By JIM WALKER

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

COAL GROVE — How do I score the ball, let me count the ways. By run, by pass, by defense and by special teams.

Ironton scored 4 different ways on Friday as the Fighting Tigers beat the Coal Grove Hornets 54-12 in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

In fact, Ironton scored all 4 ways in the first quarter alone in building a 28-6 lead.

A lot of the scoring was due to the pass-and-catch tandem of quarterback Bailey Thacker and wide receiver Braden Schreck.

Thacker was 9-of-14 passing for 153 yards and 4 touchdowns while Schreck caught 5 passes for 102 yards and 3 TDs.

“It’s just a matter of getting (Thacker) more comfortable and understanding what we’re trying to do that week. We’re very proud of him,” said Ironton coach Trevon Pendleton.

“(Schreck is) crafty. You can put him just about anywhere on the field and he’s going to be really good. He does a great job catching the ball. You’ve got a good connection there. Bigs (Schreck) is our Swiss Army Knife. You can play I’m at multiple positions and he’s effective at all of them.”

Coal Grove began the way with Kaden Murphy returning the kickoff 88 yards for the touchdown to excite the home crowd and it was 6-0 just 13 seconds into the game.

But Ironton answered with a 61-yard, 6-play drive that began with a 40-yard run by Shaun “Mr. Electric” Terry and ended with an 11-yard run by Zayne “The Train” Williams.

David Fields kicked the conversion and Ironton took the lead for good at 7-6 with 10:02 on the clock.

“The timing of the plays was better. The snap was better so the timing of the plays was better. It went a little more smoothly. We could get our reads more efficiently and the offense ran a little bit smoother because of that,” said Pendleton.

On the Hornets’ next possession, Josh Johnson stepped in front of a third down pass and ran it back 27 yards for the touchdown and Ironton was now up 14-6.

“Coach Jerrod (Pendleton) and (the defensive) staff does a great job. They fly to the football and bring 11 hats to the football. He’s kind of on edge all the time and they respond to that and they fly around like crazy. It’s nice to see,” said Pendleton.

Coal Grove was forced into a 3-and-out and punted. Terry grabbed the ball at his own 25 and worked his way through the Hornets defenders for a 75-yard punt return.

A penalty on the conversion moved the ball closer to the goal line and Thacker ran for the 2-point and a 22-6 lead.

Coal Grove shanked a punt for just 25 yards giving the ball to Ironton at the Hornets’ 45. It took only 5 plays to score with Thacker hitting Schreck with a quick slant and he weaved his way into the end zone and it was 28-6 with 2:58 left in the quarter.

Ironton got the ball again at the Hornets’ 45 and again it took 5 plays to score. And it was Thacker to Schreck again, only this time for 21 yards and a 35-6 lead on the first play of the second quarter.

A bad snap on a fourth down punt forced Gavin Gipson to run and he was stopped for a 5-yard loss and it gave Ironton the ball at the Coal Grove 21.

Ironton got to the 4-yard line but an offensive pass interference in the end zone cost Ironton 15 yards and an unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the ball back 15 more yards setting up  a second-and-goal at the 40.

But it was Schreck getting behind the secondary and catching the pass from Thacker for a touchdown on the next play that extended the lead to 41-6.

Coal Grove had to punt from its own 14 and Ironton had the ball at the 37. Three plays later Thacker hit Tyler Roach on a 20-yard scoring strike and it was 48-6 with 4:57 left in the half.

Neither team scored in the third quarter and Ironton got a touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter when Schreck hit Tatum Moore on an 11-yard touchdown pass.

Coal Grove then took the ball and went 69 yards in 10 plays capped by Murphy’s 9-yard scoring run.

Ironton finished with 158 yards rushing and 157 passing for a 315 total. Williams ran just 8 times for 71 yards and a score while Terry got 42 yards on 4 attempts.

Murphy ran 23 times for 94 yards as he scored both Coal Grove touchdowns. The Hornets had 122 net yards rushing and only one completion for minus 6 yards.

Ironton is now 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the OVC with a showdown at Gallipolis next Friday. The Blue Devils are 4-1 in the OVC. Ironton won last year’s meeting 29-22.

Coal Gove slips to 4-4 on the season and 1-4 in the league. The Hornets host Fairland next Friday.

Ironton     28 20 0 6 = 54

Coal Grove 6 0 0 6 = 12

First Quarter

CG — Kaden Murphy 88 kickoff return (run failed) 11:47

Irn — Zayne Williams 11 run (David Fields kick) 10:02

Irn — Josh Johnson 27 interception return (David Fields kick) 9:09

Irn — Shaun Terry 75 punt return (Bailey Thacker run) 6:35

Irn — Braden Schreck 21 pass from Bailey Thacker (kick failed) 2:58

Second Quarter

Irn — Braden Schreck 21 pass from Bailey Thacker (David Fields kick) 11:53

Irn — Braden Schreck 40 pass from Bailey Thacker (kick failed) 7:33

Irn — Tyler Roach 20 pass from Bailey Thacker (David Fields kick) 4:57

Fourth Quarter

Irn — Tatum Moore 11 pass from Braden Schreck (kick failed) 10;58

CG — Kaden Murphy 9 run (pass failed) 1:05

———

Irn  CG

First downs 12 9

Rushes-yards 23-158 43-122

Passing yards 157 -6

Total yards 315 116

Cmp-Att-Int 11-16-0 1-6-2

Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 12-115 8-79.5

Punts-average 1-38.0 4-24.8

———

Individual Leaders

RUSHING–Ironton: Zayne Williams 8-71, Jesse Copas 3-18, Shaun Terry 4-42, Tyler Carmon 3-5, Braden Schreck 2-18, Bailey Thacker 3-4; Coal Grove: Kaden Murphy 23-94, Steven Simpson 6-21, Caden Turner 1-3, Gavin Gipson 7-27, zLandon Roberts 1-2, Whyatt Mannon 4-minus 20, Team 1-minus 5.

PASSING–Ironton: Bailey Thacker 9-14-0 153 4-TD, Braden Schreck 2-2-0 4 TD; Coal Grove: Whyatt Mannon 1-6-2 minus-6.

RECEIVING–Ironton: Braden Schreck 5-102 3-TD, Tyler Roach 1-20 TD, Shaun Terry 1-12, Kayden Edwards 1-8, Bradon Baker 1-minus 7; Coal Grove: Kaden Murphy 1-minus 6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS–Ironton: David Fields, 27 WL.