Late INT stymies another Dover football comeback bid in regional semi

By admin — In News — November 14, 2026

   ​STEUBENVILLE – That Dover still had a chance in the fourth quarter of its rematch with Steubenville was equal parts shocking and unsurprising.Those who followed the Crimson Tornadoes in the regular season were well-schooled on their grit and resilience. It showed in Ohio Cardinal Conference wins against West Holmes and rival New Philadelphia, games it overcame deficits to win.But this was a three-score hole at Harding Stadium where second-half comebacks come about as often as winning Powerball tickets. Yet, here Dante Clark and Dover were, within a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Was another rally in store?Not this time.Dover rallied for a pair of scores and had the ball with a chance to tie with 4:04 left, but senior safety Braidyn Edwards intercepted a Dieter Weber deep ball over the middle — his second of the game — and Steubenville ran out the clock for a 21-14 win.More: Ohio high school football scores, Tuscarawas-area playoff resultsMore: Indian Valley shuts down Claymont rally to reach regional finalMore: Ratliff, tenacious ‘D’ send New Lexington into regional finalBig Red fans could exhale after a much closer outcome than many in attendance envisioned after Colton Henderson’s 65-yard touchdown made it a 21-0 game with 2:33 left in the third quarter.Clark took a receiver screen 49 yards to pay dirt just two plays later. A 50-yard double-reverse pass from Weber to Cohen Murray, after Dover held Steubenville on downs inside its own 10-yard line, set up Clark’s 14-yard score with 6:18 left. It came on third-and-4, after two Steubenville penalties.As was often the case in this one, Big Red’s big dogs made a timely play to fend the Tornadoes off. This time, it was Edwards’ turn”As I’ve said before, when you look at this team, they continue to grow, and they continued to fight throughout the course of the game,” Dover coach Matt Rees said. “Like I said at halftime, ‘we’ve been here before.’ We fought through those (West Holmes and Philly) games. This time the outcome wasn’t in our favor.”Dover finished a 9-3 campaign under second-year coach Matt Rees, who led the Tornadoes to a five-win improvement. “It’s not our (goal) — that’s a state championship,” Clark said, shortly after greeting his senior teammates for the final time. “But from going 4-6 last year to making it all the way to the regional semifinals, and competing with the team that we lost to, 44-14, it’s a great improvement. I couldn’t be prouder of our team.”Steubenville (10-2), with five straight wins since a 44-40 loss to Youngstown Ursuline in Week 7, advanced to play No. 3 seed Columbus East (11-1) in the finals at 7 p.m. on Nov. 20 at a site to be determined. The Tigers, led by speedster Michael Thompson-Ayers, scored 22 unanswered points in the second half to shock unbeaten Licking Valley, 36-33, in their semifinal.Dover looked poised to pull its own stunner with plenty of momentum, but Big Red’s poise resurfaced after a momentum made a hard second-half shift  

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