Olentangy Berlin beat the Olentangy Braves 18-6 on Friday, Oct. 23, in Delaware to claim its fifth consecutive OCC-Cardinal Division football championship.
Berlin’s conference championship streak began in 2022, four years after the school opened. Head coach Mark Nori's squad finished 8-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in league play.
Olentangy (5-5, 4-1) entered on a four-game winning streak, and the Braves moved the ball early. Quarterback Tommy Hartings hit Mike Alexander for a big gain to the Berlin 25-yard line on the opening drive, the Delaware Gazette reported. But Landon Lopez intercepted a deflected pass to kill the threat.
Berlin's offense answered. Owen Miller scored on a 30-yard run midway through the first quarter to make it 7-0. The defenses traded sacks and interceptions through the second quarter until Cooper Ailes hauled in a contested catch and sprinted 56 yards for a touchdown with 51 seconds left before halftime. Berlin led 14-0 at the break.
The Bears stretched the lead to 16-0 in the third quarter when Hartings was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety. Hartings answered with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Shaw late in the third to cut it to 16-6, but Berlin's defense forced another safety in the fourth quarter to set the final score.
The title caps a run for a program that went 0-5 in non-conference play in 2025 before sweeping its five OCC games to win a fourth straight crown. In an August preseason interview with the Delaware Gazette, Nori said the team's focus coming into 2026 was "being prepared for a really tough schedule" after that turnaround.
Berlin (8-2) earned the No. 5 seed in Division I, Region 3 and will host No. 12 Westerville Central (5-5) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, according to the OHSAA’s official playoff pairings, released Oct. 25. The winner advances to a regional quarterfinal at No. 4 Olentangy Liberty (6-4) on Friday, Nov. 6. Liberty received a first-round bye.
