THE PLAINS — Dover did not just beat Athens on Friday night; the Crimson Tornadoes shut the Bulldogs out. Dover rolled to a 41-0 win at Athens in a Division III, Region 11 quarterfinal, a final confirmed on the scoreboards published by The Times-Reporter, The Columbus Dispatch, the Zanesville Times Recorder and High School On SI.
Dover, the region’s No. 5 seed, came in at 9-2 and riding an eight-game winning streak, The Times-Reporter reported in its quarterfinal preview. The Crimson Tornadoes closed the regular season with a thrilling 32-28 victory over rival New Philadelphia, then opened the playoffs on Oct. 30 with a commanding 41-7 win over Columbus South in which they scored all 41 points in the first half, The Times-Reporter reported.
That first-round rout offered a preview of Friday’s script. Against Columbus South, Dover struck first on a 16-yard touchdown run by Cohen Murray and pulled away behind connections from junior quarterback Dieter Weber to Jacob Noretto, including a 30-yard touchdown pass that made it 41-0, The Times-Reporter reported. A week later in Athens, the Tornadoes again put 41 points on the board — this time without allowing any.
Athens was no soft draw. The No. 4 seed Bulldogs entered at 9-1 after a first-round bye, had won five straight games and had beaten highly regarded Nelsonville-York 14-13 in their regular-season finale, The Times-Reporter reported. Athens also owned a 35-0 shutout of River Valley and a 60-8 victory over Wellston during its run to the Tri-Valley Conference title, according to the same preview coverage.
None of that offense traveled to Friday’s quarterfinal. A Dover defense facing a team that had scored 60 points in a game this season instead recorded the shutout, and the Tornadoes’ offense matched its first-round output exactly. The 41-0 result is Dover’s ninth consecutive victory and its second straight playoff win by at least 34 points, based on the finals reported by The Times-Reporter.
Elsewhere in Region 11 on Friday, Steubenville beat Jackson 47-17, Licking Valley edged Granville 22-15 and Columbus East defeated Thornville Sheridan 42-28, The Columbus Dispatch’s statewide scoreboard reported. Dover’s shutout was the most lopsided result of the four quarterfinals, and it came on the road against the region’s No. 4 seed.
Athens finishes its season 9-2, while Dover improves to 10-2 and advances to a Region 11 semifinal on Friday, Nov. 13. What happens next for the Crimson Tornadoes is a third straight week of win-or-go-home football — and after back-to-back 41-point performances, Dover will arrive as one of the hottest teams left in Division III.
Photo: Stch2022, CC BY-SA