Ironton linemen unsung heroes of championship run

 

By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

They call themselves The War Hogs.

While the backs and receivers get the headlines and adulation, the key to any successful team is the interior linemen on offense and defense.

Nothing could be truer than the Ironton Fighting Tigers 2024 state championship linemen.

The group includes: seniors Aiden Layne, Bowen Gossett, Grant Day and Barkley Litton, juniors Caleb Jacobs, Mason Wheeler and Zander Hurn, and sophomores Carson Akers and Carter Bridges.

Although they play mostly in obscurity, linemen understand how the game works.

“Being  an offensive lineman is not a job to get all the glory. It’s the most crucial part of the team and it all starts up front. If you don’t have a good O-line to run behind, then you don’t really have anything,” said Day.

But the linemen know that the skill players appreciate the work they do.

“You kind of get used to it. Everything starts up front,” said Litton. “Behind closed doors, those guys give us our props and what not.”

The main veteran of the group is first team All-Ohio selection Aiden Layne who is a two-time Southeast District Lineman of the Year.

Layne said going through a long season takes its toll on players, but he knows his leadership is important to keep his teammates focused and working.

“When you go through the season you get kind of tired of it, but when you get to the end of the season you’re ready to finish,” said Layne.

“I had a lot of fun this year. It’s fun being a role model and it went by too fast. I wish I could go back and do it all again.”

Ironton finished strong with a 28-17 win over Liberty Center in the Division 5 state championship, and the strength of the Liberty Center team was its line play.

“They were probably one of the toughest teams we played this year. I knew they were going to be tough, but we just played our game and didn’t let them get to our heads,” said Layne.

Layne was joined by Gossett as a four-year starter and his experience has taught him to embrace the role offensive linemen must endure.

“I think it’s for sure the most selfless position on the football field and we just do it for all our friends,” said Gossett.

“I don’t play a lot of defense but I like playing offense because I get to see all my friends scoring touchdowns. I do all that work and it’s like I’m scoring.”

It was Day who coined the nickname The War Hogs.

“We were sitting around one day and someone said it and we thought it was cool,” said Gossett.

“We always called ourselves the hogs because of being the bigger group of athletes. I like to think of every game like a war. Guys are out there and battle us. We were sitting there and I just said ‘War Hogs.’ I said yeah, this is the name we like to be called.”

The offensive line is coached by former Ironton standout Walt Delong who had a storied and decorated college career. But Delong is joined by another former Ironton lineman and a longtime head coach Merril Triplet.

“Walt is a great technician. He works with the lineman tirelessly. He’s the best technician I’ve ever been around,” said Triplett. “He teaches them the techniques and then he sends them to me to toughen them up. We compliment each other well.”

Day can attest to the way his coaches work together and it paid off in the win over Liberty Center.

“(Liberty Center was) big and strong, but I think our technique took over the game. If you’re with coach Triplett, you know you’re going to be hitting the whole practice,” said Day. “But (Coach Delong) will grab us in practice and throw us around whenever he feels like it. He’d sling you about 10 yards.”

Delong said the linemen put in a lot of time and they never waiver when it comes to work.

“This is a really hard-working group. We started in the spring and no one ever missed or have less than 100 percent effort,” said Delong. “This group wanted to learn, they wanted to get better and they were focused on helping this team win. The team’s goal from day one was to win the state and this group put in the work,

“Coach Triplett does a great job with them and they work hard for him.”

Gossett said that having worked with the two coaches over the past four years helped make the linemen better and it wasn’t drudgery.

“It was an easier year compared to the prior years, just that I knew the game better,” said Gossett.

Day said the linemen embraced all the hard work.

“We just really came together these last couple of weeks. We’ve been working year-round and we have a little saying that we like to say at the beginning of summer, ‘Let it burn now so it doesn’t burn in August at the start of season and later in the season when you’re making a deep playoff run,’” said Day.

Litton said the camaraderie between the linemen has grown through their hard work together.

“Our bond is pretty good. All our lockers are right by each other so we talk everyday. We had a little tradition where we went out to eat every Monday. So, we spend a lot of time together. Every Friday we went out after the games,” said Litton.

Prior to the state championship game, the linemen read some of the talk from Liberty Center and used it as motivation.

“Going into he game they were talking a lot that their line is what’s going to be what won the game. They were going to destroy us, so we kind of came in there fired up,” said Litton.

Senior Jesse Copas was an honorary War Hog since he was a running back who also played tight end.

“Coming into the season, I’d never played tight end,” said Copas. “It was a really new experience for me, but it turns out I’m pretty good at just putting my head down and running into people. I’m not so much of a side-to-side guy. It was really a great change up for me, really.”

Spoken like a true offensive lineman.