Ironton continues dominant start to season, beats Salem (NJ) 55-14
By: Ty Carpenter
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IRONTON, Ohio (WOUB) — The Ironton Fighting Tigers hosted the Salem (NJ) Rams Saturday eyeing to continue their dominance from week one and won with a final score of 55-14.
Salem started with the ball and saw little offensive success early, moving backwards 22 yards before being forced to punt. Ironton similarly saw a slow start turning the ball over on downs after a shot to the endzone on fourth-and-8 fell incomplete.
Both teams’ next drives resulted in punts as well, but it was Salem’s third drive where the stalemate finally ended. On their very first play of the drive, they would fumble and lose possession, giving the Fighting Tigers the ball in the redzone.
A run by Tyson Harvey and a subsequent pass interference call would put Ironton on the five, before Harvey finished the drive with a touchdown to go up 7-0 just before the second quarter.
Heading into the second quarter, Salem would punt again on their next drive and, thanks to a strong gain on the return by Kayden Edwards, they would begin on the Rams’ 25-yard line. After a couple of short plays, sophomore quarterback Wyatt Wolfe would punch his ticket into the end zone on the keeper, going up 14-0.
Another punt set Ironton up with solid field position, and Edwards took a 30-yard pass to the house to put Ironton up 20-0. And it was here where the floodgates opened as the pass-rush proved too much for Salem to handle. The Rams saw the writing on the wall, opting to go for it on fourth down on their next drive but would immediately get sacked, turning it over on downs. Ironton kept their foot on the gas, with another rushing touchdown for Wolfe just before half to put the Fighting Tigers up 28-0.
Ironton got the ball at half, and Harvey had the dagger in his pocket, ripping off a 57-yard run to put Ironton on the Rams’ four. Harvey finished what he started with a touchdown on the next play, putting the Fighting Tigers up 35-0 for the running clock. From there, the second half was much of the same story. Salem’s Adrian Alleyne returned a touchdown on a kickoff, and Quimere Bergen would catch a touchdown late. But Ironton responded every time, as they went on to win with a final score of 55-14.
Ironton’s defense proved to be one of the region’s best, as it felt like they were in the backfield within a second of the ball being snapped. Harvey and Easton Caudill also showed out in the rushing attack, not to mention Kayden Edwards’ return ability setting Ironton up with great field position.
This will be a team to watch out for as they host the Archbishop McNicholas Rockets (1-1) next week.