MARSHALLTOWN — Early in the fourth quarter, Ottumwa running back Seth Griffiths — as he had done so many times in the Bulldogs first Class 4A, Division 3 game at Marshalltown Friday — took the handoff and headed into the line.

Griffiths, who had taken some real shots throughout the contest, fought through some tackles, found open field, shed a few more would-be tacklers, and crossed the goal line for a touchdown. After a frustrating, often exasperating game, Ottumwa, and its running back; finally got to experience a moment of joy. The touchdown, however, was a rare gem in a game that was dominated by the Bobcats.

Marshalltown’s high-octane offense, spearheaded by legendary quarterback Blake Gimbel, racked up 393 yards on its way to beating Ottumwa, 49-7. The Bobcats jumped on the Bulldogs early and often. Gimbel’s strong arm coupled with the sure hands and quick feet of receiver Ted Steffensen gave the Bulldogs fits early in the game.

Gimbel fired a couple first down passes to Steffensen and Dacoda Ewalt on the Bobcats’ opening drive. Moments later, he rolled out of the pocket and hit Steffensen for another first down on the Bulldogs’ 35-yard line.  Ottumwa was whistled for a personal foul on the play, which gave Marshalltown the ball on Ottumwa’s 20. A couple plays later, the Bobcats’ Colton Fuller scored on a 5-yard touchdown run.

The Bulldogs couldn’t muster any response offensively, allowing Marshalltown’s offense to return to the field. The Bobcats’ next scoring drive had Steffensen’s name written all over it. On the first play of the possession, Gimbel, who completed 22-26 passes; found Steffensen, who finished with 162 receiving yards on seven catches; for a 15-yard gain. On the next play, Gimbel hit Steffensen for a 16-yard completion. A couple plays later, Gimbel found his favorite target yet again, this time for a 28-yard touchdown reception. After Gimbel (yes, he kicks, too) booted in the extra point, Ottumwa found itself down 14-0 with a little less than six minutes to go in the first quarter.

Things would only get worse for the Bulldogs. On their next offensive possession, quarterback Alex Goodvin had his pass picked off by Eli Devine, who returned the interception to the Bulldogs’ 5-yard line, setting up a 4-yard touchdown run by Gimbel a few moments later. Marshalltown would score one more touchdown to go up 28-0 before the end of the first quarter.

The Bobcat offense continued to pile it on in the second quarter. Gimbel hooked up with wide receiver De’Quan McDowell for a 34-yard touchdown with 11:03 left in the half. Marshalltown appeared to be on the verge of another touchdown later in the quarter, but Steffensen fumbled the ball before he crossed the goal line and Ottumwa recovered. The Bobcats, however, managed to get back near the red zone at the end of the quarter and Gimbel culminated the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to put his team up 42-0 after the extra point.

Griffiths had a couple of nice runs in the half and fullback Alec Maas caught a couple of passes that went for substantial gains, but overall, Ottumwa’s offense never got into any rhythm. It was a similar story for Ottumwa in the second half. The boys would string together a couple nice plays – a Maas reception for 15 or 20 yards, a Griffiths’ first down run – but the drive would eventually run out of steam. The Bobcats moseyed down the field for another touchdown with 4:57 left in the third quarter to make it 49-0 after Gimbel kicked the extra point.

The Bulldogs continued to fight, however, despite the insurmountable deficit. That effort finally paid off in the fourth quarter when Griffith scored from 25-yards.

Griffiths finished with 85 yards on 30 rushes. Maas led all Bulldog receivers with four receptions for 75 yards. Gimbel tossed threw for 313 yards and fired four touchdown passes.

Ottumwa (2-4) plays Mason City in a Class 4A, Division 3 game Friday at home.

Marshalltown 49, Ottumwa 7

Ottu     0    00    0    7    —    7

Marsh    28   14    7    0    —    49

First quarter

Marshalltown - Colton Fuller 5-yard run (Blake Gimbel kick) 9:50.

Marshalltown - Tad Steffensen 28-yard pass from Gimbel (Gimbel kick) 5:52.

Marshalltown - Gimbel 4-yard run (Gimbel kick) 4:31.

Marshalltown - De'Quan McDowell 12-yard pass from Gimbel (Gimbel kick) 2:12.

Second quarter

Marshalltown - McDowell 34-yard pass from Gimbel (Gimbel kick) 11:03.

Marshalltown - Gimbel 1-yard run (Gimbel kick) 2:05.

Third Quarter

Dacoda Ewalt 6-yard pass from Gimbel (Gimbel kick) 4:57.

Fourth quarter

Ottumwa – Seth Griffiths 25-yard run (Justin Vonderhaar kick) 10:57.

TEAM STATISTICS

               Ott        Marsh

First downs    12          22

Rushes-yards    41-97    21-80

Passing yards    98        313

Total Yards     195         393

Comp-Att-Int    6-16-1   22-27-0

Return Yards    2-36     6-84

Fumbles-Lost    0-0        4-2

Penalties-Yds    7-42    4-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Ottumwa

RUSHING — Seth Griffiths 30-85 yards, Alec Maas 7-9 yards, Alex Goodvin 4-3 yards.

PASSING — Goodvin 6-16, 98 yards.

RECEIVING — Maas 4-75 yards, Keck 1-15 yards, Easton Sothman 1-8 yards.

RUSHING – Colton Fuller 6-35 yards, Connor Ruddick 9-20 yards, Blake Gimbel 5-22 yards, Austin Kluver 1-3 yards.

Marshalltown

PASSING – Gimbel  22-26, 313 yards.

RECEIVING — Tad Steffensen 7-162 yards, Brandon Pettigrew 5-41 yards.

INTERCEPTIONS — Eli Devine.