CEDAR FALLS — The benefits that come with racking up a Class 5A-leading 380 rushing yards in the first week of the season showed themselves to the Marshalltown football team in Week 2.

One week after passing for just three yards in a 40-14 season-opening romp over archrival Ames, the Bobcats threw for three touchdown passes in a 43-20 trampling of Waterloo East on the Trojans’ Homecoming night inside the UNI-Dome.

In Marshalltown’s first game on the artificial turf surface at Stan Sheriff Field since the 2009 Bobcats’ state championship game loss to Iowa City High, this year’s Bobcats improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2019 thanks to a fiery start.

Aiden Smitherman returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown to kickstart the Bobcats’ 30-point first quarter explosion.

Smitherman was one of Marshalltown’s casualties on the night, however, as injuries riddled the Bobcat lineup as the blowout wore on. Neither team scored in the third quarter and both teams tacked on touchdowns in the fourth as MHS improved to 6-1 against the Trojans since 2014.

“Wins are hard to come by,” Bobcat head coach Adam Goodvin said. “Like I told the guys, you don’t take those for granted. Those are really tough to come by and we should be happy about it. But at the same time, I don’t think it’s a secret that we’ve got a lot to work on.”

Marshalltown still rushed for 226 yards on 28 carries, but it was an efficient passing attack that pushed the scoring total so fast. Jamison Niehouse and Jacob Hayes combined to go 4-for-7 passing for 116 yards and three touchdowns, including the finale that saw Niehouse hit Hayes for a 31-yard score in the fourth quarter.

The Bobcats totaled 342 yards of total offense on just 35 plays, while Waterloo East was limited to 235 yards on 58 plays.

After Smitherman returned the opening kickoff, Zak Wilder recovered Waterloo East’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Niehouse scored again just five plays later.

The host Trojans (0-2) needed just two plays to cut into the deficit, but the Bobcats were far from done.

Aaron Ordaz Zambrano made his first career field goal, splitting the uprights on a 43-yard try, and the Bobcats got two more scores before the end of the first quarter. Niehouse scooped up his own fumble and rumbled 30 yards to set up his 18-yard scoring run, and he hit Zane Moore for an 18-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the period.

Smitherman hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hayes in the second quarter and led 37-13 at the half.

“I thought we started off fast, started off physical,” Goodvin said. “Everything was going our way, which was really exciting, and then everything just kind of sputtered and things got sloppy and it was just a mess.”

Tyler Englund led the Bobcats with 13 carries for 108 yards, while Niehouse finished with eight carries for 72 yards and two scores. John Schoenfelder added 43 yards on three carries but didn’t play in the second half due to an apparent injury.

Niehouse finished 3-for-6 passing for 92 yards and two scores, while Hayes was 1-for-1 with a touchdown pass to Niehouse.

The Bobcats were penalized eight times, however, lost two of their three fumbles and muffed a punt. Waterloo East couldn’t capitalize after its starting quarterback Chris Pierce was removed with an apparent injury.

Pierce was 8-for-12 passing for 53 yards, and his replacement Jayvion Higham was 8-for-14 for 66 yards. He was intercepted by freshman linebacker Larrs Schoenfelder late in the fourth quarter, and Niehouse hit Hayes on the very next play.

Marshalltown returns home for its own Homecoming on Sept. 12, hosting Mason City in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Leonard Cole Field.

“We played physical, we just didn’t sustain that throughout the entire game,” Goodvin said. “I think that’s pretty clear. We’ve got to stack the good days on top of each other.

“We’re happy. We’re 2-0. It could be a lot worse, but we also recognize the improvements that we need to make all over the place. We’ve earned 2-0 whether it was sloppy or super crisp.”

Marshalltown 43, Waterloo East 20

MHS 30 7 0 6 — 43

W.EAST 6 7 0 7 — 20

First Quarter

MHS — Aiden Smitherman 91 kickoff return (Aaron Ordaz Zambrano kick), 11:45.

MHS — Jamison Niehouse 16 run (Ordaz Zambrano kick), 8:32.

WE — Josiahs Spates 28 run (kick failed), 7:39.

MHS — FG 43 Ordaz Zambrano, 5:10.

MHS — Niehouse 18 run (Ordaz Zambrano kick), 1:59.

MHS — Zane Moore 18 pass from Niehouse (kick blocked), :00.

Second Quarter

WE — Gianni Gary 15 pass from Chris Pierce (Romeo Mejia kick), 7:50.

MHS — Smitherman 24 pass from Jacob Hayes (Ordaz Zambrano kick), 4:57.

Third Quarter

No scoring.

Fourth Quarter

MHS — Hayes 31 pass from Niehouse (kick failed), 7:11.

WE — Mason Eison 4 run (Mejia kick), :54.