The Marshalltown football team was mere inches away from finishing its opening drive with a touchdown, but top-ranked Dowling Catholic denied it.

That was where it started and ended for the Bobcats.

Jordan Watson stripped Marshalltown quarterback Jamison Niehouse of the football inside the 1-yard-line 87 seconds into Friday’s Week 9 finale, and the top-ranked Maroons marched from there to a 42-0 victory over the host Bobcats.

Dowling (8-1) went 99 yards on the ensuing drive, capping it with a 3-yard touchdown run by Ian Middleton, and it was all Maroons from there.

Playoff-bound Dowling finished with just 261 yards of total offense, but the Maroons forced two turnovers and blocked two punts, setting up short fields for their offense.

Middleton added a 6-yard TD run and the Maroons returned the first blocked punt for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Middleton finished with 93 yards on the ground according to statistics provided by KFJB.

Marshalltown (3-6) closed the season on a five-game losing streak.

Niehouse finished with 129 yards rushing to lead the Bobcats. Aiden Smitherman added 39 yards, Tyler Englund had 33 more, and MHS rushed for 226 of its 239 yards of offense.

Marshalltown graduates 21 seniors from its roster going into next season.

“It’s a really good group (of seniors),” MHS head coach Adam Goodvin said. “A lot of those guys do a lot of things the right way and they’re multi-sport kids, they’re competitive, they’re overall just good Bobcats.”