OTC to travel to Pelican Rapids on Friday night

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Otter Tail Central improved to 4-0 with a commanding 27-8 win over Roseau on Friday night.

In a wet and cold game in Battle Lake, the Bulldogs wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Bricker Bladow scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter on a 53-yard and a 15-yard run. The two-point conversions both failed as the Bulldogs led by a score of 12-0 at the end of the first quarter.

OTC made the score 20-0 in the second quarter when Mason Dalluge was on the receiving end of a 19-yard pass from Jack Mekalson. Owen Buehler ran the two-point conversion into the end zone for the final score of the first half.

Bladow gave OTC a big 27-0 lead when he scored his third touchdown of the game, this time on a 21-yard run and Buehler kicked the extra point.

Roseau scored late in the fourth quarter and converted the two-point conversion on a 7-yard pass to end the game with a score of 27-8. 

Bladow had a huge game for the Bulldogs as he turned 8 rushes into 121 yards and 3 touchdowns. Mason Hammer rushed 8 times for 46 yards and Tyler Christensen rushed 2 times for 4 yards. 

Mekalson went 4-9 for 77 yards and a touchdown through the air.

Drew Johnson caught 1 pass for 29 yards, Hammer caught 1 pass for 19 yards, Dalluge caught 1 pass for 19 yards and touchdown and Buehler caught 1 pass for 10 yards. 

As a team, the Bulldogs outgained the Rams by a 265-138 margin, including a 77-23 margin through the air. OTC also picked up 11 first downs and won the turnover battle by a 2-0 margin. 

OTC is currently 4-0 on the season and is tied with fifth ranked New York Mills atop the Section 6A standings. Pine River-Backus is in third place with a record of 3-1, while Breckenridge and Menahga are 2-2 on the season. 

OTC is averaging 37 points per game on offense, while giving up just 11.5 points per game on defense.  They are ranked 10th in Class A. 

The Bulldogs are also tied with Pelican Rapids atop the district standings with a 3-0 record in the district. The Vikings and Bulldogs will meet on the field with first place on the line on Friday night in Pelican Rapids. 

The Vikings come into the game with a record of 3-1 overall after defeating Underwood 52,12, Frazee 42-20 and Parkers Prairie last week by a score of 6-0. Their lone loss came at the hands of Barnesville on September 16 by a score of 43-0. 

The Vikings are averaging 25 points per game on offense, while giving up 18.8 points per game on defense.