Fighting Tigers travel to Columbus for 2013 state tournament

The first day of spring may have been cool, but the cheering and energy surrounding Ironton High School was hot and fierce as the Fighting Tigers community came out in force to send off their boys’ basketball team.

The team was headed to Columbus to participate in the semifinals of the Ohio High School Athletic Association State Boys Basketball Tournament at The Ohio State University.

Coach Mark LaFon said he is proud of his team and is excited he, the school and the community can be a part of the ride.

“They are the hardest working group of kids you could ask for,” LaFon said. “They put in the road time, the weight room time, the gym time and the taking me time. They have done a really good job. I’ve been blessed to have a lot of good players through the years, but like I told them, I’ve been doing this coaching thing longer than they have been alive and for me it is just as exciting and makes me feel like a kid again.”

Three of the Ironton seniors Aaron Stephens, Josh Glover and Darrius Boykin said they were looking forward to representing their school and community at the state level.

“This is my first time being at the state tournament,” Stephens said. “It’s like nothing I’ve felt before so I’m really excited and plan to make the most of it.”

“I look forward to getting on the floor,” Boykin said. “We’ve been through a lot this year with the games and all the practices. It’s just a blessing to be here and we are going to see what we can do.”

“This is overwhelming,” Glover said. “I’m just glad to be here. It took us a while to get here, but all the hard work, keeping focused and keeping our minds right got us here.”

The three and Ironton’s other seniors Jalen Schweickart, Zac Carter, Trevor White and Trey Fletcher, all have different plans for life after high school, but agreed their plans for now are simply to play hard, give it their all and leave it all on the court.