WATERLOO – The Marshalltown football team played through soggy conditions and posted the third-most points in school history in a 70-0 rout of Waterloo East on Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

Only a 144-0 win against Hampton in 1902 and an 89-0 win against Belle Plaine in 1923 stand above Friday night’s Trojan thumping. It’s the most points scored in the past five years, beating out a 63-41 win against Sioux City East in 2011.

Quarterback Sam Irwin finished 9-for-14 with a 156 yards and five touchdowns, completing a 180-degree performance from just a week ago.

For head coach Don Knock and the Bobcats (1-2), simpler ended up being better.

“We cut the package down and focused on things he’s good at doing,” Knock said. “Tonight, the receivers were a little more open than they were in the past. It was a bit easier for him to chuck the ball. We were able to get him in situations to be successful, and receivers did a great job with their spacing and finding the open seams.”

In an offensive rout, the Bobcats posted 340 yards of total offense, 156 through the air and 184 on the ground. A week after Knock said the running game was going to be pivotal in creating more opportunities for the Marshalltown offense, Marquis Haynes led the rushing game with 12 carries, 81 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

“We simplified our running game and our running attack,” Knock said. “What we came in with was about two or three running plays and we ran them very well. We made a couple adjustments this week, some of our blocking techniques that we were using. Practice was different this week, and because of that, we were good with simplifying it a little bit.”

Six different receivers caught passes from Irwin, showing the capability and talents of a suitable receiving corps. While Waterloo East’s defense wasn’t a stout as those of Ames or Mason City, the ability to blow by a team at the Class 4A level shows promise down the road.

“You want to continue to work on your techniques and your fundamentals and get better at certain parts of the game,” Knock said. “And I tried to reinforce that with the kids. You just need to put the hammer down, not give up and have that killer instinct.”

Both Marshalltown and Waterloo East got chippy midway through the third quarter when a small scuffle broke out before Kody Ricken took a tipped pass back 35 yards for a touchdown. At the time, the Bobcats were up 63-0.

On the ensuing drive, Chayton French was taken to the ground and punched in a scuffle by an unlisted Trojan player. Both French and the Waterloo East player were ejected.

“You have to be disciplined, and we kind of lost our discipline there in the third quarter, and I was disappointed in that. But that’s part of what happens, in a situation like that.”

Since the third quarter, the Marshalltown defense has come to play. It was the sixth-straight quarter the Bobcat defenders didn’t allow a single score, and only allowed the Trojans to post 89 yards of total offense.

Knock said since halftime of the week two game against Mason City, the Bobcat defense has answered what he calls “his challenge” and has continued to be a force ever since.

“When we watched the tape, we pulled about 20 offensive plays and 20 defensive plays off that game, and they noticed how good we can be when those successful plays are had,” Knock said. “I challenged them and the coaches and they played together. They’re just fun to watch.”

Marshalltown celebrates homecoming this Friday with a contest against Waterloo West. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.