OTC ran for 352 yards and passed for 123, giving the Bulldogs 475 yards of total offense.  They also collected 17 first downs in the game, 14 of them on the ground and 3 through the air.  Other rushing leaders were Calvin Stueve with 80 yards on 16 carries and Mason Hammer with 74 yards on 20 rushing attempts.  Drew Johnson was the leading receiver with 3 catches for 91 yards.  Defensively, Bricker Bladow and Tanner Arndt came up with interceptions in the game and the Bulldogs also recovered a late fumble on the last Pelican Rapids drive of the night.

Sophomore quarterback Tim Guler of Pelican Rapids also had a big night, running for 108 yards on 20 carries and scoring 3 touchdowns, and completing 12-of-26 passes for 202 yards.  His leading receiver was Peyton Blakeway with 5 catches for 102 yards.  Both Hunter Williams and Jack Kapenga caught two passes for 48 yards.  Carson Johnson recorded 49 yards rushing on 13 attempts.  Defensively, Carson McNeal forced a fumble and it was recovered by Ian Fahje.

The first half was full of scoring.  After OTC stopped Pelican Rapids on 3 plays on the first possession of the night, the Bulldogs went 78 yards on 9 plays and capitalized on a 13 yard run by Arndt and a two-point conversion run by Stueve to take an 8-0 lead.  Pelican Rapids answered with a 9-play, 75-yard scoring drive of their own, capped by a Guler 1 yard run and a Guler to Hunter Williams conversion pass to tie the game at 8-8.  The Bulldogs scored on a fourth down play from the 14 yard line when Drew Johnson hauled in a pass from Arndt for a 14-8 OTC lead after one quarter of play.

OTC added to their lead in the second quarter with a 3 yard TD run by Stueve, followed by a two-point conversion pass from Arndt to Owen Buehler to take a 22-8 lead.  The Vikings then went 84 yards in 13 plays and scored on an 11 yard run by Guler.  Guler then scored the two-point conversion to make it a 22-16 lead for Ottertail Central.  On the first play from scrimmage during their next possession, Arndt connected with Johnson on a 71-yard catch and run TD.  After Arndt’s two-point conversion run the Bulldogs held a 30-16 lead with just over five minutes to go in the half.  It wasn’t over, however, as Pelican Rapids went 63-yards in fifteen plays, scoring on a one yard run by Guler, sending the Vikings into the locker room at halftime trailing 30-22.

The only TD of the second half came on a 20-play, 80-yard scoring drive when Mason Hammer carried the ball into the end zone from two yards out.  Jack Mekalson hauled in the two-point conversion pass from Arndt for a 38-22 lead.

Ottertail Central improved to 5-0 on the season and remained unbeaten in District play.  They will host Staples-Motley next Friday in Henning.

Pelican Rapids falls to 3-2 on the season and suffered their first conference loss.  The will be hosting Park Rapids Area on Friday night, October 8.