Week 3 preview: Dover football 'hungry' for Friday night win against Indian Valley
A packed house is expected Friday night at Indian Valley’s 3,200-seat Braves Stadium when Dover and Indian Valley square off at 7 p.m. in one of the area’s biggest games of the week.
“It’s exciting for the county and for our fans and theirs, but we’re looking at it like we’re 0-2 and we better be angry about being 0-2 and we better play with an attitude that it’s no fun to be 0-2,” said Dover head coach Dan Ifft. “We need to make sure we protect the football and play our tails off, because they’re going to play very hard against us and they’re a very good football team.”
Indian Valley, which reached the D4 regional championship game last fall and returns many starters from that 10-4 team, is 2-0 on the season. The Braves defeated Akron Ellet (33-14) in Week I and the Meadowbrook Colts (47-16) last Friday.
Tradition-rich Dover, which plays a brutal schedule, enters the battle with a deceiving 0-2 record, having lost to a pair of unbeaten 2-0 teams in D2 Federal League member Green (14-6) in their opener and Canton South (50-40) in a Week 2 shootout at Clyde Brechbuhler Stadium.
Indian Valley has never beaten Dover in football, as the Crimson Tornadoes have won all 13 meetings in the series, including last year’s 20-6 decision at Crater Stadium. Dover has outscored Indian Valley, 107-6, in their last three meetings.
Unlike Canton South, which throws the football all over the yard, Indian Valley is a power run-dominated football team that is very efficient.
“They do (line it up and come at opponents) but they’ve got some skill as well and they can go over top or go out wide,” Ifft said. “He (Indian Valley head coach Matt Lancaster) likes to run it at people from multiple formations and different things of that nature. They’re a very fine offensive football team.”
Ifft is impressed with the Braves’ backfield combination of Kolton Thomas and Grady Kinser.
“Those two youngsters could play for any team in the state of Ohio,” said the Dover coach. “They’re talented young men.”
Dover, which is youthful in spots, really took a major step forward offensively in the game against South.
Talented sophomore quarterback Jack Judkins threw for 305 yards, and Dover’s talented running back J.J. Barton also had a big game as well.
“(Judkins) is coming of age, he’s a young kid and he’ll make a mistake here or there, but he showed what he can do when the fire got hot, he really turned up his game and that was really good to see,” Ifft said. “He’s a real mature kid and a real competitive youngster.
“And (Barton) is a tough matchup for people,” said the Dover coach of his star running back. “He can run and make people miss, and Justice Hughes, he’s a sophomore, and he kind of had a coming out party as well.”
Dover changed its offense to the five-wide (spread) against South, and Ifft said that’s what the Tornadoes will stay in moving forward.
“We’re back to running it (the five-wide) offense,” said the Tornadoes’ Hall of Fame coach. “We ran that against South. We felt our talent was ready for that, and Jack showed us in practice he’s ready for that. He has a beautiful release.”
Ifft praised several Tornadoes from the South game.
“Simon Lorentz was kind of a beast on the defensive line,” he said. “He made a ton of plays for us, and they couldn’t run the ball because of what he was doing. Caden Schie had a nice pickoff and Isaac Blickensderfer had a nice deep interception, so we made some plays. And Zane Marks, one of our inside linebackers, had a good game, too.”
Ifft expects a hungry Dover team to take the field Friday night.
“We got better (last week) but we didn’t get the win, now we have to figure out how to get better and get the win,” he said. “We’re kind of empty right now because we don’t have a win in two games, so we’re a little bit hungry about that.”
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Wooster at New Philadelphia
New Philadelphia will open Ohio Cardinal Conference play when the Quakers entertain the Wooster Generals Friday night at 7 p.m. at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium.
It marks the 69th all-time meeting between the Quakers and Generals, and New Philadelphia leads the series, 38-28-2.
Wooster is 1-1 on the campaign. The Generals were clawed 45-13 by the Wadsworth Grizzlies in Week 2, after defeating arch-rival Orrville 33-31 in Week 1.
The Generals defeated New Philadelphia 21-0 last season at Follis Field.
Quaker head coach Mike Johnson says the Generals like to air it out.
“Like a lot of teams, they spread it out a little bit,” said the New Philadelphia coach. “They’ve got a couple guys that run the ball well with (junior running back) Julian Franklin and the quarterback (5-9, 145-pound junior AJ Likowsk) is mobile and does a good job of throwing it, too, and their wide receivers are really good at catching. They go up and get it. They’re a pretty balanced team.”
The Quakers (1-1) are coming off a 29-14 loss at Steubenville last Friday night after defeating Louisville (42-21) in their season opener.
In last week’s game, Quaker running back Etnie Richardson had 100 yards rushing and a touchdown, as well as a receiving touchdown. Quarterback Keaton Fausel also had a solid game running and passing, and receiver Pete Didonato had three catches for 20 yards.
“Etnie Richardson has done a really good job, and Keaton Fausel, our quarterback, those are the two guys who really keep us going and kept us going on Friday night (against Stuebenville),” Johnson said.
The New Philly head coach felt his young team learned a lot playing at Steubenville, which is one of the most challenging places to play in Ohio for a visiting team.
“It is a tough place to play, but I thought our kids competed well throughout the whole game,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day it came down to this: When we got stops, we didn’t score, but when we scored, we didn’t get stops. We couldn’t put it all together for four quarters. But there were plenty of bright spots. Nobody backed down and we were physical, and I think that’s the type of stuff I expect to see as we move forward and build upon it.”
West Muskingum at Garaway
Two unbeaten teams will clash Friday night when Inter-Valley Conference power Garaway hosts the West Muskingum Tornadoes from the Muskingum Valley League at 7 p.m.
The two schools have played twice before in their history, but their last meeting was back in 2000. Their all-time series is tied at 1-1.
Garaway (2-0) has outscored its first two opponents, Bellaire and Waynedale, by a combined score of 78-18, including last week’s 40-12 romp over the Golden Bears.
West Muskingum, also 2-0, opened its season with a 48-28 win over Lakewood, followed by a 38-20 win over Marietta last Friday evening.
Fairless at Claymont
Claymont, which picked up its first win of the season last weekend, will hope to make it two in a row when the Mustangs (1-1) entertain the winless Fairless Falcons (0-2) Friday night at 7 p.m.
The Mustangs are coming off a 60-0 rout of Cleveland John Adams.
Fairless, which has been a playoff team the past several seasons, has struggled out of the gate this season. The Falcons are coming off a 45-14 loss to Tusky Valley and also lost 29-22 to Sandy Valley in Week 1.
Fairless defeated Claymont 35-6 last season during its 9-3 playoff campaign.
Tusky Valley at Martins Ferry
Unbeaten Tusky Valley makes the long trip to the Ohio River on Friday night to play the Martins Ferry Purple Riders in a non-league game at 7 p.m.
The Trojans (2-0) have enjoyed a great start to the 2023 season, defeating Waynedale (21-6) in their opener and Fairless (45-14) in Week 2.
Tusky has already doubled its win total from last season when it finished 1-9 with a youthful team.
The Trojans will be facing a Purple Rider team which is 1-1 on the campaign.
Ferry defeated winless Shadyside 39-36 in its season opener but was pounded 54-0 by the St. Clairsville Red Devils last week.
This marks only the second meeting in football between Tusky Valley and Martins Ferry. The two teams played in 1998 in Zoarville with the Purple Riders posting a 50-0 triumph.
Leetonia at Strasburg
Two teams looking for their first win will vie Friday night at 7 p.m. when Strasburg hosts the Leetonia Bears in an independent game.
Both teams are looking to get their offenses untracked as Strasburg has yet to score a point this season and Leetonia has only scored six points.
The Tigers are 0-2 on the season, losing to a pair of unbeaten teams in Rittman (27-0) and Steubenville Catholic Central (30-0) last Saturday night at Harding Stadium.
Leetonia, which is a member of the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference, is also 0-2, losing its first two games to Fairport Harding (47-6) and Waterloo (21-0) last weekend.
Strasburg is a new opponent on the Tigers’ schedule, replacing Caldwell who the Tigers played in Week 3 last autumn.
Newcomerstown at Conotton Valley
An all-area matchup Friday night will pit unbeaten Newcomerstown at Conotton Valley in an Inter Valley Conference battle. Game time is 7 p.m.
Newcomerstown has been outstanding on defense through the first two weeks of the season, surrendering just seven total points.
The Trojans have recorded wins over Berne Union (42-7) and Beallsville (27-0) last Friday.
Conotton Valley (1-1) opened the year with a 48-0 romp over Tuscarawas Central Catholic but wound up on the short end of a 28-0 IVC loss to the unbeaten Malvern Hornets last week.
Newcomerstown leads the all-time series with the Rockets, 19-5, including a 58-44 win last season.
Lowellville at Tusky Central Catholic
Tusky Central Catholic will play a new opponent on its schedule when the Lowellville Rockets visit Friday night at 7 p.m.
Lowellville is a member of the Youngstown-based Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference. The Rockets are 2-0 on the year, defeating Columbiana 22-21 in overtime of its season opener and posting a 33-14 triumph over the Campbell Memorial Red Devils last Friday.
The Saints are 0-2 on the campaign and have dropped back-to-back games against Conotton Valley (48-0) in Week 1 and Fisher Catholic (35-6) in Week 2.
Lowellville replaces South Central on the Saints’ schedule.
Carrollton at Ridgewood
The Inter Valley Conference’s Ridgewood Generals begin a two-game stretch against Eastern Buckeye Conference opponents, beginning with Carrollton which visits West Lafayette Friday night at 7 p.m., and West Branch which comes to town next Friday.
The Generals (2-0) have been impressive in opening the season with wins over Coshocton (22-21) and River View (57-6) last week.
Carrollton features a youthful team this season and is 1-1 on the campaign. The Warriors opened the season with a 37-30 double overtime win over the Manchester Panthers before dropping a road contest in Duncan Falls last week to the Philo Electrics (20-14).
Carrollton replaces Marlington on the Generals’ schedule this season.
Coshocton at Maysville
Two teams looking for their first win will collide Friday at 7 p.m. when the Coshocton Redskins travel to Zanesville to play the Maysville Panthers at 7 p.m.
Coshocton lost its first two games to Ridgewood (22-21) and the Johnstown Johnnies (50-36) last Friday evening.
Meanwhile, Maysville was edged 20-17 in a season-opening setback to Meadowbrook followed by a 33-10 defeat last weekend to New Lexington.
Maysville leads the all-time series with Coshocton, 5-4, including a 20-12 win last season. The Panthers have won five straight games in the series.
Harrison Central at Malvern
Something will have to give Friday night at 7 p.m. when the Harrison Central Huskies visit the Malvern Hornets.
Both teams are 2-0 on the year and have been impressive in the first two weeks of the season.
Malvern has only surrendered seven points through the first two games, whipping Berlin Center Western Reserve (26-7) in Week 1 and Conotton Valley (28-0) last week.
Meanwhile, Harrison Central has bested Claymont (36-19) and Buckeye Trail (26-14) in Week 2.
Malvern replaces Perry Traditional Academy who the Huskies played in Week 3 last season.
Canton South at Sandy Valley
A pair of unbeaten teams are slated to meet Friday at 7 p.m. when the Canton South Wildcats visit the Sandy Valley Cardinals.
Canton South (2-0) is fresh off two impressive wins, including 42-40 over St. Clairsville and 50-40 over Dover last week.
The Wildcats are led by first-team All-Ohio quarterback Pucci Snyder.
Sandy Valley (2-0) has recorded wins over Fairless (29-22) and Akron Manchester (49-13) in the first two weeks of the season.
Canton South is a new opponent on the schedule for the Cardinals.
River View at Tuslaw
The River View Black Bears will be searching for their first win of the season Friday at 7 when they travel to Massillon to meet the Tuslaw Mustangs.
River View is 0-2 with losses to the Morgan Raiders (52-0) and Ridgewood Generals (57-6).
Tuslaw is 1-1 with a season-opening setback to the Smithville Smithies (21-6) and a victory last week over the Chippewa Chipps (34-0).
Tuslaw is a new foe on River View’s schedule.
West Holmes at Licking Valley
West Holmes (2-0) will be looking for Win No. 3 Friday night when it travels to Newark to play the Licking Valley Panthers at 7 p.m.
West Holmes won its first two games of the season against Triway (41-7) and Orrville (35-31).
Licking Valley is still searching for Win No. 1 after sustaining losses to Thornville Sheridan (33-14) and Heath Bulldogs (46-17).
The Knights whipped Newark Licking Valley (56-14) last season.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Week 3 football preview: Dover 'hungry' for win against Indian Valley
