Olentangy Berlin Bears use Grizzly like defense to beat Perrysburg Yellow Jackets 23-7

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, Game Photos, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

David Burnworth | November 4, 2023

Friday night, I made my first trip to Olentangy Berlin to watch the Bears batter the Perrysburg Yellow Jackets in a Division One Region 2 playoff game. This would be my first time seeing both teams.

The Bears seem to have it going early, with running quarterback Harrison Brewster picking up 23 yards on two nice runs, though the drive would end with a punt as the Yellow Jackets defense hardened up and stung the Bears offense a short time later.

At the 5:29 mark of the quarter, Brewster was hit by Matthew Hubbard for a short loss. Brewster sustained a leg injury and would not return.

Aiden Eviston, who started at Linebacker would be called on to also play quarterback. On his first drive, he would be able to complete a couple of passes and move his team 34 yards, but another punt would end the drive as the Yellow Jackets again stood tall.

Eviston would throw a nice little screen pass to fleet-footed Alejandro Aguilar, who made a nice move to gain 25 yards with 1:53 showing on the clock. Aguilar would be dropped for a 3-yard loss by Andrew Boden for the last big play of the opening quarter.

Eviston would complete three straight passes late in the second quarter to set up a Spencer Conrad 22-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3-0 lead with 3:30 remaining in the half.

Boden would again make the last big play in the quarter, when hit the ball the quarterback loss of five. The Bears defense would yield just 69 yards in the first half while their offense gained 140.

The third quarter would see the Bears get a 55-yard screen pass from Eviston to Mason Ziegler to make this a 10-0 game with 9:50 left in the third.

Then the Bears defense came up huge when Liam Doneyhue picked off a Josh Takats pass, taking it back to the Yellow Jackets 9-yard line. The Bears would have to settle for a 21-yard field goal, extending their lead to 13-0 with 5:37 showing on the clock.

The Yellow Jackets would get a much-needed break when Joe Beaumier muffed a punt with Mario Gutierrez pouncing on it with 3:21 left in the quarter. Takats would hit Grey Swanson for a 4-yard score after Taylor Thomas hit his point after a kick. We had a 13-7 game with 2:05 left in the quarter.

Zach Siegrist would catch a 20-yard pass right before the quarter came to a close. The drive continued into the final frame, where Ziegler caught another screen pass, taking it 16 yards down to the Perrsburg 20-yard line. The drive would end with a 40-yard Conrad field goal where he had the wind to his back, making this a 16-7 game.

Facing a third and two with 5:00 left in the game, Eviston used his feet to pick up 12-yards, taking the ball to the Yellow Jackets 18-yard line. The final score of the game came on a diving catch from Zach Siegrist from 17 yards out, making this a 23-7 game.

Perrysburg would get two completions from Takats to Gavin Fenneken that totaled 56 yards. Takats would complete a 19-yard pass to Dominick Woods to set a first and goal from the one. On fourth and goal from the four, the Bears Joseph Seney was stopped for a 3-yard loss by Parker McDaniels to put a stamp on the win.

My Stats

Yellow Jackets

68 plays

189 yards

Passing, 13-32, 1 TD, 1 INT

Bears

64 plays

318 yards

Passing, 13-22, 2 TDs

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