The wing-T certainly jumps out at you.

Tuesday, August 28, 2001

The wing-T certainly jumps out at you. The size is hard to overlook. But the one thing that caught the eye of Ironton Fighting Tigers head coach Bob Lutz was the speed.

The South Point Pointers have a new offense this season under first-year head coach Brent Wilcoxon in the Wing-T. The offense uses motion on almost every play and attacks teams with sweeps, counters, and reverses.

That offense will be on display Friday as the Pointers (1-0) play at Ironton (1-0).

"They’re able to run that type offense because of their speed. They’ve got two wingbacks (Donte Pennington and Shane Holsinger) who can run, and they’ve got a big, strong fullback who runs hard and hits the hole quickly," said Lutz.

"And they’ve got speed all over the place. (Adam) Workman ran back two punts against Vinton County. He runs pretty well, too. And he plays end so he gives them a deep threat. Their speed is definitely a concern to our defense."

Holsinger (5-11, 160) was the team’s leading receiver last season as a wide receiver. Pennington (6-2, 175) qualified for the state track meet last spring in the 100 meter dash and Workman (5-10, 155) was also one of the top runners on the track team.

Nick McClanahan (5-11, 210), who benches 400 pounds and cleans 325, is the fullback.

The quarterback is Justin Eaches (5-8, 145) with Workman and Patrick McCleary (6-1, 185) the ends.

The size factor comes into play with the interior offensive line.

"They’re not as big overall as Wheelersburg, but they’ve got plenty of size and that’s a problem. They like to pull their guards and tackles and with their size, once they get on you it’s hard to get off of them and find the ball," said Lutz.

The center is Nathan Leighty (6-1, 250), the guards Bobby Brown (5-9, 275) and Chris Weaver (5-10, 216), and the tackles are Drew Gibson (6-3, 270) and Carl Bonecutter (5-10, 250).

The defense has similar attributes as evidenced by holding Vinton County to just eight points.

"They’ve got a lot of the same kids playing defense who play offense, so they’ll have size and speed on both sides of the ball," Lutz said.

Cory Foxwell (6-2,270) or John Estes (5-11, 175) will be the nose guard, Chris Chapman (5-11, 170) and Chris Robinson (6-4, 270) the tackles, and McCleary and J. D. Sullivan (6-1, 155) the ends.

McClanahan is the middle linebacker with Eaches and Bryan Maggard (6-0, 200) on the outside. Pennington and Workman are the corners with Holsinger the safety.