Week 2 preview: Dover travels to Canton South in an epic showdown
Tradition-rich Dover, which plays one of the toughest schedules in the area, faces possibly the best passing team on its slate Friday night when the Crimson Tornadoes travel to Canton South to meet the Wildcats in the Game of the Week.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Clyde Brechbuhler Stadium.
Canton South (1-0) opened its season with a 42-40 shootout win over St. Clairsville last weekend. It is led by its first-team All-Ohio senior quarterback Poochie Snyder, a dangerous runner and passer who had 196 yards and three touchdowns passing and 182 yards and two rushing scores in that contest.
“I don’t think people realize it yet, but that’s probably as good of a Canton South team as I remember seeing, with the explosion that they have,” said Dover’s Hall of Fame head coach Dan Ifft. “I counted 19 seniors, 24 lettermen and nine of those lettermen have multiple letters, so what he (Canton South coach Matt Dennison) has is a group of kids that have been there with him for three straight years, led by the quarterback.”
Ifft compares South’s Snyder to Canfield’s graduated signal-caller, Broc Lowry, who is now a member of the Big Ten’s Indiana Hoosiers.
Dover (0-1), which is young in several spots this season, is coming off a tight 14-6 road loss against a very good Green team last weekend.
“We have a lot of work to do, apparently,” Ifft said. “The lights were on for the first time for a lot of our guys, and hopefully, that’s out of the way, but hats off to Green, they’ve got some good players, and they do a lot of nice things with them. It was a good high school football game, if you’re watching from the stands.”
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Several Tornadoes played very well in that contest, including running back J.J. Barton (touchdown run), two-way line standout Simon Lorentz (6-3, 285) as well as the entire Dover defense, which held Green’s dangerous spread offense to just 14 points, including none in the second half.
“Simon Lorentz played at a very high level, and J.J. Barton played at a high level, too, but those are two kids that have a lot of experience for us, and they’re used to being out there on a Friday night, and they showed it,” Ifft said. “Those are guys we’re going to have to lean on all year.”
Turning to Friday’s Dover-Canton South matchup, Ifft says his Tornadoes must be at the top of their game against the Wildcats’ quick-strike offense.
He used the Wildcats’ win over St. Clairsville as an example.
“St. Clairsville is extremely big on the offensive line with a good running back, and they pounded the ball and took six minutes off the clock or more and then South scored in one play,” Ifft said. “Then, they did the same thing the next series, and South scored in two plays, and then they did it again and South scored in three plays. They are an awfully difficult unit to deal with.”
Dover leads the all-time series with Canton South, 9-4, and Ifft has won five of the six games he’s coached the Tornadoes in against the Wildcats.
“Well, the past is past, maybe when I’m sitting in a rocking chair, but right now (the great coaching record against South) doesn’t mean a whole lot,” said the Dover head coach.
Ifft then reflected on Dover’s keys to winning the game Friday evening.
“I guess I go back to the adage, we have to protect the football and you have to hope that you control their offense enough that they don’t make big play after big play,” he said. “If they can drive in eight or nine plays, so be it, but boy, if you get one, two or three-play drives, you’re not going to win many of those football games. And you need a little bit of luck, the ball is going to have to bounce our way a couple times.
“We have our work cut out for us, but the bottom line is we have to improve,” continued Ifft. “We have to take a big step forward toward that end Friday night.”
New Philadelphia at Steubenville
Coming off an uplifting 42-21 season-opening win over Louisville, the New Philadelphia Quakers are hoping to carry that momentum into Steubenville Friday night when they play Big Red at 7 p.m. at Harding Stadium.
“We’re excited to be heading into it 1-0 and have a chance to compete against an always good, physical (Steubenville) football team,” said New Philadelphia head coach Mike Johnson.
The Quakers were very impressive in their Week 1 win over Louisville, storming back from an early deficit to defeat the Leopards by 21 points.
Steubenville is coming off a 36-28 season-opening loss to D3 state power Youngstown Ursuline, and Johnson knows his team is going to have to play very well in several areas.
“We’ve seen Steubenville year in and year out, and the consistency that they have is amazing that they’re able to do the things they do,” said the New Philadelphia head coach.
“The fact that we were able to play physical (against Louisville), we’re hoping to do that again this week. You have to match Steubenville to have a chance, because you know they’re going to bring it.”
Big Red’s top offensive threats include quarterback Ayden Manning, running backs Je’Mier Faulks and Julius Mullins and 6-4 receiver Issac Hill.
“Isaac Hill, the wideout, is a tremendous playmaker,” Johnson said. “You just know that anytime you go down to Death Valley you’ve got to be prepared. You’ve got to maintain the focus and the discipline, and you have to match their physicality. Those are things that are not negotiable.”
The all-time series record between New Philadelphia and Steubenville is even at 7-7-1. The first meeting in the series was in 1908, a 32-0 New Philadelphia win.
“I think (the key to winning Friday) comes down to winning up front,” Johnson said. “Their defensive line has two returning starters, and our offensive line has two returning starters, and we’ll see where our offensive line is at. It will be a big gauge, because if you can keep them off the quarterback, or if you can get a hat on a hat, you can run the ball. You want to be able to do both of those, but it’s not easy because their defense is intense, it’s physical and it’s fast.”
Week 2 games (all 7 p.m. starts)
Meadowbrook at Indian Valley
Veteran-laden Indian Valley, which was a regional finalist in Division IV last season, opened its 2023 campaign with a 39-14 win over the Akron Ellet Orangemen last weekend.
The Braves (1-0) will entertain the Meadowbrook Colts Friday night. Meadowbrook opened its season last week with a 20-17 triumph over the Maysville Panthers.
Meadowbrook replaces Washington (D.C.) Roosevelt on Indian Valley’s 2023 slate.
Meadowbrook leads the all-time series with Indian Valley, 9-6, but the two schools haven’t played in football since the 2017 season.
Garaway at Waynedale
Garaway will make its first road trip of the season when the Pirates travel to Wayne County Friday night to meet the Waynedale Golden Bears.
Garaway is coming off an impressive 38-6 romp over the Bellaire Big Reds during their opener. Meanwhile, Waynedale sustained a 21-6 setback to Tusky Valley in its season-opening contest.
Despite playing many new starters on defense, the Pirates’ defense picked up where last year’s stellar Garaway defense left off. The Pirates’ stingy defense held Bellaire in check while surrendering just six points.
Garaway surrendered just three points to the Golden Bears in last year’s meeting, winning 33-3.
Cleveland John Adams at Claymont
After making the trip to Harrison Central for its opener last Friday, the Claymont Mustangs return to Tuscarawas County and will entertain the Cleveland John Adams Rebels in an independent battle Friday night.
Both the Mustangs and Rebels are 0-1 on the season. Claymont dropped a 36-19 decision to the Harrison Central Huskies in its opener, while John Adams lost 42-0 to Lutheran East.
John Adams replaces Cleveland East Tech on the Mustangs’ schedule from last season.
Friday’s game marks the first-ever meeting between Claymont and John Adams in football.
Fairless at Tusky Valley
Fairless, coming off a stunning 29-22 loss to Sandy Valley, will hit the road to Tusky Valley Friday to play the Trojans.
Tusky Valley, which won one game last season, already equaled that win total last Friday when the Trojans topped Waynedale, 21-6.
The Falcons defeated Tusky Valley 40-7 last autumn.
Newcomerstown at Beallsville
Newcomerstown, which rolled to an easy win in its season opener, will be looking to stay unbeaten when it ventures to Beallsville Friday evening for a matchup with the Blue Devils.
Newcomerstown throttled Berne Union 42-7 in its Week 1 contest, while Beallsville (1-0) thumped Millersport, 41-14.
The Trojans won last year’s meeting by a 54-0 over Beallsville.
Newcomerstown leads the overall series with the Blue Devils, 3-2.
Strasburg at Steubenville Catholic Central
Strasburg will be playing a Saturday night game this weekend when the Tigers travel to Steubenville to play Steubenville Catholic Central at Harding Stadium.
Strasburg dropped a 27-0 shutout to the Rittman Indians in Week 1, while Steubenville Catholic Central whipped Wellsville, 37-6.
Steubenville Catholic Central replaces Waterloo on Strasburg’s 2023 schedule.
Fisher Catholic at Tuscarawas Central Catholic
Tusky Central returns home to play Fisher Catholic on Saturday evening.
The Saints (0-1) dropped a 48-0 decision to Conotton Valley in their season-opening game, while the Fisher Catholic Irish were routed 59-7 by the Crooksville Ceramics.
The Saints whipped Fisher Catholic 63-14 last season.
Conotton Valley at Malvern
Two teams that were very impressive in their openers last week will vie Friday night when the Malvern Hornets host the Conotton Valley Rockets.
Malvern opened the campaign with a 26-7 romp over Berlin Center Western Reserve in a road victory. Meanwhile, Conotton Valley overwhelmed the Tusky Central Catholic Saints 48-0 last Saturday night in Bowerston.
Malvern edged the Rockets 21-20 in a thriller last fall.
The two teams have been playing since 1959 and the Hornets lead the series, 32-3. They have won the past 20 straight meetings with the Rockets.
Carrollton at Philo
Carrollton, which pulled off an incredible comeback win over Akron Manchester at Community Field last Friday, will make the long journey to Duncan Falls Friday evening to play the Philo Electrics in an independent battle at Sam Hatfield Stadium.
Carrollton (1-0) was down 30-14 in the fourth quarter to the Manchester Panthers last weekend when the Warriors roared back, scoring 16 fourth-quarter points to tie the game at 30-30 and send it to overtime where it won 37-30 in double OT.
Philo is also unbeaten on the season as the Electrics traveled to Athens and defeated The Plains, 28-13, in its season opener.
Carrollton won last year’s meeting with Philo by a 14-7 final.
Friday’s game marks only the second meeting in football between the two schools.
Akron Manchester at Sandy Valley
Sandy Valley, which recorded one of the most impressive Week 1 wins, will be trying to keep things rolling when the Cardinals entertain the Akron Manchester Panthers Friday evening.
Sandy Valley (1-0) upended the Fairless Falcons, 29-22, staving off a late Falcon comeback in their season opener a week ago.
Meanwhile, Akron Manchester (0-1) watched a 16-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate in a 37-30 double overtime loss to Carrollton.
Sandy Valley defeated Manchester 34-15 last fall.
Ridgewood at Riverview
The Ridgewood Generals (1-0) posted an exciting one-point (22-21) win over the Coshocton Redskins in their Week 1 game and will try to remain unbeaten when they make the trek to Warsaw Friday night to play the Riverview Black Bears (0-1).
Riverview failed to score in its season opener last week, falling to the Morgan Raiders, 52-0.
The Generals rolled to a 41-14 win over the Black Bears last fall.
Ridgewood leads the all-time series with the Black Bears, 17-5, including wins in their past 14 meetings.
Orrville at West Holmes
West Holmes, which reached Division IV regional final last season, opened the 2023 campaign with a 41-7 thumping of the Triway Titans last weekend.
The Knights will look to maintain their winning ways Friday evening when they host the Orrville Red Riders (0-1).
Orrville dropped its season-opening game to arch-rival Wooster 33-31 last Friday.
West Holmes defeated Orrville 51-14 last fall.
Orrville leads the all-time series with the Knights, 29-17.
Johnstown at Coshocton
Coshocton (0-1) is coming off a close 22-21 road setback to Ridgewood from Week 1 and will be trying to get on the winning path when the Redskins host the Johnstown Johnnies Friday night.
Johnstown is 0-1 on the season as the Johnnies dropped a 26-22 decision to Licking Heights in their season opener.
Johnstown is a new opponent for Coshocton and replaces Cambridge which was Coshocton’s Week II opponent last fall.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Tuscarawas County high school football Week 2 preview
