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Big Red, Dover set for key game

HEADED ON THE ROAD — Rodney James and Jaylin Harris and the rest of the Big Red football team will travel to Dover for their only road game of the season Friday, with playoff implications at stake. -- Micheal D. McElwain

DOVER — Crater Stadium will be rocking Friday when a pair of unbeatens square off in a key Division III, Region 9 clash between Big Red and Dover.

Following a 34-0 blanking of Pittsburgh University Prep (its first shutout since 2017), Big Red stands at 4-0. The Crimson Tornadoes improved to 3-0 with their 28-14 victory over Akron East. Dover also has defeated Mentor Lake Catholic (43-7) and Canfield (21-14). Its contest with Indian Valley was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the IV program.

Friday’s game will be the 26th all-time between the tradition-rich programs. Big Red holds a 19-5-1 series lead. The clubs met twice in 2020, Steubenville winning the regular season contest 28-7 and Dover coming back to claim a 41-20 victory in the Region 9 playoffs. The kick is set for 7 p.m.

The first weekly Ohio AP high school poll was released Monday and Big Red is ranked second behind Chardon, the defending Division III champion. Dover is 15th. Of the top 15 teams, six (Chardon, Steubenville, Dover, Kenston, Aurora and Streetsboro) are from Region 9.

Joe Eitel has Kenston currently ranked number one in the regional computer standings. Big Red is second and Dover sixth.

“We respect Dover,” said Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia. “Like I have said 100 times, Dover has always been good but coach (Dan) Ifft has taken the program to a level it never reached before. Looking at Dover’s playoff history before him and since he has been the head coach, there’s a tremendous difference in the amount of wins and the number of teams they have upset.

“Dover is my favorite game of the year because they are very well coached and they have really good athletes. Their players and coaches both do very good jobs. They respect us and we respect them. I think that’s what makes the rivalry so good.”

Through three games, Dover’s always-potent offense has compiled 738 rushing yards to go with 429 through the air.

Connor McGarry, a senior, leads the ground attack with 395 yards on 56 carries (an average of 7.1 yards a tote). He has scored four touchdowns. Mitchell Martin is next with 141 yards on 26 trips.

Seniors T.C. Molk and Ayden Hall have been splitting at quarterback for the Crimson Tornadoes. In the 2020 playoff game, Molk torched the Big Red defense for 236 passing yards. He threw for four touchdowns and added another 66 yards on the ground.

To date, Molk has completed 18 of his 28 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown. Hall, meanwhile, is 12 of 24 for 214 and a pair of scores.

Joey Farthing, a 6-foot-5, 175 pound senior, is Dover’s top receiver with nine catches for 152 yards and a touchdown. McGarry has five grabs while junior Tyler Stevenson and senior Jacob Jones have four each.

“We need to erase memories of what Dover used to be out of our minds,” Saccoccia said. “Instead, we need to focus on what Dover is now. They want to run the football. They don’t throw it all over the field like they have in the past. They have a good running game featuring a very good back and they are good at the play action pass.

“They play two quarterbacks but basically run the same offense regardless of who is in there. Both quarterbacks are talented. I don’t think they will change what they are doing and just go to one quarterback for us.”

Along the offensive line, Dover has both size and experience. The leaders include senior Mike Beal (6-4, 215), senior Ryan McVicker (6-1, 270) and sophomore Simen Lawrence (6-3, 265).

“Dover has good size up front and four of their five linemen are back from last year,” Saccoccia said. “The line has been doing a real good job of protecting their quarterback and opening holes for the running game.

“The biggest plus is Dover added probably the best high school football coach in Ohio to its staff in Keith Wakefield.”

Wakefield has spent 50 years coaching football, including 37 as a head coach. Twenty-nine of those years came at Massillon Perry where he built the Panthers into a rugged, consistent winner over two separate stints from 1982-2003 and then returning in 2013 after the program had fallen on hard times. He announced his decision to step down from the Perry post in April.

Offensively, the Big Red is averaging 36 points per game, 257 rushing yards and 177 yards through the air. Saccoccia’s crew has 13 rushing touchdowns.

Senior Rodney James Jr. has collected 484 rushing yards on 58 carries. He has eight scores on the ground. Sophomore Savier Faulks is next with 207 yards while junior Spencer Ostovich has 202. Faulks and Ostovich both topped the 100-yard mark in the win against University Prep.

Junior quarterback Phaeton Hill is completing 60 percent of his passes (38 for 63). He has thrown for 706 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Brenton “Inky” Jones is his top receiver with nine catches for 276 yards (an average of 30 yards per grab) and five touchdowns.

The Big Red defense is allowing just 7.5 points per game. It has been tough against the run, allowing just 57.8 yards a game. Through the air, Steubenville opponents are averaging 124 yards.

The unit has recorded 14 takeaways. Senior Nico Suriano leads the team with three interceptions.

“They’re the real deal,” Ifft said about the Big Red when talking with Roger Metzger of the Dover Times-Reporter. “They’re a really good football program. We’re excited about the opportunity to play Steubenville.

“We’re a different team than the last time we faced them and so are they. They make us better when we play them. If and when you get into the tournament, you are going to see a team like Steubenville.”

When discussing the keys for Friday night, Saccoccia provided a little history lesson.

“The keys to football since it has been around have been blocking, tackling and trying to create turnovers,” he said. “Those are the keys for Friday.”

Saccoccia also reported his team is 100 percent healthy for its only road trip of the regular season.

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