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Football: Bulldogs blitz Panthers

Published 12:13am Thursday, October 15, 2009

BATTLE LAKE — Otter Tail Central head coach Don Seipkes would have liked to throw the ball a little more against Parkers Prairie, but he’s not too upset.

Handing the ball off to Shane Winkler will always work.

The talented senior running back racked up 116 yards and scored four touchdowns, leading the Bulldogs past Parkers Prairie 32-7 in a Prairie Conference North showdown Wednesday evening in the cold, wet, windy conditions at Battle Lake High School.

“He’s really been running well,” Seipkes said. “He’s really carried us the last couple games.”

Winkler — who ran for nearly 200 yards last Friday against Pillager and will likely surpass 1,000 yards on the season in the finale at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg next Thursday — scored the first four touchdowns against the Panthers, starting with a 10-yard scamper with 8 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Tyler Olson also scored a rushing touchdown as the Bulldogs finished with a 285-to-135 edge in total yards. Olson carried the ball 12 times for 54 yards, many of which came in the fourth quarter with Winkler on the bench.

Winkler scored twice in the second quarter, gashing through the Panther defense from 43 yards out to help give the Bulldogs a 12-0 advantage early in the frame.

After the Panthers drew within six midway through the second quarter, Winkler capped a long scoring drive with a 5-yard TD dash and a 2-point conversion run to extend OTC’s lead to 20-7 with 1:30 left before the break.

Winkler’s final touchdown came from 1-yard out late in the third quarter.

“We really controlled the ball in the second half,” Seipkes said. “That’s something we’ve been able to do in the last could weeks.”

The Bulldogs’ defense also stepped it up in the final 24 minutes, holding the Panthers to just 19 yards.

“We made some adjustments to their double-wing (offensive formation) and put more guys at the line of scrimmage,” Seipkes said. “We knew they were going to run the ball, so it was all about being in the right position to make a play.”

Charlie Bates scored the only touchdown for the Panthers while leading the offense with 90 rushing yards.