Upper Arlington’s Trent Wolpert makes a spectacular grab for 38 yards to the Berlin 18, setting up the Golden Bears’ second score to extend their lead to 10-0. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Backed by a big-play defense that also included a fumble recovery by Jake Braun, UA held off a late rally by Berlin to win 16-10 and improve to 2-0.
Delaware, OH – Since the beginning of the 2021 season, no Division I team from central Ohio has won more games than Upper Arlington.
Much is yet to be decided during this young 2025 season, but the Golden Bears are continuing to show the poise that has helped them win 11 playoff games and go 46-11 over the past four-plus seasons under coach Justin Buttermore.
On Friday at Olentangy Berlin, UA nearly cracked under the pressure of a team hungry for its first win but leaned on a pair of big defensive plays to hang on for a 16-10 victory and a 2-0 start.
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The game’s final play — an interception by senior linebacker Andrew Petzinger — kept the Golden Bears from blowing the lead of a game in which they limited Berlin to just 18 first-half yards.
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“They fought and made a play to get off the field to win the game in a critical situation, and that’s what you’ve got to do,” Buttermore said. “You’ve got to win critical situations. We lost a few of them but made the one that mattered at the end. I thought it was a great way to close the door at the end. (Petzinger) made a heck of a play on that pass. We gave up a couple big plays in the second half. Overall, we played OK, but there’s a lot to clean up.”
Trailing 13-7 with 10:28 remaining, Berlin quarterback Tyce Dent was stopped for a 4-yard loss. Then on the next play, the Bears fumbled it, with UA senior cornerback Jake Braun falling on it at the Bears 20.
Four plays later, Golden Bears kicker Edward Oakley made his third field goal of the game, this one going for 34 yards, to give his team a 16-7 lead.
Dylan Amos scorches Upper Arlington’s defense on a flawlessly executed fake punt that netted 31 yards.
Berlin began its next-to-last possession at its own 24 and drove deep into UA territory, with senior kicker Aydan Alonso making a 24-yard field goal with 54.1 seconds remaining to make it a one-score game.
Forced to attempt an onside kick, Alonso bounced one that went off a UA returner and was grabbed by Berlin’s Joey Lombardo at the UA 47 with 50.9 left.
Dent then hooked up with senior tight end Bryce Rode for 17 yards, with senior wide receiver Dallen Maxson for 12 yards, and with senior wide receiver Landon Sexton for 2 yards but threw incomplete on the next two attempts.
On fourth-and-8 from the UA 16 and with 1.4 ticks left on the clock, Dent attempted to hit senior wide receiver Colton Less, but Petzinger jumped up and snagged the ball to end the threat.
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“I was ready for a screen or something coming out of the backfield because that’s what we’d seen on film, but they didn’t do that,” Petzinger said. “I kind of watched the quarterback’s eyes, and he threw it right above me so I jumped up to get it and I ended up getting it.
Upper Arlington’s Andrew Petzinger holds for kicker Edward Oakley as he connects on one of his three field goals. Oakley accounted for 10 of the Bears 16 points on the night.
“We don’t have a lot of guys with a lot of varsity experience, and we’ve had to grow up kind of in a hurry, but we’ve grown up a lot this summer and have definitely matured a lot. We do our jobs and trust each other, and things tend to happen.”
The Golden Bears took a 3-0 lead on the game’s opening possession when Oakley hit a 26-yard field goal. Then on their second drive, they marched 68 yards in eight plays to make it 10-0, with the biggest being a 38-yard pass from senior quarterback Luke Backes to senior wide receiver Trent Wolpert that moved UA to the Berlin 18. Three plays later, senior running back Jaden Chindavong scored on a 3-yard run to complete the drive.
Berlin fell behind 13-0 on a 35-yard field goal by Oakley with 7.3 to go before halftime and entered the second half with just one first down to its credit.
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After Berlin blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt by Oakley midway through the third quarter, it was forced into a fourth-and-1 from the UA 22 on the ensuing possession. Rather than punting it, however, the Bears faked it, and senior Dylan Amos ran for 31 yards.
Upper Arlington quarterback Luke Backes attempts to evade Berlin defender Grant Gibson during first-half play.
Berlin turned that burst of momentum into a score, with Dent hitting Less for a 3-yard touchdown that made it 13-7 with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
“Really it’s just about all the guys stepping up and doing their jobs,” Braun said. “If we’re all on the same page and same wavelength, everything works out. We’ve just to put a full game together now. We tried our hardest to blow that game. I couldn’t believe it. It was crazy.”
Berlin, which dropped to 0-2, lost 17-14 to the Golden Bears a year ago when both teams finished 10-3.
Despite also losing 14-13 in this year’s opener to perennially strong DeSales, Berlin figures to be a factor in Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division as well as in Division I, Region 3 once its offense fully matures.
Dent finished 17 of 26 passing for 188 yards and also rushed for 39 yards. Less contributed six catches for 76 yards.
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“Our defense kept us in the game, there’s no question about it,” Bears coach Mark Nori said. “We had some fortunate bounces in the second half. Getting an onside kick, the special teams showed up in the second half as well. We do some different stuff on defense, but the kids understand what’s asked them and they’re a resilient bunch. We’ve got some new faces in new places on offense, so to get these guys going and in the flow of varsity football is a great test for us. We have to respond. We have to grow up.”
Berlin thought it had turned the tide and regained new life after stripping the ball from Croy Aalyson, but Upper Arlington’s Walther Anderson quickly fell on it to preserve the possession.
Backes, whose uncle, Jeff Backes, was named Ohio’s Mr. Football in 2000 when he led the Golden Bears to their only OHSAA state championship, completed 15 of 25 passes for 172 yards and rushed for 20 yards. Wolpert had seven catches for 123 yards.
“It was really exciting to be out there, and a win’s a win at the end of the day,” Backes said. “It wasn’t pretty there in the second half for the offense, but we got the job done and the defense made some stops. “I was at receiver last year but put a lot of work in the offseason to prepare for this new role, and it’s been really nice. It’s awesome being able to settle in. (Wolpert’s) a total stud, just a great player and a product of the work he’s put in.”
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