Prep athletes of the week: Last-second winning TD pass was Elk River junior's memory of a lifetime

Elk River was trailing Moorhead 55-52. The clock showed 1.4 seconds left. The goal line was 57 yards away. And the Elks hadn't thrown a pass all game.

There was a smidgen of doubt in Otto's mind, but the junior running back pushed it aside. One more play with the season at stake.

"It was a long shot. I probably doubted it a little bit," he recalled. "But I knew I shouldn't give up. I was going to give 100 percent. There was still time to score."

He was spot on.

The play, "40 Michigan," called for Otto to race downfield and split the safeties. He did his part and quarterback Beau Ruby threw a 30-yard dart to Otto. He absorbed a blow from a Moorhead defensive back and raced into the end zone as time expired.

"I caught the ball, and I saw a Moorhead dude right of me," he said. "But he took a bad angle. I bounced off and just started sprinting. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Otto's fifth touchdown of the game, and the most improbable, gave Elk River a 58-55 victory in the Class 5A quarterfinals. For the game he had 305 yards of total offense: 248 rushing and 57 memorable yards receiving.

"It's just a great feeling to get one more game to play with the seniors," Otto said. "It probably meant more to them than to me."

The senior was a four-time winner at the Class 2A, Section 2 meet. She won the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle and swam on the meet-record setting 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams. Jorgenson has committed to swim at USC.

The sophomore forward helped the Wings to a 2-0 start with two multi-point games. She scored two goals and had an assist in an 8-0 victory over Minnehaha United, then had an identical line in a 5-4 victory over St. Francis/North Branch.

Long, a 5-11 outside hitter, provided the deciding point in the fifth set of the Class 3A championship. Her savvy deep-line tip-kill clinched a five-set victory over Eagan. She finished with 20 kills in the match and 37 for the tournament.

The senior has been a quarterback for all of 10 games, but in the Rebels' 34-7 rout of Rosemount, he played the position like he'd done it all his life. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 111 yards and two TDs, and rushed for 88 yards and three scores.

The senior running back continued his strong postseason showing with his best rushing game of the season. He carried the ball 28 times for 200 yards and two TDs in a 52-14 rout of Fridley. He has 576 yards in three playoff games.

The senior running back averaged a whopping 14.7 yards per carry in the Cougars' 38-14 victory over Mounds View in the Class 6A quarterfinals. He rushed 15 times for 220 yards and scored touchdowns on runs of 52 and 51 yards.