Kyle Cox rolls out looking for a receiver during Upper Arlington’s first meeting with Olentangy Berlin. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Upper Arlington excelled in the scramble drill all night, as quarterback Kyle Cox tossed a pair of touchdown passes to riddle Olentangy Berlin’s defense. Tight end Drew Parker made two huge plays in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Upper Arlington, OH – With an oddly spontaneous fireworks display suddenly erupting in the horizon over the southeast end of Marv Moorehead Stadium, Upper Arlington tight end Drew Parker was trying his darnedest to get quarterback Kyle Cox’s attention.
“I was waving my arms and I yelled his name at least two or three times before he finally saw me all alone in the end zone,” the 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior said.
Your athlete runs better on chiropractic. Call 614-401-2021 to schedule today.
The third down-and-9 play deep in Olentangy Berlin territory was designed to be a bootleg pass to the right. But when they play blew up, Cox reverse pivoted backwards to his left and extended the play several seconds before finding Parker wide open. His hasty throw forced Parker to make a layout diving grab for the 19-yard touchdown.
Veteran central Ohio columnist Steve Blackledge writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros.
“Their guys were all in coverage and I just tried to extend the play as long as I could,” Cox said. “And then I heard Drew yell. What a great catch he made at such a critical part of the game.”
The connection gave UA a 17-7 lead and the Golden Bears held off a late charge for a 17-14 nonleague win over Berlin Friday. It was the first-ever meeting between the schools.
“That was just a phenomenal catch Parker made,” UA coach Justin Buttermore said. “That play certainly wasn’t designed that way, but Parker leaked out and got behind the defense. Kyle scrambled around forever and, thank goodness, managed to find him back there.”
Upper Arlington’s Wally Swiney celebrates a pass reception and the first score of the night.
Gritty Berlin (1-1) – riding the hard running and clutch passing of senior quarterback Aiden Eviston — responded with a 15-play, 81-yard scoring drive. Eviston, a 6-foot, 230-pound converted second-team All-Central District linebacker, did his best impersonation of Taysom Young in plowing through the UA defense for a 16-yard TD run to make it 17-14 with 3:39 remaining.
On the ensuing series, Berlin forced UA into a critical third-and-8 near midfield. Cox threw a safe swing pass toward the sideline to Parker, who somehow managed to elude a tackler at the line of scrimmage and two more on the way to a 13-yard gain.
“That first down catch by Parker was equally big as the touchdown because it kept the clock running and bought us another few minutes,” Buttermore said.
Jaden Chindavong sealed the deal with a four-yard gain on fourth-and-2 as UA (1-1) bounced back from a season-opening 6-0 loss to two-time defending Division IV state champion Cleveland Glenville in which it managed only six first downs and 106 total yards.
Upper Arlington, which reached a regional final in 2023, got out of the gate much better this time as Cox engineered a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive on the game’s opening series. Bouncing out of the pocket, Cox appeared ready to take off on a run. The defensive back bit and Cox stopped an alertly whipped a pass to Wally Swiney, who took it to the house for a 55-yard TD.
“Winning the line of scrimmage was big for us this week and the guys came through,” Cox said. “We just had to do jobs better and be laser-focused.”
Edward Oakley tacked on a 24-yard field goal later in the quarter to make it 10-0.
Upper Arlington’s Nick Ardelea upends Berlin’s Bryce Rode early in the first half of play.
On the final play of the half, Cox found 6-5, 245-pound Michigan State defensive line recruit Cal Thrush on a spectacular 35-yard Hail Mary for TD, but UA was flagged for an illegal blocker downfield.
Berlin finally began to find its footing on offense after halftime with Eviston chewing up big yardage on the ground and swift Alejandro Aguilar contributing big plays. Eviston plowed up the middle for a 17-yard TD to make it 10-7 at 4:23 of the third.
“For the most part, our defense played really well again,” Buttermore said. “Their big quarterback got us with some big runs but we did enough to come out on top.”
Linebacker Jacob DuPont, who played on the JV team as a junior, powered the UA defense with four tackles for loss. Jake Braun contributed an interception.
“We’ve got a lot of new guys on the defensive side, but I think we’re rising to the occasion,” DuPont said. “Our defense is playing really well and our offense is feeding off that energy.”
Logan Services sponsors the best area sports stories on Press Pros
Berlin, which has carved a reputation for winning close games during the program’s five seasons, came up just short this time after a season-opening 17-10 win over DeSales.
“We put ourselves in too many third-down-and-longs tonight, and some of it was due to penalties in the first half,” Bears coach Mark Nori said. “We finally were able to move the ball downfield in the second half, but we had a few breakdowns on defense. We didn’t hold up well in the scramble drill. They got some jump balls on us in the secondary.”
Drew Parker makes a critical catch and dives into the endzone to stretch Upper Arlington’s lead in the second half.
Want a greener, healthier lawn? We can help. contact Weedman USA at 614-733-3747 or go online to Weedman.com.