OTC scores late touchdown to tie the game, edges Underwood 32-26 in second overtime

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Otter Tail Central Bulldogs improved to 1-1 on the season after a thrilling come-from-behind win over Underwood on Friday night. The Bulldogs tied the game 20-20 with just minutes remaining in the game on a late William Schwartz touchdown run and two-point conversion, before scoring a touchdown in both the first and second overtime to hand the Rockets a tough 32-26 loss in Henning.

The Bulldogs will travel to Hillcrest Lutheran Academy this week to take on the Comets in Fergus Falls. Hillcrest is currently 1-1 on the season after falling to Fosston 38-34 in the opening game of the season, before defeating Ortonville by a score of 56-26 on Friday night. 

August 29

Otter Tail Central got its second nine-man season underway on August 29 as the Bulldogs traveled to Goodrich-Grygla. Unfortunately, OTC found itself down in an early hole and couldn’t find the end zone until the fourth quarter as they fell by a score of 30-8. The lone OTC touchdown came from William Schwartz who scored on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter to make the game 30-8 in favor of Goodrich-Grygla. 

After a scoreless first quarter, the Chargers found the end zone on a pair of drives from 15-yards and 4-yards out to make the score 14-0 at halftime. The Chargers found the end zone two more times in the third quarter on a 13-yard run and 5-yard run to leave the score at 30-0 heading into the fourth quarter. That’s when Schwartz found the end zone to put the Bulldogs on the board by a score of 30-8.

Offensively OTC was outgained by Goodrich-Grygla by a 298-140 margin in total offense. On the ground, Goodrich-Grygla finished with 249 yards, compared to 130 for OTC. The Bulldogs went 4-10 on third down and converted their lone fourth down attempt and both teams did their part to not turn the ball over as they each had just one fumble lost.

Schwartz led the way offensively for the Bulldogs as he rushed 10 times for 43 yards and a touchdown run. Teigan Bjerke rushed six times for 24 yards, while Braxtyn Cameron rushed three times for 20 yards. 

First Quarter

None

Second Quarter

GGHS- 15 Yd Run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

GGHS- 4 Yd Run (Two-Point Conversion)

Third Quarter

GGHS- 13 Yd Run (Abe Miller Run For Two-Point Conversion)

GGHS- 5 Yd Run (Two-Point Conversion)

Fourth Quarter

OTC- William Schwartz 1 Yd Run (Two-Point Conversion)

TEAM TOTALS: TOTAL PLAYS: OTC 42, G 52, PASSING YARDS: OTC 20, G 49, RUSHING YARDS: OTC 120, G 249, FIRST DOWNS: OTC 8, G 20

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING: W. Schwartz 10-43-1, T. Bjerke 6-24-0, B. Cameron 3-20-0, T. Soma 5-16-0, T. Loghry 2-10-0, M. Nelson 4-3-0, A. Rousu 2-3-0, G. Froslee 1-1-0

PASSING: E. Stans 1-3-20-0-0, B. Cameron 0-2-0-0-0

RECEIVING: E. Fronning 1-20-0

Friday

It’s not who leads first that matters, but who is winning when the clock strikes zero that matters the most. OTC proved that on Friday night as the Bulldogs trailed for the entirety of their home opener against the Underwood Rockets on Friday night, but scored on a William Schwartz 11-yard touchdown run in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter to make the score 20-18 in favor of Underwood. Schwartz found the end zone on the subsequent two-point conversion to tie the game for the first time since it was 0-0. 

In overtime, Teigan Bjerke scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Braxtyn Cameron to make the score 26-20 in favor of the Bulldogs, which was the first time they led all game long. 

Underwood quickly took their overtime possession and scored on an Evavold to Owen Harig 10-yard touchdown pass to tie the game up at 26-26. The Rockets elected to kick the potential game winning extra point, but it was blocked by the Bulldogs to send the game into a second overtime.

After stopping the Rockets on their first possession of overtime, Cameron found Elijah Fronning in the end zone on a 3-yard pass to give the Bulldogs a 32-26 win over the Rockets. 

As a team the Bulldogs outgained the Rockets by a 277-200 margin, including a 192-107 advantage on the ground. OTC struggled a bit on third down throughout the game as they went just 3-15 on third downs, but went an impressive 6-7 on fourth down attempts. 

Cameron had a solid game through the air as he went 8-16 for 85 yards and four touchdowns. 

Schwartz led the way on the ground as he finished with 20 carries for 90 yards and 1 touchdown, while Cameron rushed seven times for 63 yards and Bjerke rushed 15 times for 37 yards. 

Maddox Mekalson finished with three receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown, while Schwartz caught two passes for 22 yards and a touchdown. Bjerke caught two passes for 11 yards and a touchdown, while Elijah Fronning caught just one pass, the game winning one in second overtime, for three yards and a touchdown. 

First Quarter

UHS- Evan Lundgren 18 Yd Pass From Drew Evavold (Drew Evavold Run For Two-Point Conversion)

Second Quarter

OTC- Maddox Mekalson 6 Yd Pass From Braxtyn Cameron (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

UHS- Owen Harig 41 Yd Pass From Drew Evavold (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

Third Quarter

UHS- Evan Lundgren 19 Yd Pass From Drew Evavold (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

Fourth Quarter

OTC- William Schwartz 6 Yd Pass From Braxtyn Cameron (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

OTC- William Schwartz 11 Yd Run (William Schwartz Run For Two-Point Conversion)

Overtime

OTC- Teigan Bjerke 6 Yd Pass From Braxtyn Cameron (Failed Two-Point Conversion)

UHS- Owen Harig 10 Yd Pass From Drew Evavold (Garrett Kuhn-Rice Kick No Good)

OTC- Elijah Fronning 3 Yd Pass From Braxtyn Cameron (Kick No Good)

TEAM TOTALS: TOTAL PLAYS: OTC 66, U 52, PASSING YARDS: OTC 85, U 93, RUSHING YARDS: OTC 192, U 107, FIRST DOWNS: OTC 12, U 10

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING: W. Schwartz 20-90-1, B. Cameron 7-63-0, T. Bjerke 15-37-0, E. Dronning 1-0-0

PASSING: D. Evavold 5-13-93-4-0

RECEIVING: M. Mekalson 3-49-1, W. Schwartz 2-22-1, T. Bjerke 2-11-1, E. Dronning 1-3-1