OTTUMWA —
It was a sweet way for the Ottumwa football team’s seniors to go out in their last game at Schafer Stadium.
The Bulldogs clobbered Class 4A, Division 3 opponent Des Moines Hoover 54-17 on a chilly Friday evening.
“We’ve been working really hard this whole year and it’s nice to have it pay off in the last game at home,” senior and team captain Kyle Keck said.
Keck was one of many seniors who played a big role in Ottumwa’s rout of the Huskies.
“A lot of our seniors rose up tonight and were great leaders for our team,” coach Zach Pfantz said. “What a great way for them to go out on Schafer Stadium.”
The Ottumwa offense, which reverted back to the Pistol offense it began the season using before abandoning it later in the year; quickly established a dominant run attack that Hoover had no answer for. The Bulldogs marched down the field on their first drive as junior Alec Maas and senior Seth Griffiths rushed for large chunks of yardage on nearly every carry. Maas capped off the drive by running three-yards right up the middle for an Ottumwa touchdown. Justin Vonderhaar booted the extra point to give Ottumwa a 7-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter, Maas broke free and dashed for a 74-yard touchdown that gave Ottumwa a 13-0 lead. The Bulldogs gambled and went for it on fourth and seven early in the second quarter. The risky decision paid off: Goodvin found a wide open Seth Griffiths in the flat with a short pass and, after outrunning one Hoover defender, Griffiths motored 41 yards for a touchdown, extending Ottumwa’s lead to 20-0 after the extra point.
Things got even worst for the Huskies when their quarterback Brock Larsen dropped the ball while trying to evade a a couple blitzing Ottumwa defenders. Junior linebacker Chris Peden recovered the fumble on the Huskies’ 18-yard line. Moments later, Goodvin fired a beautiful pass over the middle to Keck for a 19-yard touchdown.
Hoover managed to put 10 points on the board near the end of the first half. The Huskies only touchdown was set up by an interception by Bryan Gonzalez, who returned it to Ottumwa’s four-yard line. A couple of plays later, Larsen found Matt Pearson for a touchdown. Ottumwa led 34-10 at halftime.
The Bulldogs continued to roll in the second half. Senior fullback Clayton Cudworth caught a 6-yard touchdown pass, Griffiths rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and junior Zach Bowling picked off a pass and returned it 36-yards for a touchdown.
Ottumwa (4-5) will play Wednesday at Waukee in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
Ottumwa 54, Des Moines Hoover 17
Hoov 0 10 0 7 — 17
Ottu 13 21 7 13 — 54
Scoring By Quarters
First Quarter
Ott — Alec Maas 3-yard run (Justin Vonderhaar kick) 8:10.
Ott — Maas 74-yard run (Vonderhaar kick blocked blocked) 4:16.
Second Quarter
Ott — Seth Griffiths 41-yard pass from Alex Goodvin (Vonderhaar kick) 11:03.
Ott — Kyle Keck 19-yard pass from Goodvin (Vonderhaar kick) 10:03.
Ott — Griffiths 10-yard run (Vonderhaar kick) 5:17.
Hoov — Matt Pearson 4-yard pass from Brock Larsen (Colton Ruegsegger kick).
Hoov — Ruegsegger 22-yard field goal 0.6.
Third Quarter
Ott — Griffiths 1-yard run (Vonderhaar kick) 5:04.
Fourth Quarter
Ott — Clayton Cudworth 6-yard pass from Goodvin (Vonderhaar kick) 11:54.
Ott — Zach Bowling 36-yard interception (Vonderhaar kick failed).
Ott — Kevin Slaughter 42-yard pass from Larsen (Ruegsegger kick) 7:13.
TEAM STATISTICS
Ott Hoo
First downs 17 13
Rushes-yards 43-314 14-56
Passing yards 122 201
Total Yards 257 436
Comp-Att-Int 18-29-2 5-8-1
Return Yards 12-219 5-70
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yds 4-19 0-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Hoover
RUSHING — Larsen 6-52 yards, Terion Farely 5-5 yards, Nathan Galloway 1-0, Matt Pearson 2-(-1).
PASSING — Larsen 18-29, 201 yards.
RECEIVING — Pearson 7-44 yards, Colton Blackford 5-50 yards, Slaughter 3-60 yards.
INTERCEPTIONS — Bryan Gonzalez
Ottumwa
RUSHING — Maas 17-202 yards, Griffiths 13-91 yards, Logan McCarty 2-18 yards, Andrew Altfillisch 1-5 yards.
PASSING — Goodvin 5-8, 122 yards.
RECEIVING — Zach Bowling 2-58 yards, Griffiths 1-41 yards, Keck 1-19 yards, Clayton Cudworth 1-4 yards.
INTERCEPTIONS — Bowling 36 yards.
TACKLES — Kyle Lundy 7, Collin Schulz 6, Cooper Smith 4, Logan McCarty 4, Cole Eklund 4, Shawn Foster 3, Zach Bowling 3, Rodney Requena 2, Skyler Skinner 2, Connor Mier 2, Chris Peden 2, Andrew Altfillisch, Seth Griffiths, Maas, Corey Ridgeway, Aaron Townsend, Collin Tucker, Justin Vonderhaar, Titus Weller, Sam Kramer.
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