Photo by Chad Koenen
Calvin Stueve rushes past a group of Pelican Rapids defenders during Friday’s game against the Vikings in Battle Lake.

Bulldogs to host Staples-Motley Friday in Henning

  There was no shortage of action on Friday night as the Otter Tail Central Bulldogs and Pelican Rapids Vikings accounted for over 800 yards of total offense and 60 points at Tony Thiel Field in Battle Lake. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they had 484 yards of total offense and remained in front of the Vikings from the start as they improved to 5-0 with a 38-22 win.

In a first half full of scoring, OTC jumped out to an 8-0 lead after the Bulldogs forced a 3 and out on Pelican Rapids’ opening possession. The Bulldogs then went on a 9 play 78 yard drive that was capped off by a Tanner Arndt 13-yard touchdown run. Calvin Stueve converted the two-point conversion to make the score 8-0.

Pelican Rapids followed with a 9 play 75-yard drive of their own that was capped by a 1-yard run and a two-point conversion to tie the game at 8-8. OTC answered the score with a 14-yard pass on a fourth down play when Drew Johnson hauled in a pass from Arndt to give the Bulldogs a 14-8 lead.

In the second quarter, the Bulldogs got a bit of breathing room as Stueve scored on a 2-yard run and Owen Buehler converted the two-point conversion to make the score 22-8.

Pelican Rapids then scored on another long drive, this time on a 13 play 84 yard drive, which was finished on an 11-yard run, to make the game 22-16 following the two-point conversion. 

OTC didn’t waste any time to match that score as on the first place from scrimmage, Johnson caught a 71-yard pass from Arndt for the Bulldogs’ fourth touchdown of the first half. Arndt ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 30-16. 

The action wasn’t over as Pelican Rapids answered with another long drive, this time going 63 yards on 15 plays, which was finished by a 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 30-22 heading into halftime.

The lone touchdown of the second half came on a 2-yard Mason Hammer run in the third quarter. The two-point conversion was good to leave the score at 38-22. 

As a team, the Bulldogs collected 484 yards of total offense, including 363 yards rushing. Arndt had a big day offensively as he led the Bulldogs with 142 yards rushing and was 6-9 passing for 121 yards. Stueve finished with 81 yards on 17 carries, while Bricker Bladow rushed 4 times for 78 yards and Hammer rushed 18 times for 62 yards. 

Johnson had 3 receptions for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Stueve, Hammer and Owen Buehler each caught 1 pass in the win. 

A group of Otter Tail Central Bulldogs, led by Carter Kenyon, bring down a Pelican Rapids ball carrier on Friday night.

Pelican Rapids finished the game with 324 yards of total offense, including 176 yards passing and 148 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs held a 3-1 advantage in turnovers and picked up 20 first downs in the win.

This week OTC will host Staples-Motley in Henning. The Cardinals come into the game with a record of 2-3 overall and are averaging 16 points per game on offense, while giving up 36.4 points per game on defense. Their lone wins of the season came against Wadena-Deer Creek in their regular season opener by a score of 22-16 and Pillager by a score of 26-18. 

The Otter Tail Central defense held a powerful Pelican Rapids offense scoreless in the second half. 

The Bulldogs are currently ranked second in the QRF in Class A. They lead New York Mills in the section as the Eagles are 4-0 and ranked fifth in the QRF.

OTC is averaging 30.2 points per game on offense and give up 11.2 points per game on defense.

Mason Hammer breaks a tackle during Friday night’s game in Battle Lake.