Miscues haunt Zanesville in Dover loss

ZANESVILLE - A combination of turnovers, penalties and missed opportunities put Zanesville in precarious positions on Friday night.

Yet, the Blue Devils' fight put them in position to tie or take the lead late in the fourth quarter against Dover.

That's when the final mistake sealed their fate.

The Crimson Tornado defense knocked the ball out of Ben Everson's grasp, and Nolan Little scooped up the fumble and ran 47 yards for a touchdown with 90 seconds left, sealing Dover's 35-21 victory in East Central Ohio League play at John D. Sulsberger Memorial Stadium.

Zanesville (6-2, 0-1) committed three turnovers, two fumbles lost on special teams, and seven penalties for 75 yards.

But, the Blue Devil defense delivered. Trailing 28-21 with less than three minutes remaining, Tristan Banks intercepted Dover's Ayden Hall at the Zanesville 25.

Everson hit Jamal Wiggins on a pair of passes to reach the Zanesville 47, but Everson couldn't scramble out of trouble, and the hit by the Dover defense jarred the ball loose.

That sequence epitomized the night for the Blue Devils.

"Those critical errors will hurt you. Despite that, we had a chance at the end," ZHS coach Chad Grandstaff said. "Our guys played hard for all four quarters, and I was proud that they didn't give up. Now, we have to regroup."

Dover (5-3, 1-0) led 14-7 late in the first half before grabbing an interception inside their 10. The Tornadoes moved in to field goal range, but missed from 36 yards out as time expired.

The second half had an ominous opening for the Blue Devils, who fumbled the kickoff. However, the defense forced Dover into another field goal, which was missed from 40 yards.

But, the Blue Devils offense failed to sustain drives in the third quarter, though Isaac Mayle had an interception to end a Dover drive inside the Zanesville 10.

A muffed punt by Zanesville allowed the Tornadoes to extend their lead late in the third quarter. They recovered the ball at the Blue Devil 32 and three plays later, Keaton Hall ran it in from six yards out, and the extra point made it 21-7.

Jeremiah Norman nearly answered with a 90-yard kickoff return, setting up Everson's 2-yard TD dive with 30 seconds left in the third. A missed extra point kept the Zanesville deficit at 21-13.

The teams traded punts before a pair of Zanesville penalties aided a Dover drive early in the fourth. It gave the Tornadoes a third-and-1, and Hall busted through the line for a 34-yard sprinting score. Reese Utter's fourth extra point made it 28-13 with 7:57 left in the game.

A short kickoff by Dover gave the Blue Devils the ball at midfield. Everson hit Colin McBrayer for a 26-yard gain to open the drive, and four plays later, Everson bowled in from the Dover 4 for the score. Zanesville pulled within 28-21 after McBrayer found Casey Cassell on the ensuing two-point conversion with 6:15 remaining.

The Blue Devils started well. E.J. Ormond recovered a Dover fumble inside the Zanesville 30 in the first quarter, and the Blue Devils marched down the field where Jordan Martin capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.

Zanesville led 7-0 after one quarter, but Dover scored 14 in the second. The Tornadoes tied it at 7 when Kade Ruegsegger found Oshea Williams on a four-yard TD then Ayden Hall connected with Keaton Hall on a 31-yard score with about three minutes left in the half to put Dover ahead for good.

Everson finished 25 of 43 for 276 yards with an interception and Jordan Martin was limited to eight carries for 29 yards in the loss. Wiggins caught seven passes for 96 yards, Norman had 10 receptions for 76 yards and McBrayer hauled in three passes for 67 yards in the loss.

Ayden Hall went 19 of 31 for 250 yards with a score and two interceptions, Keaton Hall ran for 118 yards and two scores on 22 carries, and Nathan Ravine caught eight receptions for 169 yards to lead the Dover effort.

bhannahs@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

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Twitter: @brandonhannahs