WHAT A STORM! Tornadoes hold off final Quaker rally, triumph 35-28

 WHAT A STORM! Tornadoes hold off final Quaker rally, triumph 35-28

By Keno Sultan

Stark County Prep Press

www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com

DOVER--Matt Rees took off his headset with five seconds left. He didn't need to hear it from upstairs. Either the arms of the referee were going to be horizontal or vertical.

All of Crater Stadium held its breath when New Philadelphia junior quarterback Parker Rieger lofted a Hail Mary into the end zone with the clock having expired. Rieger's pass was intercepted in the end zone and a trying season for a Tornadoes team that were rankled with injuries and missed opportunities had a thrilling conclusion as the hosts obtained a heartstopping 35-28 victory in front of a standing room only crowd in what was the 122nd meeting between the two teams separated by a river.

The game featured a staggering three lead changes and three ties between two teams that displayed a very cold refusal to quit. Despite both teams being eliminated from playoff contention, this game had the makings of a state championship atmosphere with each team taking the best shot of the other. Both teams have now alternated victories with each team capturing a victory on their home field in the last five years.

For Rees, a 2004 graduate of Dover and former standout competitor, it was a challenging season as he was chosen by Dan Ifft to be his successor after having been the team's defensive coordinator. After a season opening win over GlenOak, Dover endured a five-game losing streak that had the capabilities of unraveling their season, especially with thunderous losses to Ashland and Steubenville not to mention close losses to Maple Heights and a double-overtime setback to Columbus Academy. But not one player or coach mailed it in and the end result was a run that saw them win three of their last four to conclude the season 4-6 but it was a validated four win season based on tonight's triumph.

A major nugget to that: Rees is now 5-0 against New Philadelphia, winning all four of his varsity games as a player and now 1-0 against the Quakers as head coach.

"You know the word excitement has been thrown around a lot this past week and you know there are a lot of words you can use to describe it but the word I would use is excited. I'm excited for the players and the work that they put in this year and I'm excited for our community for they understand the tradition of the game and I am proud to be part of it," Rees said.

One player that will be giving the Quakers nightmares for the next 365 days was wide receiver and defensive back Dante Clark. After both teams scored on their respective second possessions with Myles Tyson contributing to the Quakers cause with a two-yard touchdown run and then quarterback Dieter Weber connecting on a 54-yard touchdown pass to Liam Mast in which Mast stiff-armed a Quakers defender and was into the end zone after three missed tackles, that is when Clark etched his name in the chapter of the rivalry.

Fielding the Quakers punt, he found a gaping hole and his speed took care of the rest as he found real estate in the form of a seraphic 81 yard punt return score and in a span of 4:05, the Tornadoes obtained their first lead to conclude the first quarter with a 14-7 advantage. 

The fun was just commencing

"I saw that I had space and the punter kicked it kind of short and I found a crease in their unit. And when I found that crease, I knew I was going to take it to the house," Clark said.

TORNADO BRIEFING. Dover head coach Matt Rees confers with his team during a timeout in the first half of Friday's contest against New Philadelphia. Rees improved his record to 5-0 (4-0 as a player) against the Quakers as his team prevailed 35-28. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)

Undeterred by the Tornadoes run, New Philadelphia relied on their running game, spearheaded by their trio of Tyson, Rieger and Kolston Fox. The Quakers converted a critical fourth down on a two-yard run by Fox and four plays after that, Rieger took advantage of a miscommunication in the Tornadoes secondary and located a wide open Jackson Norris for the equalizer that tied the game.

Dover was more than happy to respond to the Quakers drive with one of their own as Weber took advantage of a deficiency in the Quakers secondary and spotted Mast over the middle where he took advantage of a miscue in their secondary and scored from 25 yards out. However, the extra-point was missed and the hosts only had a 20-14 lead.

New Philadelphia drove very deep into Dover territory and were well within field goal range. They opted to gamble from the Dover 14 but Tyson was stymied by a horde of Crimson Tornado defenders and that was a huge stand for the Tornadoes and at the time, a ruinous sequence for the visitors going into halftime.

"I thought we did some good things early on, we threw the ball and got some big plays for us. But Dover did a good job fighting back and the momentum changed a whole lot," Quakers fifth-year head coach Matt Johnson, a 2001 graduate of New Philadelphia said of that sequence.

The second half started out healthy for the Quakers as they relied on their running game that saw them obtain three first downs along with a humonguous fourth down pass from Rieger to Carter Watson that spanned 20 yards and two plays later, Tyson had his second touchdown, a seven-round end around that reclaimed the lead for New Philadelphia as the third quarter game to a conclusion.

QUAKER CELEBRATION. New Philadelphia players celebrate Myles Tyson's two-yard touchdown in the first quarter of Friday's game at Crater Stadium. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)

That would set up the final and frenzied fourth quarter. Dover appeared to land a knockout punch as they capped a 16-play, 78 yard drive that concluded with Weber finding senior receiver Robbie Copple in the end zone and Clark's two-point catch was good as the Tornadoes repossessed the lead.

The Quakers needed only three plays to provide an emphatic response when Rieger aimed a pass over the middle for CJ Carlisle and one missed tackle later was into the end zone for a 51-yard score and once again the game was tied.

Was Dover about to fall apart again? Did New Philadelphia score too quickly?

"This game it doesn't matter about the records. It says a lot that both teams were willing to fight and that is something special about this game. You throw out all the records and both teams battled tonight," Rees said.

"Even well before Carlisle's score we had a chance to stop them and they had converted some third down conversions which ended up huge plays and credit to Dover for making those plays because that's what it comes down to," Johnson said.

Dover got the ball at their own 20 yard line and drove down the field as the Quakers defense that had been stout for three quarters finally started to languish. After a pass completion to Clark by Weber put them in Quakers territory, a late hit penalty on the visitors that spanned 15 yards moved the ball to the nine yard line and two plays after the New Philadelphia infraction, Weber located Clark for his third touchdown pass of the game and the Tornadoes took a 35-28 lead with 24 seconds left.

That set up the final attempt for the Quakers as Rieger completed a pass to Norris to the Dover 33 yard line. Rieger's Hail Mary was intercepted and it set off a zealous celebration on the Dover sideline while New Philadelphia players tearfully awaited the customary handshakes.

Both teams who qualified for the playoffs last season will not have a postseason appearance. For Johnson, he was proud of his team and the seniors who gave their heart and soul in their last game as Quakers. He wants the freshmen, sophomores and juniors to remember the dismal feeling so they don't want to experience it again 12 months from now.

"You hit the nail on the head, this stings," Johnson said when asked about the grief and sorrow his team his team is enduring. "This pain, it hurts and it's not fun to lose especially in week 10 against your rival. I'm proud of this team for their growth from when they were freshmen has been tremendous. We had our chances tonight but didn't make the most of them so we are going to work to clean those up, get better and be in a better spot next year."

Like the Quakers, the Tornadoes will not be qualifying for the postseason but their victory will be something for them to build on and when offseason conditioning begins a month from now, the Tornadoes will be in a better situation to improve on their four-win season.

Eight months ago, Rees was hired to be Dover's newly minted football coach. But one thing still remains intact: his flawless record against the Quakers and bragging rights for the next 365 days, something he soaked in during the on-field celebration with his team and family.

"We will certainly remember tonight and remember, we opened up the season with a win and we told these guys how many teams in the state of Ohio get to play their last game with a win and end their season with a win," he said. "Record aside, they are fortunate to get a win."

Matt Rees took off his headset with five seconds left. Five seconds later, his flock of Tornadoes earned a well-deserved celebration that lasted well into the night.

DELIGHT OF DOVER. Dover High School football players celebrate their 35-28 victory over New Philadelphia in the 122nd meeting between the two high schools. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press).

HAPPY FAMILY. Dover head coach Matt Rees and family are all smiles after the Tornadoes victory over New Philadelphia at Crater Stadium Friday night. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)

Keno Sultan is a writer for Stark County Prep Press. He can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.