COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus St. Francis DeSales opened its playoff run with a statement Friday night, Oct. 30, routing Pataskala Watkins Memorial 56-14 in a Division II, Region 7 first-round game, according to the first-round scoreboard published by The Columbus Dispatch.
The Stallions entered the night as the region’s No. 6 seed at 7-3 and leave it 8-3, while No. 11 seed Watkins Memorial’s season ends at 6-5. The 42-point margin was the widest by any central Ohio team in Friday’s opening round, a list that included several close games decided in the final minute elsewhere in the bracket.
DeSales did it in the round where Region 7 favorites mostly took care of business. Canal Winchester beat Ashland 43-37 in the region’s closest game, and Whitehall beat Hamilton Township 33-7, according to The Columbus Dispatch scoreboard — results that leave the region’s quarterfinal field looking much like the seeding predicted, with DeSales as its most emphatic first-round winner.
How the Stallions got here. A home playoff game was earned the hard way. Under the OHSAA’s current format, only the top 12 teams in each region qualify, the top four seeds receive a first-round bye, and seeds 5 through 8 host in the opening round, according to the OHSAA’s Oct. 25 pairings release. DeSales’ 7-3 regular season was good enough for the No. 6 seed and a home date, and the Stallions made sure the home crowd’s night was never in doubt.
Watkins Memorial arrived at 6-4 as the No. 11 seed, needing an upset on the road to extend its season. Instead, the Warriors ran into the kind of complete performance that has made DeSales one of the Columbus area’s most consistent Division II programs — a team that rarely beats itself in November and, on Friday, did not have to be perfect to win going away.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on. What we know: the final score, the seeds and the records, all confirmed on The Columbus Dispatch’s first-round scoreboard and the OHSAA pairings. What we’re still waiting on: the official scoring summary and individual statistics from Friday’s game, which had not been published by the schools or the OHSAA as of early Saturday. NewsForce247 does not report individual scorers it cannot verify, and this story will be updated when the box score posts.
The result continues a memorable opening weekend for Columbus-area football on NewsForce247, including Reynoldsburg’s 19-15 upset of Pickerington Central on a touchdown with 43 seconds left and Whitehall’s 33-7 win over Hamilton Township in its first home playoff game since 2020.
DeSales’ reward is a step up in class. The regional quarterfinals are Friday, Nov. 6, when the region’s top four seeds — who watched Friday night with a bye — enter the bracket rested. Every surviving team in Region 7 now faces an opponent that has had two weeks to prepare, and the Stallions will need Friday’s level of play, on the road or at home, to keep their run going.
For Watkins Memorial, the season closes at 6-5 with a playoff appearance — the Warriors were one of only 12 teams in a loaded region to still be playing on Oct. 30, and a first-round exit on the road against a hot DeSales team does not erase that.
The Stallions’ 56 points were also a warning to the rest of the region about the bracket’s second weekend. The four bye teams in Region 7 spent Friday night watching, and what they saw from DeSales was a No. 6 seed playing like a favorite — the kind of first-round performance that has a way of traveling. DeSales has built its program on exactly these November nights in Columbus, where the Stallions’ depth across both lines tends to show up most once the weather turns and the games get physical.
What happens next: DeSales (8-3) plays in the Division II, Region 7 quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the regional semifinals on Nov. 13. Kickoff and ticket details are posted through the OHSAA and the host school as game week gets underway.
NewsForce247 will continue following the Stallions and the rest of central Ohio’s surviving playoff teams through the regional rounds, with scores and bracket updates after every Friday night.