Big Red scores 28 unanswered points in win
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STEUBENVILLE -- Ground Saccoccia (a.k.a Steubenville Big Red) took down Air Ifft (the Dover Tornadoes) before a full house by COVID-19 standards inside Harding Stadium on Friday.
The now 2-0 Big Red lost its top two tailbacks to injury in the first half but still managed to run for 239 yards in earning a 28-7 victory over Dover. Steubenville now holds a 19-4-1 lead in its all-time series with the Tornadoes.
“That was a great, great win against a great football team that we really respect,” Saccoccia said after watching his squad score 21 fourth-quarter points to put the victory on ice. “We caused our own adversity tonight, starting with me. I made more mistakes than the whole team and our coaching staffing put together. But, we fixed things at half time and were able to earn a hard-fought victory.”
With 1,500 fans looking on, Dover jumped on the board first thanks to a 73-yard drive that began after Dan Ifft’s defense stopped Big Red cold on a fourth-down play. Senior tailback Jacob Hostetler capped the march with a 20-yard sprint to the end zone at the 6:23 mark of the opening quarter. Matthew Dummermuth nailed the conversion kick.
Steubenville tied things with 3:44 left in the half on an 18-yard pass from Cade Kernahan to Brandon Kinney (who now has two receptions on the season, both good for 18 yards and both producing scores). Jared Roberts added the extra point.
The scoring march covered 31 yards and came after defensive end Raleem Brooks recovered a Dover fumble.
Dover moved to Steubenville’s 20 just before the intermission, but a sack by Spencer Ostovich ended the scoring threat. During the opening 24 minutes, Dover collected 118 yards of offense while Big Red compiled 160.
Midway through the third, Big Red moved from its own 43 to the Dover 4. This time, the Tornado defense delivered a big play, and the quarter ended with no change in the score.
Saccoccia’s charges took the lead for good thanks to a 5-play, 46-yard drive. The touchdown came on a 7-yard burst by Nate McShan. Roberts again split the up rights.
A bad snap on a Dover punt gave Steubenville the ball back at the Tornado 18. McShan again found the end zone, this time on a 9-yard run.
The ensuing kickoff by Big Red’s Mike Rook landed at the Dover 25 and was recovered by Niko Suriano at the Dover 25. Ostovich closed the scoring by plowing over from a yard away. Steubenville’s three touchdowns came during a span of seven minutes.
“Sometimes mistakes are contagious, and they keep multiplying. But, if you can get things together, positive things can happen,” Saccoccia said. “Good plays also are contagious.
“What it comes down to is you play like your seniors. Our seniors have sacrificed so much to be great. Now we have to get them to be great on every play, and we will follow them There’s only one general, and when he does his job, all the soldiers will follow him.”
Ostovich carried the ball 30 times and gained 139 yards. He became the featured back after starter Rodney James, Jr. and second-teamer Joshua Boffman left the game in the first half with injuries. McShan added 71 yards. Big Red ran for 143 yards after the 10-minute half time break.
“Offensively, we made some key mistakes but we stuck with it,” Saccoccia said. “You play like you practice, and we didn’t have a good week of preparation and that showed early.
“In the beginning of the game, we lost our first two tailbacks within five plays of each other. We had to regroup and change what we were doing. With our second group (Ostovich and McShan), we have more of an inside attack. With the first group, we run more outside.
“Our game plan was to try and fatigue their front line. We only have one player that goes both ways on the line. In our three-man front that we used a lot tonight, he does not play defense. So, our front line was fresh and it showed in the second half.”
Ayden Hall, Dover’s outstanding junior quarterback, finished with 136 passing yards. He was 9 of 25 and had a pass picked off by Steubenville’s Brenton Jones.
“I thought our defense played well all night,” Saccoccia said. “We bent a few times but we never broke and we were able to contain s very good offense.”
UP NEXT
Big Red will entertain Linsly this Friday. The Cadets opened their season with a 31-16 win over Martins Ferry.
“We still have a lot of work ahead of us,” Saccoccia said. “We have to keep improving every day.
“I want to thank the fans who were able to attend tonight. We really appreciate their support.”
Steubenville 28, Dover 7
Dover 7 0 0 0 -- 7
Steubenville 0 7 0 21 -- 28
D -- Hostetler 20 run (Dummermuth kick)
S -- Kinney 18 pass from Kernahan (Roberts kick)
S -- McShan 7 run (Roberts kick)
S -- McShan 9 run (Roberts kick)
S -- Ostovich 1 run (Roberts kick)
RUSHING: Dover 20-21-1 (Hostetler 16-55-1; Hall 2-(-12); Thomas 1-0; Team 1-(-22); Big Red 53-239-3 (James 5-11; Kernahan 3-4; Ostovich 30-139-1; Sims 1-18; McShan 12-71-2; Thorne 2-(-2)).
PASSING: Dover 9-25-136-int (all by Hall); Big Red 9-19-77-1 (all by Kernahan)
RECEIVING: Dover 9-136 (Ravine 4-81; Hostetler 3-33; Klar 2-22; Big Red 9-77-1 (James 1-6; Jones 3-30; Roberts 2-13; Kinney 1-18-1; Hopkins 1-8; Buggs 1-2).
FIRST DOWNS: Dover 9; Big Red 19.
PENALTIES-YARDS: Dover 1-13; Big Red 9-81.
PUNTS: Dover 6-38; Big Red 4-31.
FUMBLES-LOST: Dover 2-2; Big Red 1-1.