DOVER, Ohio — Dover wasted no time taking control of its Division III, Region 11 playoff opener Friday night, scoring first and never looking back in a 41-7 win over Columbus South, according to The Times Reporter’s playoff score report.
The fifth-seeded Crimson Tornadoes struck first on a 16-yard touchdown run by Cohen Murray to take an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter, The Times Reporter reported. From there, Dover steadily pulled away from the 12th-seeded Bulldogs.
Junior quarterback Dieter Weber did much of the damage through the air, connecting repeatedly with Jacob Noretto — including a 30-yard touchdown pass that pushed the lead to 41-0 before Columbus South finally got on the board, according to The Times Reporter.
South’s only score came after Dover had built that 41-point cushion, and the outcome was settled well before the final quarter. For a Dover team that entered the playoffs at 8-2, Friday was the kind of controlled, mistake-light opener coaches hope for: score early, lean on the run and the defense, and leave healthy.
The win improved Dover to 9-2 on the season. The Crimson Tornadoes have now won their playoff opener and earned a road trip in the regional quarterfinals — the point in the bracket where every remaining team is a conference champion, a high seed, or a team that has already won a postseason game.
Columbus South’s season ends with the loss. The Bulldogs traveled to Tuscarawas County as the region’s No. 12 seed and needed a fast start to keep the game close; instead it was Dover that landed the first blow, and South never recovered the momentum.
Dover was not the only Tuscarawas County team to advance Friday. In Division VI, Garaway blanked Elgin 42-0 behind Grady Miller’s four touchdowns, while in the Southeast region’s soccer-and-football mix of postseason play, West Muskingum reached its first regional berth since 2007.
Dover’s reward is a matchup with one of the region’s most complete teams. Athens, the fourth seed, earned a first-round bye and will host the quarterfinal — a long road trip southeast for the Tornadoes, and a meeting with a Bulldogs team that has had an extra week to rest and prepare.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: Dover’s 41-7 win, Murray’s opening 16-yard touchdown run and Weber’s 30-yard scoring pass to Noretto are confirmed in The Times Reporter’s report. Full individual statistics and the complete Region 11 quarterfinal schedule had not been published as of Saturday morning.
The Athens matchup also sets up an interesting contrast: Dover arrives with a playoff win and momentum, while Athens arrives rested but untested in the postseason. Which of those advantages matters more usually shows up in the first quarter — the same quarter Dover owned Friday night.
What happens next: Dover travels to No. 4 seed Athens for the Division III, Region 11 quarterfinal on Friday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m., according to The Times Reporter. The winner moves on to the regional semifinals the following week.
The scoring timeline underlines Dover’s control. Murray’s 16-yard run made it 7-0 in the first quarter, the Tornadoes built the lead through the middle quarters behind Weber’s passing, and the Weber-to-Noretto 30-yard connection stretched it to 41-0. Only then did Columbus South reach the end zone, long after the running clock and the outcome were settled.
By the numbers, Dover’s opener checked every box a coaching staff draws up for the first round: a touchdown on the board early, a shutout carried deep into the second half, production from both the run game (Murray) and the passing game (Weber and Noretto), and a 9-2 record heading into the quarterfinals. The degree of difficulty now rises sharply — Athens has not lost a home game situation like this often, and the Bulldogs had a bye week to heal and scout while Dover was playing Friday.
Photo: Tim Kiser, CC BY-SA 2.5