IRONTON — The No. 2 seeded Fighting Tigers fulfilled all expectations in their role as Goliath shutting out the Highland Fighting Scots 36-0, Saturday in Ironton.

The Division IV contest was the sixth first round victory for Ironton since 2002, as well as the sixth straight W for the 2009 Tigers.

The Scots had an auspicious beginning to the football game when, on their second play from scrimmage, running back Justin Slaton broke loose for a 60 yard scamper up the middle. Four plays later however Ironton’s defense had held the Scots and forced a turnover on downs at the Ironton 20 yard line. That was all the momentum the Tigers would need for a quick start.

“You always want to get some momentum early. I’m disappointed that we let him break out on a simple trap play,” Ironton coach Bob Lutz said. “But we played good defensively and offensively we did what we had to do.”

The Fighting Tigers got it done on the ensuing possession. They marched 80 yards on 10 straight running plays for an early 8-0 lead.

“They just took the wind out of our sails and we could never get it back,” Highland coach Chad Carpenter said.

The next series for the Scots ended in another turnover, an interception by Ironton’s Tommy Waginger. Again the Tigers drove the ball with the ground game for a score which capped off the first quarter, 15-0.

“We gave them a big advantage offensively starting them at midfield,” Carpenter said. “They just did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage and the game.”

Highland struggled mightly on defense allowing 148 rushing yards in the first half alone while five different Tigers crossed the goal line through three quarters.

“I think we have a pretty good club. We don’t have a dominant offensive player but we’ve got decent players that run and block,” Lutz said. “We have a good offensive line.”

The dominant Ironton line assisted a touchdown during their last drive of the first half, the ball on the Highland 20 yard line.

On the snap quarterback Ethan Preston dropped back 10-12 yards, baiting the Scots' for a sack. Tiger halfback J.P. Taylor waited patiently in the flat before he received the screen pass with two Tiger blockers down field.

Only one Highland tackler was in pursuit but did not catch up to Taylor as he trotted into the end zone, Ironton led 22-0.

On top of the defensive struggles for the Scots were the problems of Ironton’s athleticism and speed. The Scots crossed midfield only twice in the game and in the third quarter managed only seven yards of offense.

“They’re are just so big and strong, we thought we could use our speed to our advantage but they just controlled our offensive line real well,” Carpenter said. “Their linebackers are extremely fast, it didn’t seem like we could ever get our tackles to their backers and that alone caused problems.”

Coach Lutz seconded that notion.

“Our linebackers are smart, they get to the ball and they’re not afraid to hit,” Lutz said.

Ironton hopes to repeat its first round success when it takes on Heath next Saturday. The game will be held on neutral turf and the kickoff is TBA.

Ironton 15 7 14 0 — 36

Highland 0 0 0 0 — 0

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

I — Wetzel 8 run (conversion run) 5:48

I — Preston 5 run (Wetzel kick) :32

Second Quarter

I — Taylor 20 from Preston (Wetzel kick) 1:02

Third Quarter

I — Taylor 3 run (Wetzel kick) 8:07

I — Hager 47 run (Wetzel kick) 6:12

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Ironton; Taylor 8-48, Wetzel 10-38, Warner 8-35, Hager 4-58, Wilks 5-27, Preston 8-0, Jones 2-3, Lawless 3-7, Waginger 2-2, Dutey 2-6, Kratzenberg 2-6. Highland; Slaton 18-131, Green 4-26, McAndrew 8-17, Ulrey 4-1, Young 1-0.

PASSING — Ironton; Preston 3-4-0 62, Waginger 1-1-0 11. Highland Ulrey 3-8-1 18.

RECEIVING — Ironton; Taylor 2-28, Wilkes 1-34, Lawless 1-11. Highland; Young 1-7, Patrick 2-11.

Records — Ironton 9-2, Highland 8-3