Season comes to an end

Ironton 34, Harvest Prep 0

The winningest season in program history ended for the second-seeded Warriors in the Division V, Region 19 championship game at Waverly. 

Ironton, which was the region’s No. 1 seed and improved to 14-0, stopped Harvest Prep twice inside the red zone in the first half and forced four turnovers overall. 

The Warriors, who reached a state semifinal last season, finished 13-1.  

“It hurts, but it’s called ‘life,’ and they’ll be better men as a result of it,” Harvest Prep coach Milan Smith said. 

Senior Ty Perkins led the way for the Tigers, who will play Germantown Valley View on Nov. 25 in a state semifinal.  

With 5:53 to go in the first quarter, Ironton quarterback Tayden Carpenter hit Perkins for a 23-yard touchdown. 

On the ensuing drive, Harvest Prep converted on third-and-18 from its own 9 when quarterback Aidan Rogers connected with Justin Batista and then on fourth-and-6 from its own 49 on a 12-yard pass from Rogers to Batista, but the possession ended with a fumble on a poor shotgun snap.  

The Warriors also reached the Ironton 33 on their next drive, but turned it over on downs. 

A 2-yard touchdown run by Carpenter made it 14-0 with 6 minutes left in the first half, but the Warriors converted on two fourth-down plays on their next drive and moved to the Ironton 17. On third-and-8, Rogers was intercepted in the end zone by Perkins with 39 seconds to go before halftime. 

In the third quarter, Perkins scored on a 17-yard pass midway through to make it 21-0 and intercepted Rogers at the Harvest Prep 45 on the first play of the next possession. 

The Tigers made it 28-0 on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Carpenter to Perkins with 2:58 to go in the third period. 

Perkins finished with five catches for 123 yards.

“We didn’t have a lot of momentum going into the second quarter, but we had big plays that really started to allow us to get momentum and that changed the way the game went,” Perkins said. “My quarterback, the line blocking for me, the linebackers covering their man, I couldn’t do it without them. It was a good team win.” 

HARVEST PREP: 0-0-0-0–0 

IRONTON: 7-7-14-6–34 

I—Perkins 23 pass from Carpenter (Williams kick) 

I—Carpenter 2 run (Williams kick) 

I—Perkins 17 pass from Carpenter (Williams kick) 

I—Perkins 20 pass from Carpenter (Williams kick) 

I—Keyes 2 run (pass failed)