Adam Goodvin’s first game as the head coach of the Marshalltown High School football team was a 30-point loss at home to archrival Ames.

Eight years later, the Bobcats got some measure of revenge.

Juniors Jamison Niehouse and Tyler Englund combined to rush for 327 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Marshalltown football team to a 40-14 triumph over Ames in Friday night’s season-opening showdown at Leonard Cole Field. It marked the Bobcats’ first Week 1 victory since 2019 and their first 40-point performance against their rivals since 2011.

“It means everything,” said Englund, who carried 12 times for 153 yards and three scores. “We put a lot of hard work in this week. We still have things to work on, but we played our butts off today.”

The Bobcats attempted just one pass, rushed for 380 yards and six touchdowns, and dominated the Little Cyclones after a slow start was exacerbated by a heartbreaking injury.

Marshalltown turned the ball over on its first two possessions — once by fumble and another on downs — and then lost a senior defensive starter. With 3 minutes, 18 seconds left in a scoreless first period, Juan Pablo Perez was carted off the field with an apparent left leg injury after tackling Ames quarterback Jace Hennigar.

Reeling from setback, the Bobcats stiffened up on defense, held Ames to a missed field goal, and scored on six of their next seven possessions.

It started with a 65-yard touchdown run from Englund, who hit a gaping hole in the Little Cyclones’ line of scrimmage and outran the defensive secondary to put the Bobcats up 6-0 early in the second quarter.

Ames fumbled the ensuing kickoff right back to the Bobcats, and Niehouse scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak at the end of a seven-play, 27-yard drive.

The Little Cyclones got on the board with nine seconds left in the half, as Hennigar hit Brandon Johnson on a 10-yard scoring strike to get Ames within 12-7 just before the break.

Marshalltown took the opening kickoff of the second half and stole the show with its rushing attack.

Niehouse broke around left end for a 72-yard touchdown run three plays into the drive, Englund added a 6-yard touchdown run, and Aiden Smitherman got into the act with a 26-yard touchdown dash of his own with 1:40 left in the third.

The 21-0 third-quarter surge by the Bobcats was more than Ames could contend with.

Englund tacked on a 24-yard touchdown run three plays into the fourth quarter to effectively put the game away.

“We expected to beat them,” Niehouse said. “Compared to last year, we worked harder in the offseason. The weight room attendance was great. We had a ton of guys and everyone was in the weight room.

“We’re 1-0 so it’s great.”

Hennigar’s 22-yard touchdown run was the last score for Little Cyclones, who got outgained by nearly 100 yards in the season-opening defeat.

“Anytime you can reward the kids for the work they put in is special,” said Goodvin. “We can’t be satisfied. We’ve got a lot of work to do. This was Game 1, a lot of sloppiness from both teams tonight, and we’ve got to make sure that we keep our heads down and continue to work.”

Hennigar rushed for a team-high 52 yards rushing and was 16-for-34 passing for 156 yards. Braxtyn Brown rushed for 40 yards and Saul Negrete added 23 yards on a long fourth quarter run.

Marshalltown outgained the Little Cyclones 383-285 in beating them for the second year in a row. Niehouse had 18 carries for 174 yards as the Bobcats’ triple option offense found its footing behind an effective offensive line.

“They were so good tonight,” Englund said of the offensive linemen. “Their blocks were beautiful. I mean, obviously there’s some stuff we’ve got to work on, but for the most part they’re the reason I even got a chance to score.”

The starting offensive line of Xavier Verdinez, Jaxson Hinkle, Jonathan Schaeffer, Nathan Sinclair and Carlos Estrada paved the way for 380 yards rushing on 45 carries — a whopping 8.4 yards per attempt, per statistics provided by KFJB.

“We know there’s a lot of mistakes we’ve got to fix still,” Goodvin said ahead of a Week 2 trip to the UNI-Dome to face Waterloo East. “That scoreboard could have been a lot different than what it was, but we’re going to celebrate a win. Those are hard to come by.”

Marshalltown 40, Ames 14

AMES 0 7 0 7 — 14

MHS 0 12 21 7 — 40

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

MHS — Tyler Englund 65 run (kick failed), 11:50.

MHS — Jamison Niehouse 1 run (run failed), 7:58.

AMES — Brandon Johnson 10 pass from Jace Hennigar (Luke Hill kick), :09.

Third Quarter

MHS — Niehouse 72 run (Innocent Ishangulungu kick), 9:59.

MHS — Englund 6 run (Ishangulungu kick) 2:18.

MHS — Aiden Smitherman 26 run (Ishangulungu kick), 1:40.

Fourth Quarter

MHS — Englund 24 run (Ishangulungu kick), 10:59.

AMES — Hennigar 22 run (Hill kick), 8:18.