Ironton beats rival Wheelersburg to start the 24-25 season, making it fourth straight wins against the Pirates
By: Caleb McCleskey
Posted on:
WHEELERSBURG, Ohio (WOUB) — To kickoff the 2024-25 football season, the Ironton Tigers would win 37-7 against the Wheelersburg Pirates putting on an offensive masterpiece.
The Tigers would travel to Ed Miller Stadium to take on their rival, the Pirates. This rivalry goes back years, as this is the 36th matchup between the two teams. In last year’s matchup, the Tigers would come away with a 17-14 win.
The first quarter would be a slow start for both teams as penalties would begin to pile up for both sides. The first score of the game wouldn’t occur until less than 4 minutes left in the quarter. Ironton’s Zayne Williams would find himself in the endzone off of a 7-yard run.
But with the rivalry record on the line, Wheelerburg would not back down so easily.
Going into the second quarter, the offenses for both teams would start to pick up as both sides stuck to the run game. The run game would prove to be efficient throughout the rest of the game. With 8:52 left in the first half, Braylon Rucker would get the first score for the Tigers off of a 16-yard run.
With Wheelersburg climbing back into the ball game, Ironton had to figure out a way to shut down their offense early or extend their lead.
On the next drive for the Tigers, Ironton’s Shaun Terry would find an opening and make his way to the endzone for 50 yards to extend the Tigers lead.
At the end of the first half, Ironton would lead Wheelersburg 17-7.
Heading into the second half, the Tigers would pick up where they left off. 4 minutes into the quarter, what seemed like a broken-down play, turned into a 32-yard run for Shaun Terry. The big plays from Ironton would prove to break down the Wheelersburg defense, allowing them to continue the Tigers offensive drives.
Terry would be a major contributor for Ironton as he would tally up 7 catches for 138 yards and two receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.
The rest of the second half would stay the same as Ironton’s offense would rack up more scores and their defense would keep Wheelersburg’s offense to a minimum.
At the end of the fourth quarter, the Tigers would win this game 37-7.
Other contributions from this game include Ironton’s quarterback Braden Schreck who tallied 15/22 for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wheelersburg quarterback Braylon Rucker would tally 8/11 for 34 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Looking towards the future, Ironton looks to continue their winning streak against the Jackson Ironman. While Wheelersburg looks to bounce back against the Archbishop McNicholas Rockets.