Olentangy Berlin running back Owen Miller carried the ball 30 times for 165 yards as the Bears beat rival Olentangy 18-6 on Friday, Oct. 23, to clinch their fifth consecutive Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division championship.
The win capped an undefeated 5-0 conference run for Berlin (8-2 overall) and set up a first-round OHSAA Division I, Region 3 playoff game at home against No. 12 Westerville Central (5-5) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, as we reported Monday.
Miller's stat line was highlighted in a statewide prep football notebook published by the Delaware Source.
The Bears struck first. After Landon Lopez intercepted a deflected pass to end Olentangy's opening drive, Miller ripped off two runs to move the chains before quarterback Austin Knapke connected with Jackson Lewis for another first down. Miller then found room up the middle and scored from 30 yards out midway through the first quarter, according to the Delaware Gazette.
Both defenses dug in after that. Brandon Gray sacked Olentangy quarterback Tommy Hartings to stall one Braves drive. Brody Arend added a sack for Berlin. Olentangy's Elijah Wyse and Berlin's Abe Davis traded interceptions on back-to-back possessions.
Davis' pick gave Berlin the ball with less than two minutes before halftime. Cooper Ailes hauled in a contested catch and sprinted down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown with 51 seconds left in the half, pushing the lead to 14-0 at the break.
Berlin tacked on a safety in the third quarter when Hartings was flagged for intentional grounding in his own end zone, making it 16-0. Olentangy (5-5, 4-1) finally answered when Hartings found Cooper Shaw for a 26-yard score late in the third. Another Berlin-forced safety in the fourth quarter sealed the 18-6 final.
The title is the latest chapter in a run that began in 2022, when the Bears shared the OCC Cardinal crown just four years after the school opened in 2018, the Gazette reported. Berlin won its first outright title in 2023, defended it in 2024, then repeated last season after an 0-5 start to non-conference play.
Head coach Mark Nori has led Berlin through all five championship seasons. Before the 2026 season opener, Nori told the Gazette he wanted to build on the momentum of last year's turnaround.
"Given our 0-5 start last year, and the ability to recoup to a fourth straight division title, I think the focus in on being prepared for a really tough schedule starting out with the defending state champs," Nori said in August, referencing the season opener against Olentangy Orange.
Berlin enters the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in Division I, Region 3, according to the Canton Repository's bracket breakdown. No. 4 Olentangy Liberty earned a first-round bye and will host the winner of Berlin's matchup with Westerville Central in the second round. No. 9 Olentangy Orange travels to No. 8 Columbus St. Charles in another first-round game Oct. 30.
