DELAWARE — Led by a courageous effort from backup quarterback Aiden Eviston and another stifling effort from its defense, Olentangy Berlin cruised to a 23-7 win over Perrysburg in Division 1, Region 2 quarterfinal action on Friday night.

Eviston, who started the game at linebacker, tossed two second-half touchdown passes in relief, and that proved to be more than enough scoring as the Berlin defense limited Perrysburg to just 86 yards of offense through the first 44 minutes of play before a late drive slightly inflated the final yardage.

“They keep responding,” Berlin head coach Mark Nori said of his defense after the game. “There’s a whole lot of trust that goes into them, the coaches, and their gameplan. That’s a good feeling when you have a defense like that.”

Adversity struck early for Berlin as starting quarterback Harrison Brewster was forced out of the game with an apparent leg injury on Berlin’s second possession of the game. Thrust into a tough spot, Eviston didn’t blink.

“That’s him,” Nori said of Eviston’s ability to rise to the occasion. “He was a quarterback a couple of years ago, and we moved him to linebacker. That didn’t phase him. He’s one of the best players in our league as a junior at linebacker. We switched him back to quarterback. He just has a great demeanor.”

Both teams traded stops for much of the first half before Berlin appeared on the verge of finally dealing the first blow late in the second quarter. Taking over at his own 24-yard line, Eviston connected on three consecutive passes to begin the drive and put Berlin on the move. Six plays later, Berlin was knocking on the door of the end zone with a first down at the Perrysburg 7-yard line.

Berlin never got any closer to the end zone, though, settling for a 24-yard field goal from Spencer Conrad to break the scoreless tie and send Berlin into halftime with a 3-0 lead.

The two teams combined for just 192 yards of offense in the first half, including only 52 yards from a Perrysburg offense that routinely found itself behind the chains.

Berlin quickly added to its lead early in the third quarter after forcing a three-and-out on Perrysburg’s opening possession of the second half. After taking over at its own 38-yard line, Berlin needed just three plays to find the end zone. Facing a third-and-3 from his own 45, Mason Ziegler hauled in a screen pass from Eviston and raced 55 yards to the end zone.

Conrad’s extra point was good, and Berlin had taken a 10-0 lead with 9:50 left in the third quarter.

Perrysburg’s offensive woes continued on the ensuing possession as Josh Takats was intercepted by Berlin’s Liam Doneyhue near midfield. Doneyhue returned the interception to the Perrysburg 9-yard line, setting Berlin up for a potential knockout blow.

Berlin was again unable to fully cash in on a prime opportunity, though, settling for Conrad’s second field goal of the game and a 13-0 lead late in the third quarter.

A muffed punt by Berlin’s Joe Beaumier temporarily breathed new life back into the Perrysburg sideline. The loose ball was recovered by Perrysburg’s Mario Guttierez, sending his offense back onto the field at the Berlin 16-yard line.

Four plays later, Takats found Gavin Fenneken in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown to cut the Berlin lead to 13-7 with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter.

The momentum proved to be fleeting for Perrysburg as Eviston answered by engineering a 10-play drive that ended with Conrad’s third field goal of the night and a 16-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

After forcing yet another Perrysburg punt, Eviston connected with Zach Siegrist for the exclamation point on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 2:46 to play, giving Berlin a 23-7 lead.

“The kids did a great job,” Nori said. “When you have the bunch that we have, we work the worst-case scenarios in practice. We knew what the shift had to be, we just didn’t know how we’d respond because we had never had it happen before. But Aiden did a great job, came out and led the team.”

Asked what wasn’t clicking for his offense, Perrysburg head coach Dirk Conner said, simply, “Everything.”

“Berlin was dropping eight guys and we couldn’t run the ball,” Conner said. “You have to be able to run the ball when they’re dropping eight guys. We knew Berlin was really good defensively, and we have had our struggles on that side of the ball. We needed to play the field position game and keep them off the field, and the breaks didn’t go our way. But hats off to Olentangy Berlin. There’s a reason they’ve accomplished what they’ve accomplished this year. That’s a really good football team and a well-run program.”

Conner added, “This feels like the floor for us. This feels like it’s as low as it’s going to get. We expect to win more than this and push far beyond this level. In the grand scheme and the big perspective, I’m pretty proud of the fact that playing in week 12 feels about as low as we’re going to get.”

With the win, Berlin advances to play Dublin Coffman (9-3) in a regional semifinal matchup. Perrysburg finishes its season at 8-4.

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