Dover native and son of head coach aspires to excel as a Tornado
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
ALLIANCE--Growing up in tradition rich Dover, Rocco Rees viewed many players carve out their dreams of being inside the confines of Crater Stadium on Friday nights. He witnessed many conference championships, rivalry wins over rival New Philadelphia, and many playoff runs along the path.
Now he is a year away from eventually stepping out on the field as a high school Tornado and causing a storm.
Nine months ago after three decades atop the mountain as Dover High School football head coach, Dan Ifft ventured off into the sunset via retirement that featured a track of success that will be arguably debatable to duplicate. It didn't take long for Dover to find their replacement within the Tornadoes kingdom.
A 2004 graduate of Dover and a part of an undefeated season and capturing two national championships as a linebacker at Mount Union having graduated in 2008, Matt Rees was tabbed as the successor to Ifft and last week, Rees captured his first victory in the form of an 18-7 road victory over GlenOak. Friday night will be Rees' iconic home opener as the Tornadoes will host a Maple Heights squad that is a week removed from a 42-16 pasting of Lorain and celebrating their 15-year anniversary of their undefeated Division II state title winning team.
Someday, Rocco will be competing for his dad. But at the same time, he knows that he will be treated the same as the rest of his eventual teammates. However, he expressed fervent happiness upon learning of his dad's hire as head coach.
"I was obviously happy that he got the job. However the only thing that is going to be different is that he's always working but I'm happy for him," Rocco said. "I'm happy that he's doing what he's doing and what he wants."
It is no surprise to anyone that he conducts himself the way he is supposed to as a student at Dover Middle School, then a member of the community and finally an athlete. Coming from a family of educators and administrators, being humble and level is the expectation in the Rees household.
Both of his parents have injected that into him and with both not only graduates of Dover High School but also the University of Mount Union, that also is an immense factor. Whereas his father is the head football coach, his mother, Courtney is a 2000 Dover graduate and 2004 Mount Union graduate and current cheerleading coach of the Division III state champion Tornadoes. Rocco also receives immense support from his grandparents, Rob and Renee Sattler, who both also convey life lessons to him along the way.
Rob was the dominant face of Tuslaw High School as their longtime building principal and Renee had an illustriously zealous 35-year career as elementary school principal at Dover Avenue Elementary School.
That support has been advantageous to Rocco throughout his life, something that he acknowledged.
"It has always been academics first. Get your homework done before practice and after school and right after practice. Always take academics seriously first," he said.
Rees took a step closer to being a high school Tornado in a road contest at Alliance. The Tornadoes scored three touchdowns in the first quarter on their first three plays on their way to a 40-6 victory. Rees forced a fumble that he recovered and also had a solo tackle in the victory. Dover is now 2-0 on the season and they look primed to keep the momentum going, all the way to their eventual showdown with the Quakers, better known to Dover residents as the team up the river.
Rees witnessed many players travel the path he is traveling. And now he is living it. It did not seem like a long time ago Rees was cheering on the players who took the field at Crater Stadium or on the road. And now he is getting a major taste of that responsibility and it is something he grasps.
And based on his performance, that is an accurate assessment also amplified by his acknowledgement of Ifft.
"Coach Ifft was always great for the players and always giving good advice and his players always respected him, that was the big thing," Rees attested. "Respect, attitude and effort is what I grew up knowing and that is what I always hope to do and to follow that my entire life."
The major tenet of Dover football is to attack for four quarters and not take any plays off period. Kids as early at the elementary level have that ingrained into them and it stays with them all the way up to high school. The eighth grade middle school team swarmed early and often as a running clock was actuated in the second half as Alliance aside from one touchdown was never able to generate any kind of offense. Even when the clock was continuous, the Tornadoes continued to bring the ferocity that will serve dividends three or four years down the road.
Rees is a part of the eventual class of 2030. Who knows were his path will take him beyond that, he may even end up traversing the footsteps of his parents and forge a legacy at Mount Union, where at that point he would be a part of the class of 2034 and join his parents as graduates.
But for now, his goal is to conclude his final year of middle school undefeated and matriculate at the high school. Soon he will be under the lights of Crater Stadium, the same as those before him were.
"We just want to play hard every single game. Finish. We always want to finish the game and play hard every single game and the scoreboard will take care of itself. We just want to play hard every single game," Rees said.
Growing up in Dover, Rocco Rees saw many players before him carve out their dreams as Dover Tornadoes inside Crater Stadium. In about a year or two, he'll be causing the same storm as those before him did and with his father at his side as head coach, the storm brewing is palpable.
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