OTTUMWA —
After scratching and clawing its way back into the game, the Ottumwa Bulldog football team couldn’t close the deal and lost to Des Moines East, 47-26, Friday at Schafer Stadium.
Still, the boys put together one heckuva comeback. Ottumwa trailed 26-3 going into the third quarter after a rough first half. Whatever coach Zach Pfantz told the Bulldogs at halftime worked, because Ottumwa came out like a house of fire in the second half.
The Bulldogs went on a long methodical drive in third quarter that started on their own 5-yard line and ended in the Scarlets endzone after Alex Goodvin found fullback Alec Maas for a three-yard touchdown pass. In contrast to the first half where the Bulldog defenders struggled to tackle East’s lightning quick guards in the open field, Ottumwa clamped down and really kept the Scarlets’ high-octane offense in check for the majority of third quarter.
Later in the third, Seth Griffiths shed a few tackles and made a beeline for the right corner of the endzone for a 23-yard touchdown. Moments later, Griffiths ran in the two-point conversion, which cut East’s led to 26-18.
After a long delay because of an East injury, Titus Weller picked off Scarlets’ quarterback Xavier James’ pass and dashed 15 yards for a touchdown. Griffiths took the handoff and plowed into the endzone for a successful two-point conversion, tying the game at 26.
The Ottumwa crowd was fired up and the atmosphere was electric after the score. Unfortunately on the kickoff that followed East’s Abu Sama quieted the crowd with a 95-yard touchdown return that recaptured the lead for Scarlets at the end of the third quarter.
East struck again in the fourth when James got loose for a 16-yard score. The Scarlets went on to pick up the victory. Griffiths gave an inspired performance in defeat, rushing for 129 yards on 35 carries.
Ottumwa (2-2) plays at Indianola Friday.
Des Moines East 47, Ottumwa 26
East 13 13 7 14 — 47
Ottu 0 3 23 00 — 26
Scoring By Quarters
First Quarter
East — Terrence Carla 6-yard run (Luke Dawson kick no good) 10:03.
East — Abu Sama catches 9-yard pass from Xavier James (Dawson kick) 2:23.
Second Quarter
East — James 2-yard run (Dawson Good) 3:01.
Ottumwa — Justin Vonderhaar 18-yard field goal 5:26.
East — James 80-yard run (Dawson kick no good) 1:36.
Third Quarter
Ottumwa — Alec Maas catches 3-yard pass from Alex Goodvin (Vonderhaar kick) 4:02
Ott — Seth Griffiths 22-yard run (Griffiths run) 1:25.
Ottumwa — Titus Weller 15-yard interception (Griffiths run) 1:10.
East — Sama 95-yard kickoff return (Dawson kick) 55.2.
Fourth Quarter
East — James 16-yard run (Dawson kick) 4:58.
East — James 1-yard run (Dawson good) 1:54.
TEAM STATISTICS
Ott East
First downs 14 20
Rushes-yards 49-151 33-176
Passing yards 26 211
Total Yards 177 387
Comp-Att-Int 18-27-1 6-22-2
Return Yards 8-276 11-134
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yds 4-30 8-68
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
East
RUSHING — Xavier James 16-147 yards, Terrance Karla 12-40 yards, Rico Gafford 3-(-)11.
PASSING — James 18-27, 211 yards.
RECEIVING — Gafford 9-135 yards, Abu Sama -7-85 yards.
INTERCEPTIONS — Gafford.
Home team
RUSHING — Seth Griffiths 35-129 yards, Alex Goodvin 9-26 yards, Alec Maas 4-7 yards.
PASSING — Goodvin 4-15, 18 yards, Kyle Keck 2-7, 8 yards.
RECEIVING — Maas 4-33 yards, Griffiths 1-(-) 7 yards.
INTERCEPTIONS — Tyler Johns.
TACKLES — Shawn Foster 9.
Sports
September 8, 2012
Ottumwa rally falls short against East
- Sports
-
- EBF remains red-hot; Osky suffers first loss OSKALOOSA - Whether it's in conference play or tournament play, the Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont softball squad lately cannot seem to lose. EBF's winning ways earned them a place in the new Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union softball rankings Thur
- Mid-season races are here Hello race fans and welcome to The Pit Stop. It is hard to believe that it is mid-season championship time at some of the tracks in the area. It seems like just a week or so ago I wrote the first Pit Stop of the race season and here we are coming up
- Rockets split at Pella Christian Tourney PELLA - The South Central Conference-leading Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont baseball squad saw a five-game winning streak end in tournament play on Saturday at the Pella Christian Tournament over the weekend. The Rockets didn't wait long to try and sta
-
Strong sweep at D.M. North
DES MOINES -- The Ottumwa baseball team got a brand new week off to an incredible start, using just nine innings to complete a CIML Metro Conference sweep on the road Monday afternoon in Des Moines. The Bulldogs dominanted North High in all facets of
- Lady Dees fall twice at West Liberty Tourney WEST LIBERTY - The Albia softball team fell twice on Saturday at the West Liberty Tournament. The Lady Dees lost their opening game to New London, 5-1, before losing to West Liberty 13-4. Makenzie Griffin had a pair of hits, including a double, and d
- On Tap Tuesday Prep Baseball Chariton at Fairfield (DH), 5:30 p.m. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at Centerville (DH), 5:30 p.m. Moulton-Udell at Seymour (DH), 6 p.m. Moravia at Melcher-Dallas, 6 p.m. English Valleys at North Mahaska, 6 p.m. Tri-County at Lynnville-S
- No. 14 Sigourney splits at Washington Tourney WASHINGTON - The 14th-ranked Sigourney softball squad bounced back after losing a battle of rated opponents to open the Washington Tournament as the Savages earned a split on Saturday. After losing to the 12th-ranked (4A) host Demons, 6-3, in the sem
- Third-ranked Sabers roll on Bluegrass play MELCHER - Third-ranked (1A) Twin Cedars continued its dominance of the Bluegrass Conference on Thursday, stepping back onto the field three days after beating one of the best programs in the 1A to pick up a fourth-straight conference victory. The Sab
- Ottumwa overwhelms Des Moines North OTTUMWA — In what could be aptly described as a team effort, the Ottumwa softball team swept Des Moines North Monday at Huston Field. Ottumwa crushed the Polar Bears 11-1 in five innings in the front half of the doubleheader, and the girls dominated
- NASCAR-Sprint Cup-Quicken Loans 400 Lineup auto racing NASCAR After Friday qualifying; race Sunday At Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Mich. Lap length: 2 miles (Car number in parentheses) 1. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 202.452 mph. 2. (78) Kurt Busch, Chevy, 201.879. 3. (5) Kasey Kahne
- More Sports Headlines
