DES MOINES —
Lack of offensive production coupled with a formidable Dowling Catholic offense spelled doom for the Ottumwa football team, who fell to the Maroons 41-7 Friday at Valley Stadium in Class 4A, Division 3 action.
Dowling, ranked sixth in Class 4A, got a tremendous game out of its star receiver Matthew Haack, who caught two touchdown passes and recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown. With top quarterback Ryan Boyle sidelined with an injury, the Maroons opted to have Nick Wilson and Brandon Mauro switch off, taking snaps behind center. The two-quarterback offense ostensibly worked because both quarterbacks were able to engineer scoring drives in the contest.
The normally balanced Maroon offense relied heavily on its passing attack early on; possibly because of the trouble the Bulldogs have had against pass-heavy teams this season. The strategy worked as Mauro and Wilson sprayed the field with passes to a number of receivers. Mauro found Jon Wisnieski for a short 4-yard touchdown pass on a four-possession drive that started at the Bulldogs’ 35 yard line. Mauro found Haack for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and Wilson fired a 16-yard pass touchdown pass to Haack in the third.
The Ottumwa offense seemed like it was stuck in quicksand for most of the first half. The Bullldogs went out of their way to try and establish a run game, but there just weren’t any holes to run through. Ottumwa continuously tried to run Seth Griffiths up the middle but, when he wasn’t losing yardage, his gains were miniscule.
After a couple of possessions defined by conservative play calling, Ottumwa opted go to the air more towards the end of the half. Quarterback Alex Goodvin made a nice fake before finding a wide open Alec Maas, who bolted down field in what ended up being a 39-yard reception with 3:40 left in the half. The play was the Bulldogs’ only first down up to that point.
Meanwhile, Dowlings’ offense consistently moseyed down the field for touchdown drives. To make matters worse, the Maroons blocked an Ottumwa punt in front of the Bulldogs’ own end zone and Haack recovered it and ran it in for the touchdown. Dowling had built a 27-0 lead by halftime.
Ottumwa came out a little more energized in the second half. Goodvin managed to complete a couple of passes despite facing continuous pressure and Maas managed to find some holes in the Maroon’s line to run through. Despite the Bulldogs renewed vigor, Dowling still managed to score 14 points in the third to go up 41-0.
Ottumwa finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth when Goodvin found Zach Bowling for a 39-yard touchdown reception.
Goodvin completed 7-12 passes for 113 yards and one interception. Maas gained 71 yards on 12 carries.
Ottumwa has next Friday off, and plays Des Moines Hoover Oct. 19 at Schafer Stadium in a Class 4A, Division 3 game.
Dowling Catholic 41, Ottumwa 7
Ottu 0 0 0 7 — 7
Dowl 10 17 14 0 — 41
Scoring By Quarters
First Quarter
Dowl- -Jon Wisnieski 4-yard pass from Brandon Mauro (Nick McClellan kick) 8:18.
Dowl- -McClellan kicks 36-yard field goal Second Quarter
Dowl --Haack recovers blocked punt for touchdown (McClellan kick) 9:31.
Dowl -- McClellan kicks 28-yard field goal
Dowl --Haack 26-yard pass Mauro (McClellan kick) .37
Third Quarter
Dowl -- Hack 16-yard pass from Nick Wilson (Josh Vedane kick) 8:26.
Dowl -- Nate Christian 3-yard run (Vedane kick) .4
Fourth Quarter
Ott – Zach Bowling 39-yard pass from Alex Goodvin (Justin Vonderhaar kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
Ott Dowl
First downs 8 17
Rushes-yards 37-106 31-112
Passing yards 113 182
Total Yards 49-219 56-294
Comp-Att-Int 7-12-1 25-14-1
Return Yards 11-30 8-111
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0
Penalties-Yds 4-40 6-38
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Ottumwa
RUSHING — Seth Griffiths 18-36 yards, Alec Maas 12-71, Alex Goodvin 7- (-1) yards.
PASSING — Goodvin 7-12, 113 yards.
RECEIVING — Maas 3-38 yards, Griffiths 1-13 yards, Zach Bowling 1-39 yards, Kyle Keck 1-11 yards.
INTERCEPTIONS — Tyler Johns .
TACKLES — Chris Peden 10, Logan McCarty 6 .
Dowling Catholic
RUSHING — Nate Christian 6-32 yards, Chase Dowell 8-26 yards, Harrison Farrell 4-23 yards, Elliot Treinan 4-22 yards.
PASSING —Nick Wilson 7-15, 109 yards, Brandon Mauro 5-8, 70 yards.
RECEIVING — Matthew Haack 6-89 yards, Damon Mehrl 2-42 yards.
INTERCEPTIONS — Eric Austin 1-36.
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October 8, 2012
Stagnant offense hurts Ottumwa in loss
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