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Otter Tail Central looks for 6th win of season
Published Thursday, October 9, 2008
Photo by Tom Hintgen
From left are Kyle Owings and Blye Dalluge of Battle Lake, Otter Tail Central Bulldogs head coach Don Seipkes, and Erik Smith and Dustin Torgerson of Henning.
This week provides a stiff challenge for the Otter Tail Central football team. The 5-1 Bulldogs play the number three rated team in class A, the 6-0 Upsala/Swanville Patriots at the football field in Battle Lake.
The leading rushers on the Bulldog team are junior fullback Shane Winkler with 572 yards on 99 carriers and three touchdowns and quarterback Erik Smith with 448 yards on 85 carriers and nine touchdowns.
The line is led by senior center Dustin Torgerson, senior guards Kyle Owings and Blye Dalluge, sophomore tackles Jake Ukkelberg and Shelby Trosdahl and junior tight ends Nate Bladow and Dustin Klever.
“Our defense so far this season has been led by the play of middle linebackers Kyle Owings and Nate Bladow,” said head coach Don Seipkes, “along with outside linebackers Shane Winkler and Nate Bladow and free safety Erik Smith.”
Seipkes said the highlight of the season so far is the 16-12 win over the previously undefeated Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunberg team that was rated the number one team in Class A at that time.
The Bulldogs are leading the Prairie North Conference at this time and are sitting in the number two position in the Section 6AA playoff standings.
Otter Tail Central, coming off a 7-3 overall record from 2007, had high hopes for this season. Leading the way is quarterback Smith, a three-year starter who also has experience as a free safety.
Other three-year starters returning form last year are Owings, middle linebacker who played defensive end the past two years, and Dustin Torgerson, center and defensive end. Three other starters back from 2007 include Dalluge, guard and middle linebacker; Troy Thorson, cornerback; and Winkler, outside linebacker.
Seipkes is starting his 36th year as a head coach for the Bulldogs. His personal highlight last year was a post-season quarterfinal shutout of Wadena-Deer Creek, his 200th victory. Otter Tail Central includes Henning and Battle Lake.
“We have a really good core of athletes to work around,” Seipkes said. “Our returning starters are playing huge roles. Our team weakness, at the start of the season, was a lack of depth. The kids are playing well and we’ve stayed relatively injury free.”
Seipkes is assisted by defensive coordinator Eric Olson, special teams and JV coach Dan Peterka and freshman and line coach Jason Trites.
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