With its second consecutive OCC-Cardinal Division crown within reach, Olentangy Berlin was all business on Friday evening en route to a 38-7 beatdown of Thomas Worthington to close the regular season.

Running back Mason Ziegler’s 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the first half helped propel Berlin to a 31-0 lead at halftime, and the Bears cruised behind their second-team units and a running clock in the second half to a 9-1 record and the school’s second division title.

Quarterback Harrison Brewster added 33 yards and a rushing touchdown, and he completed five of his passing attempts for 87 yards and another touchdown in just two quarters of work.

Thanks to a suffocating effort from the Berlin defense, Thomas Worthington was limited to just 71 yards in the first half in an abysmal showing that left no doubt about the final outcome.

Following the game, Berlin head coach Mark Nori praised his team’s leadership and the mentality of the program as a whole to continue working week after week regardless of the opponent.

“We have a lot of guys out there in the right spots, particularly at the quarterback position,” he said. “We have guys on defense in position to lead guys just because of the positions they play. But as a team and as a program, we’re just grinders. (Thomas Worthington) was the next team on the schedule this week, and it was just something we had to get done.”

Ziegler called the consecutive division titles “an unreal experience” that “feels pretty awesome” but noted it will soon be time to put it away and prepare for bigger challenges ahead.

Thomas Worthington’s opening drive looked promising as the Cardinals were successful on three third-down conversions to move into Berlin territory. Parker McDaniels’s interception of Thomas Worthington quarterback Grey Kegley put an end to the threat, however, setting the tone for the game as Thomas Worthington never threatened again.

McDaniels proved to be a menace to the Thomas Worthington passing attack throughout the first half, knocking down a handful of passes at the line of scrimmage in addition to the interception. McDaniels said the batted passes were a byproduct of his coaches encouraging them to get their hands up, knowing there would be a lot of check-downs and short passes.

“We go into it every week trusting our coaches,” McDaniels said. “We have a great coaching staff, so anything they say, we believe. That helps going into every week, knowing that.”

Nori said the defense has set the tone for his team all season long behind great game plans from the coaching staff and equally strong execution from the players.

Berlin cashed in on the turnover with a 10-play, 59-yard drive on its first possession of the game. Brewster’s 9-yard touchdown run capped the drive to give his team a 7-0 lead.

Spencer Conrad’s 50-yard field goal increased the lead to 10-0 late in the first quarter as Berlin began to pull away early.

A quick three-and-out on the ensuing possession, followed by a bad punt, gave Berlin the ball in plus territory. Six plays later, Ziegler busted into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown run to give Berlin a 17-0 lead.

Ziegler added an 18-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter for a 24-0 lead as Berlin continued to pile on Thomas Worthington. Ziegler carried the ball on all four plays of the drive, covering 56 yards en route to the end zone and running harder with each run.

“I feel like teams don’t expect it to start the game, so I like to come out and run hard and give them a run for their money early,” Ziegler said of his physical rushes. “When I get a couple carries under my belt, that’s when I really start to warm up and get going.”

Berlin tacked on a late touchdown for good measure as Brewster connected with Joe Beaumier for a short completion, and Beaumier raced up the sideline untouched for a 58-yard touchdown and a 31-0 lead heading into the break.

The scoring outburst continued for Berlin to begin the second half despite the early substitutions by Nori. Backup running back Alejandro Aguilar outran the starting Thomas Worthington defense, which remained in the game, 59 yards to the end zone on the second play of the third quarter to build on Berlin’s large lead and put the exclamation point on the blowout victory.

As Berlin now awaits its matchup in the opening round of the playoffs, Nori said his team must quickly move past the division title and be ready to get back to work.

“We kind of have to push this to the backburner now and get ready to play again next week. That’s what we’re concerned with,” he said.

McDaniels echoed his head coach’s sentiment, saying, “Going into the playoffs, we don’t care who we play. We don’t take any teams lightly. We might play a team that’s 2-7, but we’ll treat them like they’re 10-0 and just be more physical than everyone.”

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.