Bulldogs Beat Hawley for Fourth Straight Win
Behind superior blocking from their offensive line, Calvin Stueve (23 carries, 167 yards, 2 TD’s) and Drew Durbin (15 carries, 127 yards, TD) combined for 294 rushing yards on Wednesday as the Ottertail Central Bulldogs won their fourth straight game, defeating Hawley by the score of 30-19 in Henning.
Hawley started the night with an impressive 13-play, 60-yard drive that resulted in a 4 yard touchdown run by Sam Burkel, giving the Nuggets a 6-0 lead with 6:03 left in the opening quarter. OTC answered with a 5-play, 68-yard drive that ended when Tanner Arndt broke loose for a 42-yard TD run with 3:04 left in the first quarter. A two-point conversion pass from Arndt to Kayne Cameron put the Bulldogs on top, 8-6.
Following a Hawley fumble OTC increased their lead to 16-6 when Durbin scored on a 15-yard run with 7:29 left in the half. Brady VanErp made a highlight reel catch on an Arndt pass for the two-point conversion. Hawley capitalized on an OTC fumble with 1:08 remaining in the first half when Cole Sunde hit Joey Aakre with an 11-yard TD strike, cutting the Bulldogs lead to 16-12 at the break.
Ottertail Central went 68 yards on the first possession of the second half, scoring on the eighth play of their drive on a 7-yard run by Stueve to put the score at 22-12. Hawley responded with an 11-yard Burkel TD run, following a 40-yard pass from Sunde to Mason Gratton to put the ball down deep. That touchdown, along with a Burkel extra point kick pulled the Nuggets to within three points at 22-19.
Photo credit - Dacia Stiles
Photo credit - Dacia Stiles
The Bulldogs secured the win with an 11-play, 83-yard drive, which included a fourth-and-one conversion at their own 26 yard line to extend the possession. Stueve scored the TD on an 11-yard run with 2:59 on the clock. Owen Buehler hauled in the two-point conversion pass from Arndt to make it a two-score game at 30-19.
OTC seniors Cian Buehler, Wyatt Severson, Will Ehlert, Ethan Houselog and Kayne Cameron, along with junior Joe Turchin, were solid on the offensive line and the defensive line play by Buehler, Severson, Houselog and Turchin pressured Sunde several times during the game, leading to 3 sacks.
Sunde completed 8-of-18 passes for 120 yards for the Nuggets. His leading receivers were Gratton (4 catches, 62 yards), Carson Brew (2 catches, 30 yards) and Aakre (2 catches, 28 yards). Burkel was the leading rusher with 64 yards on 22 carries.
OTC finishes the regular season with a 4-2 record and Hawley ends up 3-2. Both teams will most likely host a first round Section playoff game on Tuesday.
