Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

This won’t be one of those long, drawn out games.
Both the Ironton Fighting Tigers and Coshocton Redskins do most of their work on the ground as they’ve made their way to the Division V Region 19 postseason football playoffs.
Those running attack will clash at 7 p.m. Saturday at Coshocton to open the postseason.
“We’re going to run the ball and they’re going to run the ball. They have a bunch of backs with good size and there isn’t much difference between them. They can all run well and block well,” said Ironton coach Mark Vass.
Ironton (7-3) has 424 rushes for 2,673 yards on the season for 6.3 yards a carry. Coshocton (9-1) has been even more successful on the ground with 2,923 yards on 407 attempts for 7.2 yards a carry.
Ranked 10th in the final Associated Press poll, the Redskins are led by senior fullback Jake Fortney (6-0, 215) who has 717 yards on 110 carries and 15 touchdowns in just seven games. Senior wingback Kobie Means (5-10, 210) had a team-high 734 yards on 100 carries with 12 touchdowns.
But there are plenty of carries to go around.
Sophomore Zach Michael (5-8, 180) has 692 yards on 84 carries and seven scores while senior Dallas Griffiths (6-2, 215) has 254 yards on 28 attempts and three TDs.
Senior quarterback Andrew Mason (6-2, 200) has completed 52-of-97 passes for 919 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions.
Mason’s favorite targets are Griffiths and Michael. Each have 13 catches with Griffiths piling up 258 yards and Michael 202.
Sophomore Andrew Kittle (5-7, 145) has six catches for 189 yards and four touchdowns while Means had eight grabs for 110 yards and three scores. Senior Jordan Carkin has three catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
“They’re going to run the ball most of the time, but they are very capable of throwing the ball. They’re a pretty solid team,” said Vass.
“The thing that concerns me is they have a bunch of seniors and experienced players. We have a bunch of young and inexperienced guys who have never been under playoff pressure.”
The Redskins’ defense is led by linebackers Griffiths and Means with 90 and 69 tackles, respectively. Carkin has been strong at defensive end with 78 stops including 11 sacks and 10 tackles for a loss.
Mason and Kittle have three interceptions each to lead the secondary.
“They’ve got a good group of linebackers and their defensive front is pretty aggressive. We’ve got our work cut out for us,” said Vass.
Ironton leads the series 4-3 including four of the past five meetings with four games in the playoffs.
Ironton won at Coshocton 15-6 to open the 1986 season. The Fighting Tigers won 20-0 in 1987, 27-6 in 2000 and 32-12 in 2010, all in the playoffs. The 2010 game is the only time Ironton was at home during the playoffs.
Coshocton won 20-14 in overtime at Nelsonville-York in 2009. The Redskins won regular season games 7-6 in 1957 at Ironton and 8-0 at home in 1968.

Ironton Results
Ironton     6    at Wheelersburg    49
Ironton     6    at Russell, Ky.    13
Ironton     31    at Fairland    0
Ironton     3    Ashland, Ky.    27
Ironton     41    South Point    0
Ironton     28    Chesapeake    12
Ironton     33    at Rock Hill    14
Ironton     14    Coal Grove    12
Ironton     49    Gallipolis    0
Ironton     43    at Portsmouth    28
Record: 7-3 7-0 OVC)
Coshocton Results
Coshocton    38    Navarre Fairless    0
Coshocton    32    at St. Clairsville    27
Coshocton    20    Columbus Crusaders    14
Coshocton    44    Bishop Rosecrans    14
Coshocton    32    Cambridge    27
Coshocton    42    at New Lexington    14
Coshocton    49    at Meadowbrook    21
Coshocton    21    at Dover    24
Coshocton    42    Claymont    12
Coshocton    49    River View    26
Record: 9-1

IRONTON OFFENSE
No.    Player    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Gr.
20    Eli Willis    TE    5-11    160    Sr.
65    Cody Rowe    LT    6-01    300    So.
71    Dylan Redmond    LG    6-01    240    Jr.
63    Vance Day    C    5-11    280    Sr.
64    Trent Klaiber    C    6-00    220    Jr.
68    Levi Langdon    RG    6-04    295    Sr.
74    Tyler Webb    RT    6-06    300    Sr.
80    Hunter Humphreys    TE    6-01    190    So.
25    Jourdyn Barrow    TE    5-11    175    Sr.
7    Jake Isaac    QB    6-00    175    Sr.
9    Garrett Carrico    RB    5-11    175    Jr.
44    Seth Fosson    FB    6-01    200    Fr.
46    Jaxson Pleasant    FB    5-10    195    Jr.
40    Ethan Duncan    RB    5-10    185    So.
PK    Tre Neal    PK    5-09    140    Sr.

IRONTON DEFENSE
No.    Player    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Gr.
80    Hunter Humphreys    DE    6-01    190    So.
75    Larry Morris    DT    6-05    290    Sr.
68    Levi Langdon    NG    6-04    295    Sr.
74    Tyler Webb    DT    6-06    300    Sr.
44    Seth Fosson    DE    6-01    200    Fr.
46    Jaxson Pleasant    LB    5-10    195    Jr.
40    Ethan Duncan    LB    5-10    185    So.
20    Eli Willis    CB    5-11    160    Sr.
9    Garrett Carrico    CB    5-11    175    Jr.
7    Jake Isaac    S    6-00    175    Sr.
25    Jourdyn Barrow    S    5-11    175    Sr.
40    Ethan Duncan    P    5-10    185    So.

COSHOCTON DEFENSE
No.    Player    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Gr.
29    Kobie Means    DE    5-10    210    Sr.
55    Jonathan Eberwine    DT    5-07    170    Sr.
62    Brent Bordenkircher    LT    6-02    230    Sr.
39    Jordan Carkin      DE    6-02    215    Sr.
28    Devin Dickerson    LB    6-00    160    Jr.
20    Jake Fortney        LB    6-00    215    Sr.
3    Dallas Griffiths    LB    6-02    215    Sr.
7    Ashton Jarvis       CB    6-02    150    Sr.
8    Peyton Johnson    CB    5-08    155    So.
2    Andrew Mason    S    6-02    200    Sr.
31    Zach Michael      S    5-08    180    So.
6    Andrew Kittell    S    5-07    145    So.
29    Kobie Means       P    5-10    210    Sr.

COSHOCTON OFFENSE
No.    Player    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Gr.
39    Jordan Carkin      TE    6-02    215    Sr.
62    Brent Bordenkircher    LT    6-02    230    Sr.
71    Chris Addy          LG    5-08    150    Sr.
63    Bradyen Lewis    C    6-03    200    Jr.
72    Ben Mikulik        RG    6-05    200    Jr.
56    Wesley Woodie    RT    6-02    250    So.
2    Andrew Mason    QB    6-02    200    Sr.
20    Jake Fortney        FB    6-00    215    Sr.
3    Dallas Griffiths    WB    6-02    215    Sr.
31    Zach Michael      WB    5-08    180    So.
29    Kobie Means       WB    5-10    210    Sr.
6    Andrew Kittell    SE    5-07    145    So.
90    Jake Ramsey        PK    5-09    150    Sr.