PORTSMOUTH — The big plays from the Ironton offense were connecting during Friday night’s Division V, Region 19 semifinal at Portsmouth’s Trojan Coliseum.

After the Fighting Tigers’ (13-0) first scoring drive of 11 plays was capped by an Amari Felder one-yard touchdown run, Ironton connected on four touchdowns of 30 or more yards during the final three quarters of its 35-7 win over Portsmouth West (11-2).

“It was the big plays,” West coach Todd Gilliland said, after the game. “Defensively we played well for 5-10 plays in a row, then they’d hit us for a big one, and that was the thing we were worried about. They (Ironton) did a great job of it.”

Senior wide receiver Ty Perkins — a University of Cincinnati commit — caught touchdowns from Tayden Carpenter of 37, 45, and 37 yards as part of a six-catch, 147-yard performance.

Carpenter finished 16-of-21 through the air with four passing scores, including a 64-yard touchdown pass to Aiden Young, which put Ironton ahead 14-0 with 9:55 left in the second quarter.

West found the end zone in the third quarter when senior running back Ryan Sissel carried the ball for a seven-yard score, cutting the Fighting Tiger lead to 21-7.

Sissel set up his touchdown run with a 45-yard interception of Carpenter, which he took all the way to the Ironton nine-yard line.

“It was rewarding for him. He made the play that had us back in the game,” Gilliland said. “We’ve got the momentum going, things just didn’t work out. It was a big play, he’s been a big time player for us for all four years now. He just finished it out the way you’re supposed to.”

West concludes one of the best seasons in school history with an 11-2 record and an outright SOC II championship.

Their senior class includes Sissel, quarterback Mitchell Irwin, Alex Blevins, Brandon Barfield, Brandon Anderson, Carson Malnar, Matthew Johnson, Jacob Cole, Jack Jordan, Wyatt Weghorst and Carson Horner.

“One of the sayings of our school and football program in general is to leave a legacy. These guys definitely did that — the work and time they’ve put in, the leadership they’ve shown to their teammates and the younger kids,” Gilliland said. “It might mean as much to them now, but you see that number for an SOC championship, the ball that’s in the trophy case and in the tree that has your team’s name underneath it, you’ll realize just how special of a team they are. They’re a special group — it’s going to be hard to let them go. They’ve meant so much to us and it was a pleasure coaching them.”

Ironton advances to the Region 19 final, where they’ll face Canal Winchester Harvest Prep at Waverly’s Raidiger Field this Friday at 7 p.m.

Coming off an extremely successful season, Gilliland knows his team will hold its heads high for what it achieved over the course of 13 Fridays this fall.

“We’re going to hurt tonight, but tomorrow morning when we get to reflect on how good of a season we had, it was great,” Gilliland said. “Second-most wins in West football history. There’s not much that can hurt except this game tonight. It’ll be special to reflect on, having the SOC championship and winning 11-straight games. Really proud of those guys.”

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BOX SCORE

West 0 0 7 0 — 7

Ironton 0 21 0 14 — 35

Scoring Plays

I — Amari Felder, 1-yard run (Evan Williams PAT good); 7-0 I 11:56 2Q

I — Aiden Young, 64-yard pass from Tayden Carpenter (Evan Williams PAT good); 14-0 I 9:55 2Q

I — Ty Perkins, 37-yard pass from Tayden Carpenter (Evan Williams PAT good); 21-0 I 1:05 2Q

W — Ryan Sissel, 7-yard run (Carson Malnar PAT good); 21-7 I 7:45 3Q

I — Ty Perkins, 45-yard pass from Tayden Carpenter (Evan Williams PAT good); 28-7 I 11:37 4Q

I — Ty Perkins, 37-yard pass from Tayden Carpenter (Evan Williams PAT good); 35-7 I 9:24 4Q

Teams	West	Ironton
Yards (Pass-Rush)	85 (21-64)	395 (264-131)
Plays	42	58
First Downs	5	16
Turnovers	1	1
Penalties	2 for 10 yards	6 for 79 yards
Time of Possession	24:24	23:36

Individual Stats

Passing — Mitchell Irwin (W) 4/13 21 yards 2INT; Tayden Carpenter (I) 16/21 295 4TD

Rushing — Ryan Sissel (W) 16-57 TD, Hayden Lore (W) 3-0, Jeffery Bishop (W) 5-10, Mitchell Irwin (W) 5-(-3); Jaquez Keyes (I) 10-49, Amari Felder (I) 8-38 TD, Tayden Carpenter (I) 6-(-9), Landen Wilson (I) 3-24, Zayne Williams (I) 4-12, DeAngelo Weekly (I) 2-14, Jesse Copas (I) 1-5, Brandon Schreck (I) 1-3, Team 3-(-5)

Receiving — Jeffery Bishop (W) 0-0, Cole Tipton (W) 1-17, Ryan Sissel (W) 2-0, Brandon Anderson (W) 1-4; Ty Perkins (I) 6-147 3TD, Landen Wilson (I) 2-15, Aiden Young (I) 2-65 TD, C.J. Martin (I) 1-13, Shaun Terry (I) 2-6, Amari Felder (I) 1-5, Zayne Williams (I) 1-1, Brandon Schreck (I) 1-12,

Reach Jacob Smith at (740) 370-0713 ext. 1930, by email at [email protected], or on Twitter @JacobSmithPDT © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved