OHSAA playoffs: Dover football riding a wave of momentum into rematch with Steubenville

When you talk about a high school football team on an exhilarating playoff roll, it’s the Dover Crimson Tornadoes.

The Tornadoes have masterfully overcome the loss of multiple injured two-way starters this season to claw their way into the Division III regional playoff semifinals.

The 11th-seeded Tornadoes, who knocked off fifth-seeded Granville and third-seeded Tri-Valley in the first two weeks of the postseason, will play second-seeded Steubenville in a D-III third-round battle Friday night at 7 p.m. at Carrollton’s Community Field. It’s a contest between two of Ohio’s tradition-steeped football schools.

Dover head football coach Dan Ifft said his talented and ever-growing team is playing with “house money,” and the Tornadoes and their fans are loving every part of the experience.

“It’s like going to the roulette table and it’s not my money, so I’m good with it,” Ifft said. “Let’s roll it and see what happens.”

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Dover knocked off Granville and Tri-Valley in the OHSAA Division III playoffs and now faces Steubenville Friday.

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Friday’s game marks the 30th time overall, and second occasion this season that the Crimson Tornadoes and Big Red have played. The historical series actually began back in 1921 when Ohioan Warren G. Harding was in the White House.

Dover is riding a wave of momentum entering Friday’s game. The Tornadoes (9-3) are coming off a thrilling 37-35 second-round playoff win over Tri-Valley in Dresden last week. The Tornadoes impressively rallied from as much as a 21-point deficit to stun the formerly unbeaten Scotties (now 11-1).

“We…

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Author : The Times-Reporter

Publish date : 2024-11-13 10:16:31

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