Steubenville Topples Dover
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STEUBENVILLE--A little bit of time (one minute and 49 seconds to be exact) made a huge difference in Big Red's 29-13 victory over Dover before a large crowd inside Harding Stadium Friday.
The Crimson Tornadoes took the second half kick and put together a 79-yard scoring drive, all the yardage coming on the ground. The march consumed nearly seven minutes of the third quarter. J.J. Barton got the touchdown on a 7-yard run. Steubenville's Isaac Hill blocked the extra point attempt and the hosts led 14-13.
Big Red responded on its next possession, needing just five plays to travel 63 yards. The drive took 1:49 and ended with a 9-yard Gavin Bozica run. The highlight of the march was a 38-yard Phaeton Hill to I. Hill pass. The junior wide receiver went up and basically took the ball away from a Dover defender.
Reno Saccoccia's crew scored again in the fourth to seal the deal and run its record to 5-0. The 5-0 start is Steubenville's first since 2017. Dover falls to 4-1.
"It was a great game, a physical game," Saccoccia said. "Both teams have respect for each other and both teams gave it their all. It was a great win for us.
"There is no easy street in football. The only way you might be able to get to easy street is by going through the mud, the sewer or doing whatever you have to do to get there. There is no easy street."
Dover coach Dan Ifft was quick to note Big Red's third quarter answer had a major impact on the outcome.
"We were hoping we could have made them drive the ball after we scored our 13th point," he said. "But, they went down and scored within two minutes. If it had taken them longer, then it is a better game because then we have a shot. Instead, they scored quickly and it kind of took the wind out of our sails a little.
"They took a shot on that passing play. Our kid went up for the ball, he was well-positioned. He was right there but their kid went a little higher. It was an athlete making a play."
Steubenville took an early 14-0 lead thanks to a pair of Spencer Ostovich touchdowns and two extra points from Cole Bowers. Ostovich capped a 69-yard first quarter drive with a one-yard plunge. He went over from 4 yards to end a 68-yard march. That Big Red possession started after Alikwon Harris recovered a Dover fumble.
The visitors got on the board with 4:07 left before the half when Barton broke loose on a 53-yard jaunt. Lucas Lane booted the extra point.
Near the end of the half, Dover moved deep into Big Red territory but was unable to put points on the board before time expired.
The score then moved to 14-13 after Barton's 7-yard run.
Like Ostovich, Bozica also had a two TD night. His 5-yard run at the 5:45 mark of the fourth ended a 72-yard Steubenville march. P. Hill passed to Kyjhaun Hopkins for the two-point conversion.
"We had a bad 10 minute stretch in the second quarter," Saccoccia said. "Other than that, I thought we played a great offensively and defensively. We just had that one bad stretch."
Big Red showed great balance offensively, finishing with 347 yards of offense (174 on the ground and 173 via the air). Bozica led the ground attack with 94 yards on 17 carries. P. Hill completed 17 of his 21 passing attempts. I. Hill caught 10 passes for 123 yards.
"I really don't care about balance--I care more about execution and we are getter better at that," Saccoccia said. "You improve with every game, especially when you play Dover. After you play Dover, you are an improved football team."
Barton finished with 112 yards on 24 attempts. Quarterback Ben Hamm contributed 66 yards on 11 carries.
"We played hard but they are really strong on both sides of the ball," Ifft said. "They have a good football team. The offensive line is big, strong and really good. The quarterback was good last year and he is exceptional right now. Then you have that pony express back there in the running backs.
"They are a hard group to deal with. I think they will be a hard group to deal with in the tournament. They have a lot of good things going out plus the coaches do a great job and I have always thought that. They have great coaches and they work hard at it. Win, lose or draw, we get better in this game every year and that is why we continue to play it. That is championship football. In some respects, we answered it tonight and some respects we didn't. I hope we learn from it and grow from it."
Dover will entertain Canfield next Friday to start a difficult second half of the season. The Crimson Tornadoes also have dates with Columbus DeSales, Boardman, Linsly and New Philadelphia.
"Hopefully tonight's game will make us better as prepare for the remaining games on our schedule," Ifft said.
Big Red starts the second half of its season with a road game at Wheeling Park.
Steubenville 29, Dover 13
Dover 0 7 6 0
Stb 7 7 7 8
S: Ostovich 1 run (Bowers kick)
Second Quarter:
S: Ostovich 4 run (Bowers kick)
D: Barton 53 run (Lane kick)
D: Barton 7 run (kick blocked)
S: Bozica 9 run (Bowers kick)
S: Bozica 5 run (Hopkins pass from P. Hill)
RUSHING: Dover 38-196-2 (Barton 24-112-2; Hamm 11-66; Stevenson 3-18); Big Red 35-174-4 (Bozica 17-94-2; Faulks 6-31; Ostovich 7-29-2; Hopkins 1-1; P. Hill 2-0; Edwards 1-12; Williams 1-7).
PASSING: Dover 3-8-27 (all by Hamm); Big Red 17-21-173 (all by P. Hill).
RECEIVING: Dover 3-27 (Stevenson 1-8; Denny 1-14; Barton 1-5); Big Red 17-173 (I. Hill 10-123; Bozica 2-14; Edwards 2-13; Buggs 1-11; Sewell 1-4; Smith 1-8).
FIRST DOWNS: Dover 11; Big Red 19.
PENALTIES-YARDS: Dover 4-30; Big Red 5-35.
FUMBLES-LOST: Dover 1-1; Big Red 1-1.