The 2025-2026 Dover Football season has just kicked into full swing this past Friday with the varsity team securing their first win of the season against Glen Oak. This victory has surely raised Dover fan’s spirits and everyone is eager to see where this season will take the team. While this first victory was a complete team effort, it would not have been possible without the class of ‘26’s influence on the team. In this article, a few of these seniors will be revealing what it’s really like to be the oldest members of the team, while Mr.Rees talks about what it’s like to be the new head coach.
The first senior to be interviewed was #66, Jacob Senter. He claims that since there is a new coach, the intensity is amped up with not just the coaches, but the player too. When asked how it feels to be a senior, he said “It definitely feels weird knowing you have all of the weight of the team on your shoulders and to be a role model for the underclassmen.” He believes that the team will have a great season if they fight through the adversity of the other teams. Some advice that he would give upcoming freshman players is “don’t take football as a chore, but rather something you get to do with a team that you can call a second family. There aren’t enough days to do this and it flies by fast.” Jacob’s favorite memory in the Dover football program would have to be playing alongside the upperclassmen his sophomore year by getting varsity reps.
The next senior to be interviewed was #58 ,Eddy Ajanel. Eddy claims that his position is “left bench”. He stated that this season feels different because the layout of how everything had been the past two years has changed, but this is not a bad thing. Eddy states that “being the oldest on the team only feels different because you don’t have someone to look up to. It’s your turn to be the one looked upon. That’s something that feels very different than being an underclassman on the team.” He claimed that the team will have a successful season because everything they need to succeed is already in front of them, they just need execution to get it done. When asked to give advice to upcoming players, he said to not take any of it for granted, as it goes by fast, and to always give one-hundred percent for the program. Eddy’s favorite memory of being a Dover football player is when they beat Tri-Valley as well as being the only double digit seed to still be alive in the playoffs. He claims that the excitement and joy of having another week of practice with the seniors on team 122 was amazing and he’ll never forget that.
Next is #73, Grant Smith. When asked how different this season is because of the new coach, he claimed that it’s a lot tougher since Coach Rees expects a lot out of the team. On being a senior, Grant stated that “it’s cool and scary because the team looks up to us as we are seniors and we are supposed to be the leaders of the team”. He believes that the season will be successful since they are a well bonded team. Some advice that Grant has for upcoming players is to listen to the coaches, to not get discouraged, to give effort every play, and to watch and learn from the person in front of them. His favorite memory would have to be getting to play in his first varsity game.
The final senior to be interviewed was #21, Kale Oswald. Kale claims that the season hasn’t really changed, aside from a few small differences. He stated that it felt weird being the oldest while also having to lead the underclassmen. Like the rest of them, he believes that the team’s effort will lead to a great season. He’d like to tell upcoming players to not count themselves out, and to just stick to it and it will all come together. Kale’s favorite memory from being in the Dover football program was his first ever touchdown against Canfield.
In addition to these few seniors, I also had the opportunity to ask Mr.Rees, the head coach, a few questions about his new position on the team. When asked how confident he is in the senior leadership on the team he responded with, “Leadership is something that we expect from all players – on and off the field. Relating to seniors, they have a strong knowledge of leadership that has been passed down from past teams, and it is comforting to see that they work to grow this trait day after day”. He claims that his perspective has not changed significantly since being appointed head coach. He states that as a coach, the objective has always been to help grow the athletes into productive citizens and win games. He claims that both of those still hold true to him as head coach. When I asked what his favorite memory of being a Dover coach was, Coach Rees said “It is difficult for me to point out one specific memory from coaching at Dover. Each player and team has specific and unique characteristics that stick out to me.”
Every single person on this team, whether it be coach or player, has a direct impact on the team’s success.
