Mason Ingold led the Otsego offense with 144 rushing yards in the Bulldogs’ season-opening contest against South Haven on Thursday, Aug. 29.
That’s an impressive number, to be sure. And it’s even more impressive when you consider the fact that he only had five carries for an average of 28.8 yards per carry.
Two of those carries resulted in first-quarter touchdowns as Ingold found the end zone on runs of 56 and 21 yards to stake Otsego to a 13-0 lead en route to the 39-0 victory.
Longtime Otsego coach John Kubiak was obviously pleased with his team’s performance.
“For the first game of the year I thought we came out and played with good intensity and focus,” he said. “Our players up front on both sides of the ball really set the tone. Jake Slater, Nate Barwegen, Fab Gaines, Bobby Houseman and Brad Austin paved the way to a big team rushing night.
“Mason used these guys up front and set up some good blocks to break a few big runs that set the tone of the game.”
Ashton Atwater added a third rushing TD in the opening quarter—this one from four yards out—to give Otsego the 19-0 lead.
The lead stood at 32-0 at halftime thanks to second-quarter scoring runs by Owen Watson (one yard) and Peyton Bohl (25 yards).
Derek Ward accounted for the final touchdown of the game when he scored from a yard out in the third quarter.
Ward finished with 69 yards on 15 carries, while Bohl had 30 yards on two carries and Atwater had 21 yards on five carries. Watson completed his only pass attempt, connecting with Jaxson Callaway for an 11-yard gain.
As well as Otsego played offensively, the Bulldogs may have been even better defensively. South Haven managed just 39 yards on 38 offensive plays.
“I thought we played good team defense and had many hats to the football,” Kubiak said. “Owen Watson’s leadership on both sides of the ball at quarterback and linebacker helped direct a solid team performance. We had many players contributing in many ways, including a solid performance from our special teams.”
Watson was in on six total tackles, while Nate Barwegen and Bohl were each in on five. Bohl also had an interception.
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