By Andy Walter

DOVER — Dover High’s big chance to prove itself was almost over as soon as it started.

One quarter into their boys’ basketball showdown with highly regarded Middletown on Dec. 9, the Senators were already down 24-5.

“In the first quarter, I just remember thinking, ‘This isn’t anything we’ve seen before,’” said junior guard Amir Hite. “But we knew we were going to get back into it once we got into the flow of things.”

“Three stops, three scores,” said junior Jaheim Harrell, repeating the team’s mantra. “As long as we stayed together, I knew we were going to get back into it.”

Sure enough, by halftime, Dover was down by only six points. By the end of the third quarter, the Senators trailed by just three.

And when the game was over, Dover was the team walking off the court with a 58-53 victory.

Impressive comeback or not, the victory was still just one nonconference win in December. The Senators know there will be plenty more big tests along the way this winter.

But Dover coach Stephen Wilson would like to think his players have shown they have some resiliency. That’s definitely a trait that will come in handy.

“We’re not playing the best basketball right now,” said Wilson, whose team is 3-1. “We’re just finding ways to win the games. But the guys have accepted study halls and workouts so they’re working.

“In the state of Delaware, we need guards. And we have guards who are sacrificing, The leadership we have is good. We’re young. Everybody thinks we’re old but we’re not. We’re young with old souls.”

As they usually do, the Senators have big dreams for this season.

They return four starters from a squad that finished 12-5 last year in an abbreviated season. The year before, Dover was 22-2 and headed for the DIAA state semifinals when the COVID pandemic hit.

The ultimate goal, as always, is to win the proud program’s first state title.

“We have chemistry and we work hard,” said Harrell, who made first-team All-Henlopen North last year. “We don’t give up, we stick together. We’re all chasing for the same goal.

“When we come together and we stay together, we can do anything. We can do it this year — that’s the goal. I believe in all my teammates.”

The four returning starters are Hite, Harrell, 6-foot-6 Lance Rainford and Elijah Sessoms. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Sessoms was an honorable mention All-North selection a year ago.

The Senators picked up a couple of new players in senior Keyon Scott and sophomore Tyrone Tolson. Both are returning to the Capital School District after playing at other schools.

Nine of Dover’s 11 varsity players stand 6-foot-2 or taller.

“What I love about this team is we’re just all together,” said Hite. “We all come from similar backgrounds. Coming together and sacrificing is a big part of our program.

“We’re chasing that dream every day — in practice, in study hall, in the classroom. We’re just trying to be better as individuals and come together as a team.”

Wilson tries to challenge the Senators.

Their only loss so far was a setback at Archbishop Ryan, (Pa.) Today, Dover will face Pittsburgh’s Imani Christian at Wilmington’s Chase Fieldhouse at 1 p.m.

Over the holiday break, the Senators will play twice at the Governor’s Challenge in Salisbury, Maryland’s Wicomico Youth & Civic Center. They’ll take on St. Maria Goretti (Pa.) at 5 p.m. on Dec. 28 before facing King Fork (Va.) on Dec. 30 at 8:30 p.m.

A year ago, Dover lost a tough 59-57 decision to Seaford after winning a pair of games in the DIAA state tournament. While the Blue Jays were the higher seed, Wilson also knows there were things the Senators could have done to be better prepared.

The veteran coach is trying to put his players in a better position this season.

“Not being able to get in the weight room hurt us in that game,” said Wilson. “Honestly, they beat us up because we weren’t physically ready. I think that is something that we’re preparing for now. They’re lifting and getting stronger. I think they need to just keep working.

“I like the way they gel. They’re hanging out together. This team, it has the makings of something special but we’ve got to get that ‘it.’ We don’t have that ‘it’ just yet. I think when that ‘it’ comes, they’re going to be OK.”

From a player’s perspective, Hite sees that potential in this year’s Dover team, as well.

“As long as we listen to Coach and just trust our program, trust our system, I think we can get it done,” he said.

If nothing else, Dover’s early season win over Middletown showed that the Senators aren’t going to quit when they face some adversity.

“One thing I took is they’re going to fight until the buzzer,” said Wilson. “I thought that they believed in the coaches. They never believed they were out of the game.

“We got three stops and three more stops and three more stops. They decided to just play. It was on the defensive end, they shared the ball. I was quite happy with that. That was a character-builder for us.

“This is a marathon,” he said about the season. “It’s not won now, it’s won later.”