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Celina's Parker Bertke (5) is escorted by Wes Greber, left, as he heads towards the end zone during Friday's game with Ottawa-Glandorf. Bertke rushed for 241 yards and three scores in the Bulldogs' 45-28 win.
CELINA - Celina's football season hasn't gone according to script.
But the Bulldogs are determined to have it end on a positive note.
On Friday, Parker Bertke rushed 17 times for 241 yards and three touchdowns in leading Celina to a 45-28 win over Ottawa-Glandorf in WBL play at Celina Stadium. Snapping a two-game losing streak, Celina improved to 3-6 overall and 3-5 in league play. Ottawa-Glandorf, which led 7-3 after one quarter, fell to 0-9 and 0-8.
"Wins and losses obviously didn't go the way we planned," Celina coach Brennen Bader said. "I feel like we were in almost every game this year, but we just didn't play a complete game. Even tonight, we played better but it still wasn't a complete game. We show a lot of glimpses of being really, really good. We just haven't put it all together. ... But we get one more opportunity with these guys with another home game next week. We hope to send the seniors out on a two-game win streak."
Defiance (4-5, 3-6 WBL) visits Celina in Week 10.
Celina's Logan Billerman tackles Ottawa-Glandorf's Deegan Miller (7).
Bridon Jeffries got Celina on the scoreboard by hitting a 29-yard field goal with eight minutes left in the opening quarter. Prior to that, the Bulldogs had forced a three-and-out on the opening possession and then Wesley Greber returned the punt 23 yards into O-G territory. A 22-yard pass play from Parker Wynk to Brodee Schulte-Arnold put Celina inside Jefferies' range.
Ottawa-Glandorf moved the ball into Celina territory quickly on the next drive with a 31-yard pass play from Tanner Vogt to Deegan Miller and a 22-yard run by Oscar Salsburey. The drive ended with a missed field goal attempt from close range, but the Titans got the ball right back by recovering a Celina fumble at the 25-yard line. The Titans cashed in with a six-yard scoring run by Salsburey.
The Titans had a 7-3 lead after one quarter, but they trailed 24-7 with 3:37 left in the half. The Bulldogs took the lead for good on an 18-yard pass from Wynk to Schulte-Arnold. Later, Bertke showed his explosion with a 55-yard house call. A 10-yard scoring pass from Wynk to Carson Weitzel with 3:37 left made the score 24-7. Ottawa-Glandorf cut the deficit to 24-14 just before halftime on a three-yard pass from Vogt to Nolan Horstman.
Celina's offense had a three-and-out and an interception to start the second half. But the defense responded with two fourth-down stops as O-G threatened. Bertke popped another big run on Celina's third drive, breaking tackles and making a cutback across the field for a 53-yard score with 4:45 left.
The deficit was back to 10 points less than two minutes later after a 46-yard deep pass from Vogt to Deegan Miller. But the offensive highlights were few and far between for O-G from that point on. Meanwhile, Celina continued to move plays all over the field.
Late in the third quarter, Bertke gashed O-G with a 33-yard run. A horse-collar tackle on the play moved the ball an additional 15 yards. Caleb Schlater made a one-handed grab for an eight-yard touchdown to complete the drive late in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth, Bertke broke off another big run before scoring from three yards out and making it 45-21.
"He's been pretty consistent running the ball," Bader said. "It starts up front, but he does a great job of seeing it and he's always falling forward, so he's always going to get more yardage. He's hard to bring down and once he gets in space, he can move pretty well for a pretty big guy. The O-line has been doing a great job. They have really started to get better and gel every week."
Wynk completed 10-of-14 passes for 184 yards with three touchdowns. Greber led the team with 73 receiving yards on two catches.
Celina's Brodee Schulte-Arnold (1) tries to break free from the grip of Ottawa-Glandorf's Brock Crumrine.
Salsburey, who caught an eight-yard score in the fourth quarter, rushed 26 times for 111 yards. Vogt completed 19-of-27 passes for 274 yards with three touchdowns. Miller had four catches for 98 yards.
Celina won the yardage battle 446-358. O-G held a 10-minute advantage in time of possession but went 2-for-10 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down.
"There have been times on defense where we have given up a lot of explosives and there have been times when we've looked pretty formidable," Bader said. "There has been a lot of inconsistency on that side of the ball.
"There was a lot of good tonight, but there were some plays that we'd like to have back," he added. "But they made some plays, too. They are a good team. Coach (Ken) Schriner does a great job. They are always fundamental. They always play hard. It's never easy. We're just happy to get a win and hopefully we'll make it two in a row to end the thing next week."
