The Ironton Tigers (2-0) had a close call with Russell, Kentucky last Friday, but kept their record clean following a 20-14 victory (read the report by WIRO here).

Ironton pounded rival Wheelersburg 42-13 in the season opener.

There's no secret as to what the Tigers do.

"I like that Ironton team", said Cavs Defensive Coordinator Jeff Arndt this week. "It's old school, you're gonna block, you're gonna tackle. You're gonna have to get your nose dirty, get down in there and get with 'em. There's nothing fancy about 'em."

Arndt was quick to note Ironton has four to five backs who will carry the ball.

And at Ironton, if you don't know how to block, you don't carry the ball.

Case in point, the Tigers know how to do their job.

Ironton gained 352 yards on the ground against the 'Burg in Week 1 and have more than 600 total yards in two games.

Tyler Hager has generated most of those yards with 208 on 33 carries.

Surprisingly, in 30 plus years coaching on both sides of the field, neither Cavs coach Ron Hinton or the Tigers' Bob Lutz have faced one another at Ironton... nor did one of Hinton's Amanda teams play at Tanks Memorial Stadium in the playoffs.

Still searching for its first win, Chillicothe has seen some improvement despite last week's lopsided game with Big Walnut (38-22 loss).

Players are also beginning to return from injuries that had them sidelined during camp. The Cavs will have their long snapper T. J. Daniels back, which may help what's been a shaky punting game.

Coach Hinton says the kicking of Noah Valentine hasn't been the problem, it's been the getting him the ball comfortably and the special teams' coverage. The first two weeks, Valentine has been kicking under duress just fielding the snap.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Township had two punt returns for touchdowns while Big Walnut had a return of their own for a score and capitalized on a high snap for another six points.

Coverage on 1490 WBEX-AM begins at 6:05pm with "Up Close with the Cavs" and "Game Night with the Cavs" starts at 7:05pm from Ironton.