Swarming Upper Arlington defense makes life miserable for Berlin in shutout
Friday, August 28, 2026
By Steve Blackledge
sblackledge@cbussports.com
Upper Arlington defensive lineman Tyler Witten (7) celebrates with his teammates following his fumble recovery for a touchdown against Olentangy Berlin Friday. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Upper Arlington, Ohio – In the film room this week, Upper Arlington defensive players and coaches watched in amazement as Olentangy Berlin sophomore quarterback Austin Knapke carved apart defending state champion Olentangy Orange in what was perceived by many as a startling Week 1 upset.
Knapke, who completed 21 of 25 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns in the 21-6 win, looked like he was shooting fish in a barrel while spreading the ball to a small army of receivers.
“We knew we weren’t going to let him sit back there and pick us apart like that,” Golden Bears junior linebacker Vance Nicol said. “Our game plan was to the shoot the gaps quick and hard and make him hear footsteps. We feel like our cover guys are excellent and they could hold things down on the back.”
Added senior linebacker James Janowicz added, “We tried to change up our coverage looks to confuse them, but our three defensive linemen deserve a lot of the credit for opening the way for us to get after the quarterback.”
The ploy worked like a charm.
UA had Knapke on his heels from the get-go and carved out a workmanlike 24-0 shutout of Berlin Friday before a big Homecoming crowd at Marv Moorehead Stadium, which sustained noticeable damage from a tornado that ripped through the neighborhood two weeks ago.
Knapke completed 15 of 23 passes, most of them either check downs or quick darts to the sideline, for 99 yards. He was intercepted once and sacked three times – one that turned into a game-altering fumble that resulted in a Golden Bears touchdown. Berlin managed just 115 total yards and six first downs, much of it coming on its final fourth quarter drive when UA was in a prevent defense.
Upper Arlington wide receiver Paxton Bjork (left) after scoring on a pass from Reign St. Clair during the Golden Bears’ 24-0 home win over Berlin Friday. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“We think Berlin is a really good team that is going to win a lot of games,” UA coach Justin Buttermore said.
“The main thing we took away from the film was that we couldn’t let the young quarterback get in rhythm like he was against Orange. We wanted to apply pressure from all angles and make him uncomfortable and indecisive. A lot of the guys played really well. Vance and James really stuck out in my mind. They were making plays all over the place.”
Janowicz, whose great-grandfather was a brother of Vic Janowicz, a late Ohio State legend who went to play in the NFL and major league baseball, had an interception, a sack, a pass batdown and a tackle for loss.
Berlin’s fate starting going sideways on its second series. On fourth-and-4 at its own 35, rugby-style punter Cooper Ailes attempted a fake but his pass fell well short of his receiver.
UA turned that miscue into a 25-yard field goal by Edward Oakley.
Midway through the second quarter, Knapke was blindsided by Nicol and fumbled. Tyler Witten recovered for a 7-yard touchdown.
“It was just a great call by Buttermore,” said Nicol, who also recorded two tackles for loss. “(Knapke) didn’t even see me and was able to get to him and force it out. That play really picked us from a momentum standpoint.”
Junior quarterback Reign St. Clair, a move-in from Bellefontaine and the brother of Ohio State redshirt freshman backup quarterback Tavien St. Clair, completed 7 of 7 passes during a stirring two-minute drill to get UA into the end zone in the final seconds of the half. He hit Paxton Bjork on a 17-yard seed to make it 17-0.
Berlin quarterback Austin Knapke tries to get his throw past Upper Arlington linebacker Ryan Hall (10) during the Golden Bears’ home win Friday. Photo: John Hulkenberg
St. Clair and Bjork hooked up again on a 14-yard TD pass that capped a 13-play, 93-yard drive to open the third quarter. The march took some 6:30 off the clock.
“Those are the first two touchdowns of my career, so obviously I’m pretty excited,” said Bjork, a 5-foot-7, 155-pound sophomore, who adeptly split two defenders on the second score. “Reign and I have a nice chemistry. He’s got a strong arm and lot of experience and is very compatible to what we’re trying to do.”
St. Clair completed 17 of 22 passes for 137 yards with two TDs and an interception.
Drew Theado (95 yards on 19 carries) and Drew Tolliver (71 yards on 13 carries) shored up the running game, which became more prevalent in the second half as UA ran clock with the big lead.
UA, which routed Olentangy 40-7 in its opener, is expected to battle with 2024 state champion Olentangy Liberty for the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division title.
“We’ve still got some work to do offensively,” Buttermore said. “We’ve got to get out of the gate better than we did tonight. The defense, obviously, held us in there tonight.”
With 56 wins over five-plus seasons, UA fully expects to be a major player once again in the Division I, Region 3 race.
Berlin, meanwhile, is shooting for a fifth straight OCC Cardinal title. The Bears are 19-1 in Cardinal play since 2022.
The highlight of the night for Berlin was a remarkable TD-saving interception in the end zone by Abe Davis.
“We’re still trying to figure ourselves out,” Berlin coach Mark Nori said. “Things did not go exactly perfect coming out of the gate tonight. Our defense held us in but we couldn’t get anything going on offense. UA is one hell of a team. We’ll be back. There’s a lot of season left to play.”
Upper Arlington’s Seth Keyhoe (3) knocks the ball away from Berlin’s Cooper Ailes during their game at Marv Moorehead Stadium Friday. Photo: John Hulkenberg