Dover dancing for first time in 32 years

Fittingly, it was a defensive stop that sealed it.

Carter Kitchens blocked a would-be putback by Christian Brager to seal Dover’s 42-40 victory over No. 2 Varnum on Friday.

The win prompted a dogpile by the Longhorns on the Seminole High School court…and for good reason.

The victory in the Class B area championship game secured Dover’s spot in this week’s state tournament.

It’s the first time in 32 years the Dover boys program can make that claim.

Not since the days that the likes of Dominic Bell and Woody Stevenson donned the Dover uniforms in 1993 have the Longhorns been among the final eight teams.

“There’s no magic potion,” said second-year Dover coach Jared Reese.

“You have to have kids who are willing to work hard and buy into what you’re wanting to do as a program.

“These guys kept working to get better and kept finding ways to win big games.”

As expected, there was nothing easy about this trip.

First, Dover had to knock off the defending state champion Wilson (Henryetta) in Monday’s regional final.

The Whippets, returning a large chunk of the team that qualified for state last season, had lost only twice entering the night.

They looked the part early.

CJ Benard scored eight points in the first half as Varnum took a 22-14 lead.

The Whippets had already scored just three points fewer than what Dover was allowing by average all season.

They didn’t slow down in the third quarter.

Three different Whippets knocked down 3-pointers as the Whippets scored 12 more.

However, Dover’s offense started to find its legs.

Nathan Cohee scored six, Casen Buck five and Jonah Pendergraft four more as the Longhorns outscored the Whippets by three in the quarter.

However, they were still down five entering the fourth.

Their offense, though, kept churning out points and Dover had the game tied before 2 minutes were gone in the quarter.

The tying shot came from Lucas Conrady as his trey knotted it at 34-34 with 6:14 left.

Benard answered to give the Whippets back the lead and then with 3:01 left, Devyn Fullbright’s trey put Varnum up 40-36.

The shot prompted a Dover timeout, but also proved to be the final points of the game for Varnum.

After the timeout, Conrady found Buck for a jumper in the lane to get Dover within two.

Then Conrady struck again, this time on a fast break, as he spun in the lane and knocked down a shot while being fouled.

The senior connected on the free throw to give Dover a 41-40 lead with 2:16 to play.

Varnum turned over the ball on its next two possessions.

The second one came with 50 seconds left as Benard was headed for the baseline and lost control.

The Whippets had to foul multiple times to get Dover in the bonus and didn’t reach that point until 13.2 seconds were left.

They sent Buck to the line, who missed his first shot.

But the sophomore made the second for a two-point advantage.

Dover fouled twice as it had a couple to give and Varnum eventually was able to run a play with about 7 seconds to go.

Daison Hadley missed a baseline jumper that was contested by Cohee.

The rebound fell to Brager, who was denied by Kitchens just before time expired.

It was balanced scoring for Dover.

Pendergraft, Buck and Conrady scored 10 points apiece.

They accounted for all of Dover’s points in the fourth as the Longhorns outscored Varnum 13-6.

Cohee added eight points while Brennan Fletcher and Kitchens scored two apiece.

The eighth-ranked Longhorns will enter state with a 26-2 record.

Dover is making its seventh appearance overall.

While state has been long awaited by the program, it’s not new to the Dover coaching staff.

Reese, Danny Green and Chris Combs coached Kingfi sher to seven consecutive state tournaments from 2017-2023, winning four Class 4A state championships during that stretch.

This is the trio’s second year in Dover. Under their tutelage, the Longhorns made the area tournament last year for the first time in