The Nevis Tigers remained unbeaten on the season with a 35-0 win over Ottertail Central on Thursday afternoon at US Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. With the 9-Player semifinal round victory, the Tigers advance to the championship game on Saturday, November 25 against Kingsland, a 36-28 winner over Fertile Beltrami in the other semifinal round contest.
Following a scoreless first quarter, Nevis got on the board with 4:35 left in the half when quarterback Eli Lewis connected with Joe Houchin on a 20 yard touchdown pass for a 6-0 lead. With zeroes showing on the clock, Nevis expanded their lead when Lewis hooked up with AJ Bessler on a 13 yard TD pass. The two-point conversion pass from Lewis to Houchin pushed the halftime lead to 14-0 for the Tigers.
In the third quarter, Lewis hit Austin Ahrendt with a 50 yard scoring toss and Devan Lindow returned an interception 70 yards for a score. A successful 2-point pass from Lewis to Ahrendt put the score at 28-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final touchdown of the day came with 3:20 remaining in the game when Lewis completed a 6 yard pass to JohnPaul Benson. The extra point kick by Josha Sammons made the final score 35-0.
Nevis had 278 yards of offense, 154 on the ground and 124 through the air. Ayomide Ogundeji was the leading rusher with 114 yards on 27 carries. Lewis completed 5-of-13 passes for 97 yards and 4 TD’s. Houchin caught 3 of the passes for a team high 55 yards. Nevis recorded 15 first downs on the day. Lindow had 2 of the four interceptions by the Tigers, while Lewis and Ahrendt each had one pick. Eli Klimek led the team with 10 tackles (7 solo, 3 assisted).
Lane Dilly led OTC with 77 rushing yards on 18 carries. He also led the defense with 15 tackles, 10 of them on his own. Jack Mekalson was 4-for-13 for 22 yards and 4 interceptions. He also ran the ball for 40 yards on 9 carries and recorded the lone sack of the game. Mason Dalluge had two receptions for 13 yards and Dilly had 2 catches for 9 yards.
Ottertail Central recorded 153 yards of offense, with 131 coming by run and 22 by pass. The Bulldogs had 9 first downs in the game.
OTC ends the season 11-1.
Nevis is now 12-0.