The Marshalltown High School football team had to play for pride, and the Bobcats did exactly that.

West Des Moines Valley rested its starters in the second half after taking a 42-0 lead, and the Class 5A 10th-ranked Tigers took a 42-18 triumph into a long night of waiting and anticipating.

Valley (4-5) stood at No. 18 on the state’s Rating Percentage Index going into the final week of the regular season, needing to climb to No. 16 to reach the playoffs. The Tigers’ streak of 31-straight postseason appearances will come down to the numbers, with the first-round pairings set to be announced Saturday morning by the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

For Marshalltown (2-7), Friday’s finale represented the end of the careers of 13 seniors who were honored alongside their parents before the season-ending defeat.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Marshalltown quarterback Jacob Hayes, center, gets a boost from his backfield while trying to convert a fourth-and-1 in the second quarter of Friday’s football game against Valley. It was hard trudging on the ground for the Bobcats, who gained just 42 yards rushing in the 42-18 loss.

“It’s tough to find the right words to say to a group of seniors after the last game every single year,” said MHS head coach Adam Goodvin. “I just told them how proud I was of them and the leadership and how they just kept coming back every single day and giving us everything they’ve got. That says a lot about the character that they have. I told the whole group we’ve got a great bunch of great kids. Thirteen seniors, I wish we had more, but the group we had, I’m just so proud of them and can’t thank them enough.”

Marshalltown punted after a three-and-out on its first possession of the game, and that was all the opening Valley needed. The Tigers scored on five players or fewer on each of their six first-half possessions, putting the ball in the capable hands of senior tailback Damon Head. The 5-foot-11, 184-pound back scored four first-half touchdowns on just 11 carries, racking up 194 yards along the way. Valley’s daunting offensive line paved the way to Head’s touchdown runs of 2, 61, 5 and 12 yards.

Tigers quarterback Drake DeGroote, a sophomore, added an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Brown and a 4-yard scoring pass to Darius Mason as Valley built up its 42-0 halftime advantage.

Marshalltown’s offense had the ball for longer, but the Bobcats were unable to reach paydirt. MHS had seven first downs but turned the ball over twice.

Down by six scores at the intermission, Marshalltown had nowhere else to go but up.

“That’s the one thing we told them at halftime,” Goodvin said. “We didn’t care what the score was, this game is meant to be played at maximum effort every single play and we challenged them: ‘go out there and win each play. Take it individually and win each one, and if you happen to lose one, no one cares. Go win the next one.’

“I’m just proud of their effort that second half and the way they responded.”

The Bobcats opened the third quarter with a 35-yard run by Tate Riang and scored soon thereafter as sophomore quarterback Jacob Hayes connected with junior tight end Johan Gomez on a 39-yard touchdown.

Gomez got his second touchdown of the game on Marshalltown’s next possession, as Hayes scrambled to his left before finding Gomez alone in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass.

Riang’s 1-yard touchdown plunge in the fourth quarter brought the score to its final, and Marshalltown’s season to a close.

Riang led MHS with 16 carries for 58 yards, but the Bobcats were held to just 42 yards on the ground. Hayes was 15-for-27 passing for 203 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Gomez made three grabs for 74 yards and two TDs, while senior receiver Cory Smith collected six catches for 96 yards.

Valley had 390 yards on 38 plays, while the Bobcats accumulated 245 yards on 49 plays. The visiting Tigers were hindered by 110 yards of penalties and two turnovers. Ignacio Macias recovered a fumble and Rogelio Ceren intercepted Valley second-string quarterback Ethan Stemler on the first play of the second half.

The Bobcats bring back 35 of the 48 players on their final roster.

“I am (excited), but that’s also a scary thing, potential is not necessarily good,” Goodvin said. “It’s a matter what you do with it. We’ll see, we’re going to be pushing them a lot and supporting them in all their other athletic events this offseason, but at the same time we’re going to stay on them and we’re going to take a little different approach as far as weight room and speed.

“We’re looking to get faster, bigger and stronger and I’m excited for it. We’ve got a lot of guys to work with and hopefully they’re ready to roll too.”