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The Fighting Tigers earned a hard-fought, nerve-wracking 28-17 victory over undefeated Liberty Center in the chill at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Both teams finished the season at 15-1, as Ironton only had three games all year òòò½ÊÓƵ” including Saturday's òòò½ÊÓƵ” not end with the Ohio High School Athletic òòò½ÊÓƵsociation's running-clock rule in effect.

Ironton, under legendary coach Bob Lutz, captured state titles in 1979 and 1989. Saturday was the Fighting Tigers' 12th state championship game.

Now add Trevon Pendleton's name next to Lutz òòò½ÊÓƵ” as Ironton coaches with at least one state championship in the football-is-king Lawrence County seat.

The Fighting Tigers now have 759 all-time wins. 

"Couldn't be more proud of these guys," Pendleton said. "Obviously got off to a good start and things were going our way and we were the storm early. Then we had to weather the storm a little bit, and momentum got away from us. In high school football, momentum is a huge thing."

Ironton shifted it, Pendleton said, by running a defense it hadn't recently shown -- "something we didn't think we would use," he said, "yet we created some negative plays that were crucial.

"Then our offensive staff found some different wrinkles and found different ways to get people the ball. It was a great game; these guys fought and they finished the job. That's what we talked about, finishing the job. I'm very proud of them."

Nine times, including three in a four-year span (2019, 2020 and 2022), the Fighting Tigers have been state runners-up.

Terry, a Missouri signee, and Penn State commit Josh Johnson saved the Fighting Tigers' day inside the final two minutes to avoid another silver medal.

With Ironton leading 21-17 and 1:41 left, on third-and-3 from the Fighting Tigers' 32-yard line, they lost their only fumble of the game. 

But three plays later, as Liberty Center, on third-and-10 from the Ironton 33, gave the football right back.

Johnson forced a fumble and Brycen Mullins recovered at the Fighting Tigers 33.

Johnson was in a one-on-one tackle situation with Liberty Center back Waylon Rentz, and he made the most of his opportunity.

"Opportunities were coming, like the coaches said. We just had to make the most of them," Johnson said. "I saw the running back coming around the corner and it was one-and-one, so I had to go make the tackle. That's what I was trying to do, make a play. The ball popped out, our guys got on it. After that, it was over."

Well, almost over.

Three plays later, Terry made sure of it.

Terry òòò½ÊÓƵ” the Southeast District Division V Offensive Player of the Year òòò½ÊÓƵ” took a handoff and went untouched to the end zone. 

It was good for 67 yards with 46 seconds left, Beckham Waginger was true on his fourth extra point in as many tries and Ironton led 28-17.

Terry truly put the exclamation point on the Fighting Tigers' title when he intercepted Kaden Kreinbrink's pass at the Ironton 42 and returned it into the Liberty Center red zone.

So Terry had those two plays in a matter of 16 seconds, made a daring and diving 46-yard catch of a Schreck rainbow aerial to set up Ironton's third touchdown and returned a punt for 34 yards which he nearly broke to daylight. All told, he caught 10 passes for 147 yards òòò½ÊÓƵ” including for the game's first two touchdowns.

"Any time Shaun touches the ball, you have to hold your breath. He shows week in and week out that he can take it the house at any time," Pendleton said. "No disrespect to anybody else, because there are a lot of great football players in this state, but I don't think it gets any better than Shaun Terry. ... The energy which he brings from the locker-room to the field is unmatched."

Terry capped Ironton's opening possession òòò½ÊÓƵ” an impressive 14-play and 80-yard taking 7:43 off the clock -- when he caught a crossing route from Schreck from left to right, and hurdled a Liberty Center defender for a 35-yard TD reception. 

With Waginger's first extra-point kick, the Fighting Tigers took a 7-0 lead with 4:17 to play in the opening quarter.

After the Tigers drove nine plays and punted, Terry was at it once again.

Ironton completed an 11-play, 95-yard drive taking 4:30 with seven minutes remaining in the second stanza when Terry took a shovel pop pass from Schreck and dashed 46 yards to the end zone for a 14-0 lead with Waginger's second extra point.

It was a stark reminder of Terry's quality for those who believed he was snubbed by not being named even a finalist for Ohio's prestigious Mr. Football award, which went to Cincinnati Moeller quarterback Matt Pantoski.

During the postgame press conference, Ironton offensive coordinator Tom Kaskey came up while Terry was speaking and placed a "The Real Mr. Football" sign in front of him.

Terry praised Pendleton and Kaskey both.

"I just want to say one thing real quick. Coach Kaskey is a great offensive coordinator. But also to coach Pendleton -- he was also doing everything as an offensive coordinator. It's hard for somebody to give that up. It was really unselfish of him to do that," Terry said. "That's the reason why we won the state championship. Because of people like coach Pendleton. He handed that job down to (Kaskey), and he let coach Kaskey go all out with it. That's very special and you don't find that a lot."

You don't find many like Terry, and his playmaking abilities, either.

"Hey, I was telling the rest of the team that big-time players have big-time moments," Terry said. "Any ball in the air, I believe I can make the play. That's just my thought process."

Liberty Center coach Casey Mohler was thinking the same thing. 

"They just made a few more plays than us, and obviously, Shaun Terry was the difference. He is a special player and he was a tough matchup," Mohler said. "He made some big plays."

Schreck was 15 of 21 passing for 175 yards and the two Terry touchdowns and rushed 16 times for 44 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown.

That came with 5:25 remaining, and made it 21-9 with Waginger's third extra-point kick. It capped an Ironton drive of nine plays and 93 yards and exactly four minutes.

At the time, Ironton led 14-9 and had forced a Liberty Center punt òòò½ÊÓƵ” following a 13-play drive that spanned from the Tigers' 23 to the Fighting Tigers' 29.

At 14-0 and even 21-9, and definitely before the late exchange of fumbles, it appeared Ironton was on its way to victory òòò½ÊÓƵ” but the Tigers closed the gaps to 14-9 and 21-17.

In the second quarter, they made it 14-6 with a nine-play and 70-yard drive that consumed 4:20.

Garrison Kruse broke off a 34-yard run to set up a 1-yard Rentz walk-in, and after Ironton's only punt, the Tigers drove six plays in the final 66 second-quarter seconds òòò½ÊÓƵ” getting a Max Walker 39-yard field goal to end the half.

They made it 21-17 with 1:52 remaining, marching 11 plays and 66 yards in 3:30.

Blake Garber made a 33-yard reception on fourth-and-10, and Kruse caught the 10-yarder on the next play for the score.

Rentz ran in the two-point conversion, making it interesting indeed òòò½ÊÓƵ” even more so when the Fighting Tigers fumbled in Tiger territory.

However, Johnson saved Ironton's day by forcing the fumble on Rentz.

Terry talked about the wristband he wore, which said "Mr. Football."

"Remember my 'why'. I know what my 'why' is," he said. "My 'why' is the Lord, but my other 'why' is OHSAA. Remember why I am about to go out on that field." 

For the Fighting Tigers, that was Saturday's state championship.