Dover shuts out Athens in Round two of the playoffs
By: Austin Yau
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THE PLAINS, Ohio (WOUB) – After receiving a round one bye, the Athens Bulldogs hosted the five-seeded Dover Crimson Tornadoes. The Bulldogs were unable to get going on offense, and the Crimson Tornadoes rolled to a 41-0 shutout win.
After a quick four-and-out for the Bulldogs, Dover opened the scoring, with Dieter Weber connecting with Cooper Connare. Connare went 34 yards down the sideline, scoring the touchdown to put Dover up 7-0 early.
Cohen Murray then rushed in a short 1-yard touchdown to put Dover up 14-0 quickly. Just seven seconds later, Dover put another touchdown on the board after Athens failed to properly field the kickoff. Dante Clark punched in a 2-yard rush for a 21-0 lead. Weber found Dailey Rowdy in the front corner of the end zone for a short 2-yard passing touchdown, putting the Crimson Tornadoes up 27-0 early in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs started to move the ball into Dover territory, even picking up a gain on fourth and six from Blake Taylor, but Briar Thomas’ pass was tipped on fourth down, keeping Athens still scoreless. Athens took another drive into Dover territory, aided by a facemask by their opponents, but Clark snagged a pick from Thomas to kill the drive. Brady Hale then later punched in a 4-yard touchdown to put Dover up 34-0 at half.
Clark grabbed another interception in the start of the third, and then Connare hauled in a 25-yard pass to put the Tornadoes up 41-0, the only touchdown in the second half. An interception by Maverick Miller on Athens’ final drive kept the shutout alive for Dover, as they moved on in the Division 3 Region 11 playoffs. Dover’s defense was dominant all night, as they kept Athens from moving the ball. Even when the Bulldogs got into their territory, Dover was able to grab picks and force turnovers on fourth down.
Once again, Athens was knocked out in their first playoff game, having not won a playoff game since 2022, only going 1-7 since the graduation of star quarterback Joe Burrow in 2014-2015. Athens ended their season 9-2 overall, with a TVC-Ohio title after their win in Week 10 against rival Nelsonville-York. That will be their last TVC-Ohio for the foreseeable future as they move into the brand new TVC-Muskingum next football season.
Dover will move on to play Region 11’s one seed Steubenville, who beat Jackson 47-17.