interesting.

[RiverRatRay]

Been going to watch Ironton football even before Bob Lutz. What is wrong with the program has not even been touched upon in this thread. It took me awhile to read all of your posts since I have been absent from SEOPS for quite some time. I read Catholic kids but if you remember right the only score in the Wheelersburg game for Ironton came from a St Joe kid. I read transfers. Seems the QB is a transfer among others. Coaches from the Lutz group. Maybe two and a gopher. None of these are the reasons for the drop off in the quality of the program. Is there a reason, sure there is, but I'm not going to get into a discussion about what I think it is on here. Maybe one of these days things will get back in order at least I hope so. Until then things will be as they are now.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

so glad to see ya back brother.

[Paladin]

FWIW, Ironton still hasn't hit bottom yet. The town lives in the past and fails to view the future which will continue to shrink in student population. After years of drawing in transfers while having marginal native players, the pipeline is dry. Ironton is a decaying shell. . Kids are happy. To stay in their local program. There are few schools today who will be successful running T formation football. And today's athletes are more interested in other things in life, not just living and dying tigger football. It's even more of an embarrassment down there since Ironton has a limited slate of sports, so you don't lose athletes to other sports. Small school football takes some understanding and knowing that talent runs to cycles that can't be controlled or easily fixed. Run out and takes serious planning to overcome. Coaches can only work with the talent they have , provided they don't run players off and can entice most athletes to come out, using their unique talents to form a successful team. Skill should be developed as the days of 3 yards and a cloud of dust are over. It's a new era. BTW, some schools with poverty deal with the situation. Others fail. Continue to live with the ghosts of yesterday dooms you to be fools. Or embrace change and challenge.

[RiverRatRay]

I agree on some things and or course being a little older than most disagree on others but that is just my nature. Ironton as most in the know no longer run the old fashion "T" formation. Of course only those that watch them would know that. The only school running it that I know of is Rock Hill and the head coach there is a chip off the old Bob Lutz block. I think Ohio football in general is not what it used to be whether it is small school or large school. I'm just going on what I see being recruited at the largest university in the state. Seems that man is going out of state more and more. Most of our state kids are going out of state to play football. I may be wrong but it just seems that way to me but then that is just this old man's opinion. I would like to see more of our kids go to OSU but a man has to do what a man has to do. It just seems Ohio football is not what it once was anywhere in the state.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

FWIW, Ironton still hasn't hit bottom yet. The town lives in the past and fails to view the future which will continue to shrink in student population. After years of drawing in transfers while having marginal native players, the pipeline is dry. Ironton is a decaying shell. . Kids are happy. To stay in their local program. There are few schools today who will be successful running T formation football. And today's athletes are more interested in other things in life, not just living and dying tigger football. It's even more of an embarrassment down there since Ironton has a limited slate of sports, so you don't lose athletes to other sports. Small school football takes some understanding and knowing that talent runs to cycles that can't be controlled or easily fixed. Run out and takes serious planning to overcome. Coaches can only work with the talent they have , provided they don't run players off and can entice most athletes to come out, using their unique talents to form a successful team. Skill should be developed as the days of 3 yards and a cloud of dust are over. It's a new era. BTW, some schools with poverty deal with the situation. Others fail. Continue to live with the ghosts of yesterday dooms you to be fools. Or embrace change and challenge.

what a horse's patoot. at some point in your life you gotta let go of ironton's dominance over logan and the seoal when they were in it. I don't understand people like you. I promise you most people that are tiger fans or were players still root for their opponents every week unless they are playing them that week. some of what you type actually projects you actually having a heart, and some form of intelligence. and other parts of your post makes me think you got shoved around a lot as a young'ster, and likely had your lunch money taken paladin. you don't see tiger fans calling logan the lil Indians, or chiefies or anything. because we have more class than that.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

people here have heard me say this for years. you can put lipstick on a pig, but in the end it's still a pig with lipstick on.

[Getting Older]

The best thing that Ironton can do is quit living on what Ironton used to be and focus on building the future. Be proud of what was accomplished during the time that Coach Lutz was there. Its over now.Move on. Give and OUTSIDER an opportunity to do the same as Lutz did.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

you know what hoss this was a topic about the 89 football teams of southern ohio. so it's kinda hard not to talk about the past to join in on this topic. everybody know them days are gone. but everytime we discuss something from the past, people get butthurt. we know lutz ain't comin back.nor is fighting tiger football as we once knew it. and we know things are bad now. but we still love tiger football past, present and future. and when someone says that tired ole line to me quit thinking about the past , or living in the past. it's like we talkin about the past cause we was livin in the past n saw it.good golly man , eat a snicker's bar. kinda makes sense to me. and something I love to tell people ''YOU CAN'T LIVE IN THE PAST , IF YOU AIN'T GOT ONE'' ------------------------- LOOK AT THE TEAMS IRONTON PLAYED BACK THEN JUST IN THE REGULAR SEASON, MUCH LESS THE PLAYOFFS. and unless you can show me schedules of your team back then. then I can't prove that nobody in these parts scheduled like ironton, not burg, not Portsmouth, Jackson, logan, Athens, nobody did. so if talkin about the past hurts, you were likely a fan/player for the other teams on ironton's schedule.

[79Tiger]

Better to have a past to be proud of than none at all.

[trojandave]

You're Tiger Bait: I take issue with you about Ironton's scheduling being superior to Portsmouth's over that time period. Ironton's football program was far more successful than the Trojans during the Lutz years, but in no way did the Fighting Tigers play tougher schedules than the Trojans. Just to name a few PHS played Upper Arlington, Canton McKinley, Steubenville, Hamilton, Middletown, Lima, Springfield, Cincinnati Purcell Marian, Huntington(WV), Kettering Alter, Cleveland Villa-Angela St.Joseph, Dayton Chaminade-Julienne, Zanesville, Lancaster, Cincinnati Elder, and Lexington(KY) Dunbar. Those are just 16 of the many schools that Portsmouth played outside the SE district during the period 1970-2000. Most of those schools listed had considerably larger enrollments than Portsmouth HS.

[79Tiger]

Portsmouth has a history to be proud of. I am proud to have been a part of the Tiger/Trojan rivalry and I hope it continues.

[Noitall]

You're Tiger Bait: I take issue with you about Ironton's scheduling being superior to Portsmouth's over that time period. Ironton's football program was far more successful than the Trojans during the Lutz years, but in no way did the Fighting Tigers play tougher schedules than the Trojans. Just to name a few PHS played Upper Arlington, Canton McKinley, Steubenville, Hamilton, Middletown, Lima, Springfield, Cincinnati Purcell Marian, Huntington(WV), Kettering Alter, Cleveland Villa-Angela St.Joseph, Dayton Chaminade-Julienne, Zanesville, Lancaster, Cincinnati Elder, and Lexington(KY) Dunbar. Those are just 16 of the many schools that Portsmouth played outside the SE district during the period 1970-2000. Most of those schools listed had considerably larger enrollments than Portsmouth HS.

Man doncha know you caint talk to stupid ain't no one played a more brutal scheduuuuu then arnton and they saint never been beet by a better team all thay losses been thay own fault .
This cat never did ever seen the field for tiger except to shake hands

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

Portsmouth has a history to be proud of. I am proud to have been a part of the Tiger/Trojan rivalry and I hope it continues.

I STAND CORRECTED DAVE. I HAD ACTUALLY FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE TROJAN'S PAST SCHEDULES AND I AM HUMBLY SORRY I FORGOT TO MENTION THEM, I WAS NOT THINKING. AND LIKE 79 TIGER I'M PROUD TO HAVE GOT TO BE A SMALL PART OF THOSE RIVER RAT RIVALRIES BETWEEN THESE 2.FOR DECADES THE BEST RIVALRY IN THIS PART OF THE STATE BAR NONE. I STAND CORRECTED ANY I'M SORRY. THEY , BOTH PROGRAMS WERE PLAYING ANY BIG BOYS THEY COULD FIND. AND YOU WERE RIGHT TO TAKE EXCEPTION.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

You're Tiger Bait: I take issue with you about Ironton's scheduling being superior to Portsmouth's over that time period. Ironton's football program was far more successful than the Trojans during the Lutz years, but in no way did the Fighting Tigers play tougher schedules than the Trojans. Just to name a few PHS played Upper Arlington, Canton McKinley, Steubenville, Hamilton, Middletown, Lima, Springfield, Cincinnati Purcell Marian, Huntington(WV), Kettering Alter, Cleveland Villa-Angela St.Joseph, Dayton Chaminade-Julienne, Zanesville, Lancaster, Cincinnati Elder, and Lexington(KY) Dunbar. Those are just 16 of the many schools that Portsmouth played outside the SE district during the period 1970-2000. Most of those schools listed had considerably larger enrollments than Portsmouth HS.

Man doncha know you caint talk to stupid ain't no one played a more brutal scheduuuuu then arnton and they saint never been beet by a better team all thay losses been thay own fault .
This cat never did ever seen the field for tiger except to shake hands

sorry about yer butt hurting lil buddy. you'll get that sometime. if you ever get up this way holler at me. I just bought a big ole bottle of monkey butt powder from rural king. bring along a sammich bag and i'll sqweeze ya out some. it'll fix that itch n butthurt.

[Game day]

There is no ghost to chase we just do not have the coaching staff. I have not seen an Ironton team be better team at the end of the season than they were at the end. If there is one over the last 4 years name it?

[Noitall]

You're Tiger Bait: I take issue with you about Ironton's scheduling being superior to Portsmouth's over that time period. Ironton's football program was far more successful than the Trojans during the Lutz years, but in no way did the Fighting Tigers play tougher schedules than the Trojans. Just to name a few PHS played Upper Arlington, Canton McKinley, Steubenville, Hamilton, Middletown, Lima, Springfield, Cincinnati Purcell Marian, Huntington(WV), Kettering Alter, Cleveland Villa-Angela St.Joseph, Dayton Chaminade-Julienne, Zanesville, Lancaster, Cincinnati Elder, and Lexington(KY) Dunbar. Those are just 16 of the many schools that Portsmouth played outside the SE district during the period 1970-2000. Most of those schools listed had considerably larger enrollments than Portsmouth HS.

Man doncha know you caint talk to stupid ain't no one played a more brutal scheduuuuu then arnton and they saint never been beet by a better team all thay losses been thay own fault .
This cat never did ever seen the field for tiger except to shake hands

sorry about yer butt hurting lil buddy. you'll get that sometime. if you ever get up this way holler at me. I just bought a big ole bottle of monkey butt powder from rural king. bring along a sammich bag and i'll sqweeze ya out some. it'll fix that itch n butthurt.

With all that thar talking you do bout butts all time I will pass on ever coming close to ya." Lil buddy "

[noles_fan]

you know what hoss this was a topic about the 89 football teams of southern ohio. so it's kinda hard not to talk about the past to join in on this topic. everybody know them days are gone. but everytime we discuss something from the past, people get butthurt. we know lutz ain't comin back.nor is fighting tiger football as we once knew it. and we know things are bad now. but we still love tiger football past, present and future. and when someone says that tired ole line to me quit thinking about the past , or living in the past. it's like we talkin about the past cause we was livin in the past n saw it.good golly man , eat a snicker's bar. kinda makes sense to me. and something I love to tell people ''YOU CAN'T LIVE IN THE PAST , IF YOU AIN'T GOT ONE'' ------------------------- LOOK AT THE TEAMS IRONTON PLAYED BACK THEN JUST IN THE REGULAR SEASON, MUCH LESS THE PLAYOFFS. and unless you can show me schedules of your team back then. then I can't prove that nobody in these parts scheduled like ironton, not burg, not Portsmouth, Jackson, logan, Athens, nobody did. so if talkin about the past hurts, you were likely a fan/player for the other teams on ironton's schedule.

This topic isn't about the 89 football team. This was and is about that Ironton football isn't what it once was.