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Sailors headed for state

The Steamboat Springs High School football team defeated Pueblo Central on Saturday and will play in the state championship game.

Steamboat Springs — Breathe easy, Steamboat Springs football fans. Joe Dover has good news.

“I’m good,” he said Sunday afternoon. “I’m fine. I’ll be ready Saturday.”

Things didn’t look so good for Steamboat’s top running back in the fourth quarter of Satur­day afternoon’s Class 3A semifinal playoff game in Pueblo.

Dover already had gotten in plenty of work. The senior had rushed for 111 yards on just seven carries, a stunning 15.86 yards per carry.

He scored two touchdowns on the ground, then caught three passes for 54 yards and another score. On the afternoon, that’s an average of 16.5 yards for every touch of the ball. He was instrumental in the 35-7 victory against Pueblo Central that bought the Sailors a ticket to Saturday’s state championship game.

But early in the fourth quarter, he took a hard fall and rolled up on his ankle.

He had to be helped off the field and was lifted onto the bench.

“I was going down for a pass kind of low and behind me and caught my ankle under me and rolled over,” Dover said.

He admitted there were flashes of terror, though not for the semifinal game. That was already in hand, and in case there was any doubt, running back Dylan Pivarnik scored moments later from 11 yards out to put the game on ice.

“We’re a good team and got it done when I was on the bench,” he said. “We don’t just need me.”

The terror, he said, was that he might have to miss the championship game, set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Legacy Stadium in Aurora, against undefeated Valor Christian.

That emotion, though, like the pain in his ankle, was quickly alleviated.

“I’m going to be fine,” he insisted. “It was an awesome game. It was a dream come true and now we’re living the dream.

“I knew we could do it, but you still have to pinch yourself sometimes. Now we’re sitting in the state game, and there’s no tomorrow, so we’ll just have to go out there and win it.”

— To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 871-4253 or e-mail jreichenberger@steamboatpilot.com