2010

BR	2010 Saccoccia	OPP
36	Inkster Mi.	0
7	N McKeesport Pa.	0
34	Brooke Wva.	21
14	St Johns College DC.	0
35	Morgantown Wva.	7
39	Wheeling Park Wva.	0
7	@ Massillon Washington	28
3	Youngstown Ursuline	24
59	Buffalo St Joseph Collegiate Ny.	39
36	Tonawanda Cardinal O'Hara Ny.	0
28	Dover	31
298	8-3-0	150

Regional Quarter-final, Big Red, 8-2, vs. Dover Tornadoes, 8-2, Saturday, November 6th, 2010, at Death Valley.

STEUBENVILLE - In a game featuring a bunch of big offensive plays, one defensive stop made all the difference.

Dover's Dalton Ryan and Keith Johnson combined to hold Big Red's Anthony Pierro one yard short of a key first down late in the fourth quarter and the Tornadoes escaped Harding Stadium with a 31-28 Division III Region 11 quarterfinal victory Saturday night.

The win moves Dover to 9-2 and gives coach Dan Ifft's club a date next week with unbeaten Sheridan. Big Red, which hadn't lost in the first round of the playoffs since 2001, finishes at 8-3.

Offense definitely was the name of the game. The teams combined for 841 yards.

The Tornadoes finished with 388 (336 coming through the air). Big Red had 453 (286 on the ground and 167 via the pass).

Steubenville finished with 25 first downs and Dover had 19. The Tornadoes had the only punt of the evening.

Senior Zack Rafter gave Dover the three-point edge when he nailed a 27-yard field goal with 7:36 left to play.

Coach Reno Saccoccia's club, however, wasn't finished.

Starting at its 27, Steubenville marched to the Dover 15. Junior Jo Jo Pierro provided spark after spark for Big Red during the drive. He ran for 30 yards and gained nine more after hauling in a swing pass from his brother. Faced with a fourth and five, Anthony Pierro rolled to his left and appeared to have plenty of running room. However, Ryan and Johnson closed fast and stopped him a yard shy.

The Tornadoes then ran out the clock to secure the huge victory.

"Our kids fought as hard as they could fight," Saccoccia said. "We were ready for a fight and we fought for 48 minutes."

Dover's high-octane offense put two scores on the board before the first quarter reached the halfway point. Junior gunslinger Derik Swinderman scored from 5 yards out as the Tornadoes marched 76 yards on their first possession. Rafter's kick bounced off the cross bar.

The Tornadoes got the football right back when they recovered the onside kick. Swinderman hit senior Colton Zahner for a 33-yard score. Rafter's kick made it 13-0 Dover with 6:37 left in the period.

Swinderman would finish the night 336 passing yards (hitting on 26 of 40) and three touchdowns. Zahner had 15 catches for 154 yards and a pair of scores.

When Steubenville finally got its hands on the football, it wasted no time finding the end zone. Senior Jordon Meyer did the honors when he took an Anthony Pierro pass 10 yards. Lucas McClurg added the extra point. The Big Red drive covered 76 yards in 11 plays. Anthony Pierro and Meyer hooked up 26 yards to convert a third-and-long and keep the march alive.

Meyer would give Big Red another boost a few minutes later when he recovered a Swinderman fumble at the Steubenville 22. Big Red again would run 11 plays before scoring, this time covering 78 yards. Jo Jo Pierro dove in from the 2 for the score. McClurg's kick put the hosts ahead by a point. The big play of the march was a 26 yard pass from Anthony Pierro to senior wide receiver Shaq Petteway.

Big Red's defense then held Dover to a rare three-and-out, helped by a huge play by Petteway and senior Willie Pruitt on a third-and-2.

Steubenville's offense would move from its own 15 to the Dover 12 before turning the ball over via an interception. Anthony Pierro found McClurg for 24 yards on the drive, sophomore Matt Petrella for nine and Meyer for eight. Jo Jo Pierro added 43 yards via the ground.

The Tornadoes would make the Big Red pay for the mistake, traveling 85 yards in just eight plays. Swinderman hit Zahner again, this time for 11 yards. They also hooked up for a two-point conversion, giving Dover a 21-14 halftime lead.

Big Red took the second half kickoff and marched 71 yards in nine plays to tie things up again. Jo Jo Pierro went in from 5-yards out. He ran for 33 of the 71 yards. Anthony Pierro and senior wide receiver Matt Ogletree hooked up for 33 more. McClurg added the extra point.

Dover came right back, moving 77 yards to regain the lead. This time, Swinderman found Deante Evans running free for a 33-yard pass and catch. Rafter put the Tornadoes back in front by seven.

Steubenville went right back to work, moving from its 30 to the Dover 9. On fourth-and-goal, Anthony Pierro tried to work his way to pay dirt but was stopped at the 2. Two plays later, however junior Jonathan Sherrell picked off a Swinderman pass and set Big Red up with a first down at the Tornado 7.

Following a motion penalty, Anthony Pierro hit Petteway for an 8-yard score. McClurg made it 28-28 earlier in the fourth quarter.

Dover's next drive, eight plays covering 63 yards, set the stage for Rafter's field goal.

Jo Jo Pierro finished the night with 155 yards on 29 carries and scored twice. With the performance, he topped the 1,000 yard mark for the season. Anthony Pierro hit on 14 of 22 passes for the 167 yards. Petteway, Meyer and Ogletree all had 43 receiving yards.

"Dan Ifft had his players and coaches ready," Saccoccia said. "I didn't have my coaches and players ready. The X's and O's had nothing to do with our losing. It starts at the top, they were ready and we weren't ready. We just did not have our team prepared they way it should be prepared for the playoffs."

Saccoccia did take time to thank his seniors for their contributions to the Big Red program.

"I really appreciate all they seniors did for us," he said. "I also appreciate their parents for all their efforts over the years."