Dover's Dan Ifft in running for OVAC Coach of the Year

After being held virtually the last two years, the annual Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Banquet of Champions returns to an in-person event on Monday at WesBanco Arena.

In addition to several thousand dollars in scholarships and the overall class championship awards, the presentation of the annual OVAC Bill Van Horne Coach of the Year will be announced, which includes fall and winter sports from the current school year and the spring sports of 2021.

The five finalists for the award are Dan Ifft (Dover football), D.J. Butler (Barnesville baseball), Brian Leggett (Wheeling Park wrestling), Holly Pettit (Cameron girls basketball) and Lou “Scooter” Tolzda (Union Local girls basketball).

Here’s a capsule look at each finalist:

DAN IFFT, Dover football – This veteran Crimson Tornado coach makes his first appearance as one of the five finalists. Dover just completed its third full school year as a member of the OVAC.

Ifft returned Dover to its usual winning ways in 2021, following a rare 4-5 season in 2020.

Last fall, the Tornadoes finished an impressive 12-1 on the season and advanced to the Division III, Region 9 championship where they fell to eventual state champion Chardon, 31-3.

During the course of the regular season, Dover completed an undefeated campaign with an average margin of victory of 25 points a game. The Tornadoes finished second in the OVAC Class 5A standings, percentage points behind University.

In the playoffs, Dover had a couple of close encounters, including an 18-15 win against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and then they fended off Aurora, 43-42, in the second round before defeating Kenston in the regional semifinal.

DJ BUTLER, Barnesville baseball – His 14th season at the helm of the Shamrocks may end up being his most memorable when his career is said and done.

It was during that season when Butler guided the Shamrocks to heights that hadn’t been reached since 2004. Finishing with an impressive 25-8 record, Barnesville advanced to the Division III state tournament for the second time in school history.

En route to Akron, where the Shamrocks fell in the state semifinals to eventual champion Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, Barnesville claimed the district and regional championships. Getting to the regional title game was no easy task and yielded one of the top games of the season when Barnesville edged Fredericktown, 3-2, in 12 innings at Muskingum University.

That win set the stage for a 10-7 victory against Minford to send the Shamrocks to the state.

Butler’s club also qualified for the OVAC Tournament, but fell to Martins Ferry in the semifinals. The Shamrocks actually avenged that loss, however, by defeating the Purple Riders in the district championship game.

BRIAN LEGGETT, Wheeling Park wrestling – In his fourth year at the helm of the Patriots, Leggett returned Park to its glory days.

With a lineup stacked with talent, Park, which was state runner-up in 2021, rolled through the West Virginia Class AAA regional with 277.5 points. The Patriots qualified all 14 wrestlers to the state tournament.

In Huntington, the Patriots didn’t slow down. They produced five state champions and nine total placers. Add that up and it resulted in 207.5 points, which was a runaway win for the state title, which was the seventh in school history, but first since 2006.

Before entering the postseason, Park flexed its muscles locally, too. Leggett’s squad won the overall title at the Ron Mauck OVAC Wrestling Championship and then claimed the 5A title in the OVAC Bill Hingardner Dual Championships. The Patriots also finished undefeated in the prestigious Park Duals in December, claiming the title for the first time since 2007.

HOLLY PETTIT, Cameron girls basketball – This marks the second consecutive season that the Dragons' head coach is among the five finalists.

It also marks the second straight season she led her team to unmatched heights.

The Dragons finished the season 24-4 and claimed the school’s first state championship in girls basketball. The title didn’t come easily, however.

After cruising past Hundred and Tyler in the sectional and regional finals, respectively, the Dragons arrived in Charleston. They took care of River View, decisively, in the quarterfinal, 74-43 and then Tucker County, 51-44, in the semifinal.

That set the stage for the game that will be talked about in the Marshall County community for years to come.

Trailing Gilmer County, 50-48 with just a handful of seconds on the clock, Ashlynn VanTassell, wiping tears from her eyes, calmly sank a pair of free throws to tie the game.

Maci Neely then stole the in-bound pass and hit a desperation 3-pointer as the horn sounded, setting off a wild celebration. The Dragons’ win and Neely’s shot drew national attention as it was one of the Top 10 plays on SportsCenter the next morning and since then VanTassell’s efforts in the state tournament were recognized in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd.

Cameron also repeated as Class 1A OVAC champions, defeating Beallsville, 66-32, in the title game.

LOU “SCOOTER” TOLZDA, Union Local girls basketball – This veteran coach has been listed among the five finalists for this award before, but this is the first time as a girls’ basketball coach.

Tolzda, a long-time boys hoops coach at Beallsville, River, Monroe Central and Meadowbrook, accepted the girls job at Union Local and took over a team that was on the cusp. He got the Jets over the hump.

Tolzda guided the Jets to an impressive 25-4 season, which included the school’s first trip to the OHSAA State Tournament in any team sport, regardless of gender. The Jets’ girls program had never even been to the regional tournament prior to this season.

En route to Dayton, the Jets won the Buckeye 8 and OVAC Class 3A titles in blow-out fashion. They then won their first three tournament games with the OHSAA mercy rule in effect before knocking off Tusky Valley in the district championship game.

In the regional, the Jets took down Wheelersburg, which had been ranked No. 1 in the final Division III Associated Press Poll, 56-45 to set up a date with Fairland in the Elite 8. The Jets built a 19-point lead in that game before having to pull out a 69-67 victory on a Reagan Vinskovich shot, which set off a wild celebration.

In the state tournament, the Jets ran into a buzzsaw in eventual state champion Cincinnati Purcell Marian. The Jets fell, 59-43.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Dover head football coach Dan Ifft up for OVAC Coach of the Year honors