By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Tayden Soma rushed for a pair of first half touchdowns, while William Schwartz put the Bulldogs in front for good in the fourth quarter as the Otter Tail Central Bulldogs picked up a 22-18 win in their return to 11-man football on Thursday night.

As a team the Bulldogs ran nearly twice as many plays as Ashby/Brandon-Evansville by holding a 55-30 margin and holding a 245-129 advantage in total offense. However, ABE made a game of it late cutting the Bulldog lead to just 14-12 in the fourth quarter following a failed two-point conversion.

Soma gave the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead in the first quarter when he scored on a two-yard run, before reaching the end zone in the second quarter from 12-yards out. The two-point conversion gave OTC a 14-0 lead at halftime.

The Bolts reached the scoreboard for the first time in the third quarter on a run, before connecting on a four-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to make the score 14-12 in favor of OTC. That’s when Schwartz found the end zone on a nine-yard run and the Bulldogs converted the two-point conversion to give OTC a 22-12 lead. 

ABE scored a touchdown in the waning minutes of the gam eon a 13-yard pass to hand OTC a 22-18 win. The Bolts went 0-3 on two-point conversions, while OTC went 2-3 on the night.

Schwartz led the way offensively on the ground as he rushed 19 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. Soma rushed 18 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns, while Trystan Loghry rushed twice for 20 yards and Anthony Rousu rushed two times for 17 yards. As a team the Bulldogs held a 232-27 yard advantage on the ground. 

Braxtyn Cameron went just 1-4 for 13 yards through the air with his lone completion going to Schwartz for 13 yards. 

This week the Bulldogs will hit the road as they will take on New York Mills. The Eagles fell to Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa by a score of 18-12 in their opening game of the season.