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Topic: Ironton
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Mike Coleman
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Posted: 10/24/2025 11:13 AM
Anyone with any insight to what’s going on down there?
Tymaster
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Posted: 10/24/2025 11:21 AM
Mike Coleman wrote:expand_more
Anyone with any insight to what’s going on down there?
With regard to???
Mike Coleman
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Posted: 10/24/2025 11:23 AM
Tymaster wrote:expand_more
Anyone with any insight to what’s going on down there?
With regard to???
Talk they might be banned from playoffs and have to give up last year’s state title.

It’s kinda hush-hush what they are actually accused of, though.
SBH
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Posted: 10/24/2025 11:54 AM
Rumor is they are going to get the death penalty.
Mike Coleman
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Posted: 10/24/2025 12:07 PM
SBH wrote:expand_more
Rumor is they are going to get the death penalty.
Massillon is doing it, so we will punish Ironton.
Tymaster
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Posted: 10/24/2025 12:37 PM
Mike Coleman wrote:expand_more
Anyone with any insight to what’s going on down there?
With regard to???
Talk they might be banned from playoffs and have to give up last year’s state title.

It’s kinda hush-hush what they are actually accused of, though.
Looks like the playoff ban is official but they are permitted to finish season. I'm hearing (from football players where I teach, so take it for what it's worth) that they were "recruiting."
Ohio69
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Posted: 10/24/2025 3:23 PM
So private high schools in Ohio can recruit players and offer scholarships but Ironton can't recruit?

Bizarre times.
Can somebody hit a pull up jumper for me?.....
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 10/24/2025 3:53 PM
If you believe the scuttlebutt, Ironton HS has been paying players for years. When the Semi-pro Tanks folded in the 1930s, they just started paying the high schools players. But, I thought today that was legal, above board, and totally copasetic. If the OHSAA isn't in tune with the times, I see a law suit coming their way. [There's a tad of sacrasm in the above.]
The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

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Mike Coleman
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Posted: 10/24/2025 4:24 PM
Looks like a player sued the OHSAA looking to get eligibility restored, was granted a temporary restraining order, so the OHSAA might just shut the whole program down in retaliation.

https://www.ohsfbmedia.com/2025/10/ohsaa-sued-by-family-o...
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 10/27/2025 10:42 AM
It’s bad and a blantant cover up. Started when they didn’t hire an Ironton legend to coach Jr High basketball and he blew the whistle on 5 recruits that all listed as their address an apartment on a vacant lot with all leases signed the same day 5/1/25. One of the five the school failed to submit his transfer paperwork on time and he was ruled ineligible. Family then filed for an injunction which then led to the discovery phase. Here all the paperwork and documentation came out. This dating back to 7 years. To make matters worse, in week 10 they purposely started and played the ineligible players an a big middle finger which let to a forfeit that put Portsmouth not only into the playoffs but as a host team. Ironton people still deny there was nothing wrong done. Despite a mountain of text messages and legal documents that show coaches were instructing families on how not to get caught.
Last Edited: 10/27/2025 10:44:36 AM by BillyTheCat
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Posted: 10/27/2025 10:43 AM
Mike Coleman wrote:expand_more
Looks like a player sued the OHSAA looking to get eligibility restored, was granted a temporary restraining order, so the OHSAA might just shut the whole program down in retaliation.

https://www.ohsfbmedia.com/2025/10/ohsaa-sued-by-family-o...
The injunction was overturned and Ironton played the kid anyway. Family court filing provided evidence against their own case.
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 10/27/2025 11:19 AM
Terrible. Parents should be ashamed. Just play for your damn hometown, take some pride in making them better instead of always looking for the bigger better thing. And on the other side of the equation, kids who are actually from the town get deprived of opportunities that are given to out of town randos. I can't imagine taking part in any side of this and being able to sleep at night.
Andrew Ruck
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Valley Cat
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Posted: 10/27/2025 1:25 PM
The story is fascinating and it has such far reaching implications. What sounds like fake addresses, nothing registered with the Auditor's office. Payments made, something like 22 players from out of Ohio. All that said they essentially got a slap on the wrist. No playoffs one season, nothing vacated from the past win wise and a $7500 fine. The losers here was region 19 in D5. Portsmouth loses to Ironton and jumps from 12 to 5 as they are awarded a win over a 9-1 team with some quality wins.
The entire region got flipped. Teams lose a home game in round 1. Big story but the punishment isn't that terribly bad all things considered.
Last Edited: 10/27/2025 1:26:04 PM by Valley Cat
Mike Coleman
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Posted: 10/27/2025 3:46 PM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
Looks like a player sued the OHSAA looking to get eligibility restored, was granted a temporary restraining order, so the OHSAA might just shut the whole program down in retaliation.

https://www.ohsfbmedia.com/2025/10/ohsaa-sued-by-family-o...
The injunction was overturned and Ironton played the kid anyway. Family court filing provided evidence against their own case.
Interesting. Thanks!

As for the lenient punishment, perhaps that is because soon this will all be legal, or at least harder to police, under the guise of NIL?

And if you think this is just Ironton, haha. I went to school with D’juan Francisco. Tale as old as time.
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Posted: 10/27/2025 6:02 PM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
If you believe the scuttlebutt, Ironton HS has been paying players for years. When the Semi-pro Tanks folded in the 1930s, they just started paying the high schools players. But, I thought today that was legal, above board, and totally copasetic. If the OHSAA isn't in tune with the times, I see a law suit coming their way. [There's a tad of sacrasm in the above.]
All I know is that when I was a freshman and we scrimmaged ironton, I was the 135# tight end and their defensive end across from me was about 250. It wasn’t pretty.

He ended up in the NFL by the way.
Last Edited: 10/27/2025 6:07:43 PM by colobobcat66
CatsUp
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Posted: 10/27/2025 6:22 PM
colobobcat66 wrote:expand_more
If you believe the scuttlebutt, Ironton HS has been paying players for years. When the Semi-pro Tanks folded in the 1930s, they just started paying the high schools players. But, I thought today that was legal, above board, and totally copasetic. If the OHSAA isn't in tune with the times, I see a law suit coming their way. [There's a tad of sacrasm in the above.]
All I know is that when I was a freshman and we scrimmaged ironton, I was the 135# tight end and their defensive end across from me was about 250. It wasn’t pretty.

He ended up in the NFL by the way.
Coy Bacon??
colobobcat66
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Posted: 10/27/2025 6:45 PM
CatsUp wrote:expand_more
If you believe the scuttlebutt, Ironton HS has been paying players for years. When the Semi-pro Tanks folded in the 1930s, they just started paying the high schools players. But, I thought today that was legal, above board, and totally copasetic. If the OHSAA isn't in tune with the times, I see a law suit coming their way. [There's a tad of sacrasm in the above.]
All I know is that when I was a freshman and we scrimmaged ironton, I was the 135# tight end and their defensive end across from me was about 250. It wasn’t pretty.

He ended up in the NFL by the way.
Coy Bacon??
Yep
CatsUp
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Posted: 10/27/2025 8:03 PM
colobobcat66 wrote:expand_more
If you believe the scuttlebutt, Ironton HS has been paying players for years. When the Semi-pro Tanks folded in the 1930s, they just started paying the high schools players. But, I thought today that was legal, above board, and totally copasetic. If the OHSAA isn't in tune with the times, I see a law suit coming their way. [There's a tad of sacrasm in the above.]
All I know is that when I was a freshman and we scrimmaged ironton, I was the 135# tight end and their defensive end across from me was about 250. It wasn’t pretty.

He ended up in the NFL by the way.
Coy Bacon??
Yep
That would have been a nightmare for just about anybody. :)
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 10/27/2025 9:29 PM
CatsUp wrote:expand_more
If you believe the scuttlebutt, Ironton HS has been paying players for years. When the Semi-pro Tanks folded in the 1930s, they just started paying the high schools players. But, I thought today that was legal, above board, and totally copasetic. If the OHSAA isn't in tune with the times, I see a law suit coming their way. [There's a tad of sacrasm in the above.]
All I know is that when I was a freshman and we scrimmaged ironton, I was the 135# tight end and their defensive end across from me was about 250. It wasn’t pretty.

He ended up in the NFL by the way.
Coy Bacon??
Didn’t graduate college college, quit after a Junior (academic standards), played semi pro football before he got an opportunity. Graduated from Ironton, gifted to graduate. Good person, but yeah would be the shortest crayon in the box of 64. Until Bob Lutz arrived in 1972 from St Joe, Ironton was somewhat irrelevant. Back in the day, Ironton was the typical River industrial town and had jobs where you could “take care of folks” with jobs and housing. Ironton is a shell of itself and there are no jobs today. The family that filed the injunction (after the school failed to file paperwork), left a Zillow estimate $580k home for nothing and was renting that house for $600 a month to the oldest son while the “family” went from a 5,800 sqft home to 700sqft. And the other transfers all signed a lease on the same day.

No doubt it’s been going on for years, no doubt it goes on other places. But few people file a court injunction using a fake address and then I’m sure back in the day you didn’t get the “digital” receipts like you have today.

This saga has several layers, because the other layer is the current coach and AD turned their back on an IRONTON legend who started at OSU and wanted to coach his son in Jr Hight BBK, and didn’t get the job. He’d been helping with football for several years and had all the receipts. Then, he’s helping jr High Football and turns in a coach who is soliciting money for “players needs”. Yet that money was not going anywhere but his pocket. So this person turned him in and the whistle blower got dismissed and he was the one fired. So when he got the opportunity, he provided a MOUNTAIN of text and emails about contacts that step by step showed how to avoid being caught.
CatsUp
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Posted: 10/28/2025 9:15 AM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
If you believe the scuttlebutt, Ironton HS has been paying players for years. When the Semi-pro Tanks folded in the 1930s, they just started paying the high schools players. But, I thought today that was legal, above board, and totally copasetic. If the OHSAA isn't in tune with the times, I see a law suit coming their way. [There's a tad of sacrasm in the above.]
All I know is that when I was a freshman and we scrimmaged ironton, I was the 135# tight end and their defensive end across from me was about 250. It wasn’t pretty.

He ended up in the NFL by the way.
Coy Bacon??
Didn’t graduate college college, quit after a Junior (academic standards), played semi pro football before he got an opportunity. Graduated from Ironton, gifted to graduate. Good person, but yeah would be the shortest crayon in the box of 64. Until Bob Lutz arrived in 1972 from St Joe, Ironton was somewhat irrelevant. Back in the day, Ironton was the typical River industrial town and had jobs where you could “take care of folks” with jobs and housing. Ironton is a shell of itself and there are no jobs today. The family that filed the injunction (after the school failed to file paperwork), left a Zillow estimate $580k home for nothing and was renting that house for $600 a month to the oldest son while the “family” went from a 5,800 sqft home to 700sqft. And the other transfers all signed a lease on the same day.

No doubt it’s been going on for years, no doubt it goes on other places. But few people file a court injunction using a fake address and then I’m sure back in the day you didn’t get the “digital” receipts like you have today.

This saga has several layers, because the other layer is the current coach and AD turned their back on an IRONTON legend who started at OSU and wanted to coach his son in Jr Hight BBK, and didn’t get the job. He’d been helping with football for several years and had all the receipts. Then, he’s helping jr High Football and turns in a coach who is soliciting money for “players needs”. Yet that money was not going anywhere but his pocket. So this person turned him in and the whistle blower got dismissed and he was the one fired. So when he got the opportunity, he provided a MOUNTAIN of text and emails about contacts that step by step showed how to avoid being caught.
BTC, I think Ironton started turning it around a little before that under Bob Bruney. 1969 was a breakthrough year at 7-3, 5-5 in 1970, and in 1971 they went 9-1, with a lot of good players, including Hal Spears who went on to be the QB at Duke. Bruney submitted his resignation in early 1972 to accept a job at Brookfield in Trumbull County. I remember this because our high school team beat them 8-6 at Tank in 1970. :)

Lutz definitely continued the surge and took them to another level.
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 10/28/2025 9:30 PM
CatsUp wrote:expand_more
If you believe the scuttlebutt, Ironton HS has been paying players for years. When the Semi-pro Tanks folded in the 1930s, they just started paying the high schools players. But, I thought today that was legal, above board, and totally copasetic. If the OHSAA isn't in tune with the times, I see a law suit coming their way. [There's a tad of sacrasm in the above.]
All I know is that when I was a freshman and we scrimmaged ironton, I was the 135# tight end and their defensive end across from me was about 250. It wasn’t pretty.

He ended up in the NFL by the way.
Coy Bacon??
Didn’t graduate college college, quit after a Junior (academic standards), played semi pro football before he got an opportunity. Graduated from Ironton, gifted to graduate. Good person, but yeah would be the shortest crayon in the box of 64. Until Bob Lutz arrived in 1972 from St Joe, Ironton was somewhat irrelevant. Back in the day, Ironton was the typical River industrial town and had jobs where you could “take care of folks” with jobs and housing. Ironton is a shell of itself and there are no jobs today. The family that filed the injunction (after the school failed to file paperwork), left a Zillow estimate $580k home for nothing and was renting that house for $600 a month to the oldest son while the “family” went from a 5,800 sqft home to 700sqft. And the other transfers all signed a lease on the same day.

No doubt it’s been going on for years, no doubt it goes on other places. But few people file a court injunction using a fake address and then I’m sure back in the day you didn’t get the “digital” receipts like you have today.

This saga has several layers, because the other layer is the current coach and AD turned their back on an IRONTON legend who started at OSU and wanted to coach his son in Jr Hight BBK, and didn’t get the job. He’d been helping with football for several years and had all the receipts. Then, he’s helping jr High Football and turns in a coach who is soliciting money for “players needs”. Yet that money was not going anywhere but his pocket. So this person turned him in and the whistle blower got dismissed and he was the one fired. So when he got the opportunity, he provided a MOUNTAIN of text and emails about contacts that step by step showed how to avoid being caught.
BTC, I think Ironton started turning it around a little before that under Bob Bruney. 1969 was a breakthrough year at 7-3, 5-5 in 1970, and in 1971 they went 9-1, with a lot of good players, including Hal Spears who went on to be the QB at Duke. Bruney submitted his resignation in early 1972 to accept a job at Brookfield in Trumbull County. I remember this because our high school team beat them 8-6 at Tank in 1970. :)

Lutz definitely continued the surge and took them to another level.
Not taking anything from Coach Bruney, but Lutz and his record speaks for itself. When he retired was the iwinninest coach in Ohio History and top 5 in the nation. I appreciate your affection to Bruney, but Ironton football is Bob Lutz, his black Pny shoes and the multiple State Final appearances, with two titles and 4 runner ups, and back in the day with 3 divisions and his last title coming in 1989 with 5 divisions. And if he ever embraced a kicking game he’d have 4 titles. End of the day, can’t argue with the man’s numbers, even what he was doing at St Joe before Ironton.
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