OTTUMWA — Turnovers and an inconsistent offense plagued the Ottumwa football team in its 26-7 loss at Indianola Friday.

Two turnovers in the first half played a substantial role in the 10-point deficit Ottumwa faced at halftime. In the second half, however, it was offensive stagnation that hurt the Bulldogs. While the boys were able to move the chains on an on-again-off-again basis in the first half, they were unable to put together a sustained drive in the second half.

“It was about the worst half of offensive football I’ve ever seen,” coach Zach Pfantz said. “We either got sacked, we fumbled or threw an interception every play. We didn’t play well at the offensive line and we didn’t play well at quarterback.”

The snap problems between quarterback Alex Goodvin and the cast of players who have played center this season continue to haunt the Bulldogs. Kevin Childs was replaced by John Torres, who normally starts at right guard; last Friday because of snapping problems. The switch, however, wasn’t a panacea. After having minimal snapping problems in the first half, Ottumwa’s chronic snap problem reared its ugly head again in the second half.

 “The snap is wrecking a lot of our stuff right now,” Pfantz said.

The coach said starting defensive tackle Jonah Wright will start at center at Marshalltown Friday. In addition, the coach said he will be starting three new offensive lineman.

Overall, Ottumwa’s defense did a yeoman’s job at containing the Indians’ usually strong run game, holding Indianola to 89 yards on the ground.

Pfantz said he was proud of the way his defense played from about the second quarter on. Without Ottumwa’s strong defense, he said, the score could have been much worse.

Ottumwa’s Seth Griffiths ran for over 100 yards for the second straight week, rushing 22 times for 104 yards.

Defensively, Tyler Johns led “The Dark Side” with nine tackles, Chris Peden finished with eight tackles and free safety Shawn Foster had seven tackles.

At times, the Bulldogs were their own worst enemy Friday. For example, already trailing 7-0, Ottumwa’s offense appeared to be on its way to scoring a touchdown or at least a field goal in the first quarter. A long run by Bulldog running back Seth Griffiths, a run by fullback Alec Maas and a short pass to Griffiths that Ottumwa’s shifty back turned into a 12-yard gain left the Bulldogs on the Indians’ 26-yard line late in the first quarter. But on the next play, Ottumwa fumbled and Indianola recovered with 1:34 left in the quarter.

The momentum of the game swung decisively in the Indians’ direction. Indianola put together a successful drive to start the second quarter that was punctuated by a 21-yard touchdown reception by the Indians’ Jeremy Kellow. After Drew Jensen’s extra point, Ottumwa trailed 14-0.

Much to Ottumwa’s credit, the Bulldogs responded with a drive of their own. Griffiths’ set up the Bulldogs’ only score of the gain with a slick run: He managed to avoid a few would-be tacklers, find a seam in the offensive line and motor all the way to the Indians’ 10-yard line. Maas took over from there with a 10-yard touchdown run right the up the middle, cutting the Indianola’s lead to 14-6. An extra point by Justin Vonderhaar later and the deficit was down to 7.

Ottumwa tried an onside kick, but Indianola managed to jump on the ball. Then the Bulldog defense made a strong stand, forcing the Indians to punt after three downs. But on their next offensive possession, the Bulldogs were once again hurt by a costly turnover.

Ottumwa quarterback Alex Goodvin threw an ill-advised pass that the Indians Ethan Jolliff picked off and ran to the Bulldogs’ 22. The pick led to a 25-yard field goal by Jensen.

 A nice tackle by Tyler Johns and a Logan McCarty sack forced the Bulldogs to punt on two separate drives. Bad field position hindered Ottumwa for much of the night, especially in the fourth quarter. Good punts by quarterback and punter Cody Smith coupled with great punt coverage by Indianola forced Ottumwa to start many of their drives deep in their own territory. This eventually led to Colby Vlieger tackling Goodvin for a safety in the fourth quarter.

 Indianola managed to finally score a touchdown in the second half on a Ottumwa defense that had been on the field constantly in the second half. Smith found Austin Dittmer streaking down the right sideline for a 24-yard reception on Ottumwa’s one-yard line. After a quarterback sneak by Smith, the Indians led 26-6. Jensen’s extra point increased the deficit to 21 and ended up being the final score of the night.

Ottumwa (2-3) plays at Marshalltown (3-2) Friday. The Bobcats won at Ames 37-27 last Friday. Other Division 3 results include, No. 8 West Des Moines Dowling Catholic (3-2) losing to No. 5 Urbandale 35-27 and Des Moines Hoover (1-4) losing to Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson 53-21.