The script was simple. Executing it was the excruciating part.

The Marshalltown football team put itself in position to pull off an upset win over Dallas Center-Grimes, but the Bobcats couldn’t make the plays they needed in a 31-10 loss to the Mustangs on Friday night at Leonard Cole Field.

The Bobcats’ flexbone offense gobbled up yards on the ground and took time off the clock, doing its part to defend against a Dallas Center-Grimes passing attack amongst the best in Class 5A. But three lost fumbles foiled Marshalltown’s chances to knock the Mustangs (5-2, 2-2) off their high horse.

“Our mistakes were big ones,” said MHS head coach Adam Goodvin. “It really sucks sometimes when it’s your team doing that, but at the same time, we know our kids aren’t out there trying to do those things.”

The blueprint played out the way Marshalltown (3-4, 0-3) drew it up, but the Bobcats couldn’t follow through with all the details. MHS took the game’s opening drive 60 yards in 13 plays, taking 7 minutes, 48 seconds off the clock, but the Bobcats wanted more than Innocent Ishangulungu’s 38-yard field goal.

Marshalltown took a step in the right direction by holding Dallas Center-Grimes to one first down on the ensuing drive, stopping the Mustangs on downs, but the first of three turnovers altered the plans. Jamison Niehouse’s option pitch to Aiden Smitherman was broken up by DCG’s Sampson Johannsen, and Luke Lampe scooped up the bouncing ball and returned it 29 yards to paydirt.

“The thing I’m most proud about is we’ve got guys on our sideline that are picking each other up, and that’s huge because we do talk a lot about celebrating when things go well and picking each other up,” Goodvin said. “Things go bad and we saw a lot of that tonight, and it’s really hard when you’ve got all these emotions going through your head and things start slipping away, but in the back of all our heads we know this game should have been a heck of a lot closer than it was.”

The Bobcats’ next possession didn’t yield any points, and Dallas Center-Grimes took advantage. The Mustangs drove 55 yards on 14 plays, throwing only once en route to a 22-yard field goal by Dylan Lackland. DCG seemed destined for more until the MHS defense stood up with its back against the wall, holding the Mustangs out of the end zone from inside the 10-yard-line.

“I think our big point of emphasis this week was effort, and I’m really proud of the effort that our kids put in tonight,” Goodvin said. “I think there was a big difference as far as that category goes, so really proud of them for that.”

Having to kick after halftime, the Bobcats yearned for points on their final possession of the first half. They marched 58 yards in 15 plays over the final 3:20 of the second quarter, but the half ended with Niehouse scrambling out of the pocket on the last play.

“10-3 at half, yeah we felt fine,” Goodvin said of the halftime score. “We were driving the ball right there before half, we thought we should have gotten some points, but it just didn’t play out well. We were hoping to get out of bounds and get another opportunity at a field goal — that’s what the plan was anyway — but it didn’t work out.

“It was a good learning moment, a teaching moment for Jamison, and he’s kicking himself in the rear about it, but now he knows.”

Dallas Center-Grimes bumbled the opening possession of the second half, turning the ball over to the Bobcats on the first play. Quarterback Chase Engel hit Wyatt Valenta for a 7-yard pass, but Mochamad Pramana forced a fumble and Niehouse fell on it.

Marshalltown couldn’t make it hurt, however, and that was just one of the many opportunities the Bobcats let get away from them in this game. MHS was stopped on downs, unable to take advantage of the turning tide, and Dallas Center-Grimes eventually pulled away.

A nine-play drive propped up by a trio of Bobcat penalties ended in a touchdown run for backup running back Ethan Carlson, and Marshalltown lost a fumble to foil its next drive. Already leading 17-3, DCG returned the fumble to the Marshalltown 5 and punched it in two plays later for a 24-3 lead.

The Bobcats churned out another long drive, consuming 60 yards and 5:30 off the clock, but a dropped pass in the end zone on fourth down spoiled Marshalltown’s comeback chance.

MHS fumbled the ball away on the first play of its next possession, and DCG scored three plays later to make it 31-3 with just 1:30 left in the game.

Niehouse hit Kyle Smith from 10 yards out with 1 second left in the game to get the Bobcats into the end zone, but it was hardly a consolation prize for Marshalltown.

“It all comes down to the kids making plays when the opportunities are there,” Goodvin said. “We’ve got to do some special things and go out there and expect to and have the confidence to make those plays. And we were just missing those tonight, I think it’s as simple as that.”

Marshalltown’s rushing attack, which leads 5A, was productive again, but it didn’t yield points on this night against a Dallas Center-Grimes defense allowing only 16.7 points per game (eighth-best in 5A).

Niehouse ran for a game-high 124 yards on 17 carries, and Tyler Englund got 116 yards on 20 totes, but neither made it across the goal line. The Bobcats amassed 265 rushing yards and 328 yards in all, but too many turnovers plagued the ball-control offense.

Niehouse was 9-of-16 passing for 63 yards, completing seven to Smith for 46 yards.

Marshalltown held DCG’s offense to just 122 yards passing and 179 yards overall, but fumble recoveries led to short fields for the Mustang offense.

“They played a really disciplined game,” Goodvin said of the Mustang defense. “They stayed home, so some of our eye-candy, misdirection plays weren’t necessarily hitting as well as we had hoped. A few of them did, but not enough.”

Engel finished 15-for-19 for 122 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with seven different receivers in the win. Osborn Grimm led the Mustangs with 58 rushing yards.

Having lost three straight, the Bobcats go on the road for the final time with next Friday’s game against Waterloo West at Memorial Stadium. Marshalltown closes with a Week 9 home game against Dowling Catholic.

“We’re playing teams that are a heck of a lot more physical right now than we saw early on in the year, but I think we’re past the phase of learning what that type of game is like,” Goodvin said. “We’re going out and trying to execute and make plays and playing at a faster speed, which can get you in trouble at times, but I thought the effort and how we attack things was good. It just wasn’t as crisp as it needed to be, and the mistakes were really big ones.”

Dallas Center-Grimes 31, Marshalltown 10

DCG 7 3 7 14 — 31

MHS 3 0 0 7 — 10

First Quarter

MHS — FG Innocent Ishangulungu 38, 4:12.

DCG — Luke Lampe 29 fumble recovery (Dylan Lackland kick), 2:24.

Second Quarter

DCG — FG Lackland 22, 3:25.

Third Quarter

DCG — Ethan Carlson 5 run (Lackland kick), 2:06.

Fourth Quarter

DCG — Jackson Reis 4 pass from Chase Engel (Lackland kick), 11:55.

DCG — Chase Heitland 13 pass from Engel (Lackland kick), 1:30.

MHS — Kyle Smith 10 pass from Jamison Niehouse (Ishangulungu kick), :01.

TEAM STATISTICS

DCG MHS

First downs 9 18

Rushes-yards 21-57 49-265

Passing yards 122 53

Comp-Att-Int 15-19-0 9-17-0

Total offense 35-141 66-318

Fumbles-lost 2-1 4-3

Penalties-yards 2-13 5-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — DCG: Osborn Grimm 17-58, Carlson 2-10; MHS: Niehouse 17-124, Tyler Englund 20-116, Drake Gersema 4-22, John Schoenfelder 5-14, Mochamad Pramana 1-7, Aiden Smitherman 7-(minus-4).

PASSING — DCG: Engel 15-19-122-0; MHS: Niehouse 9-16-53-0, Jacob Hayes 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — DCG: Heitland 4-37, Hudson Heidgerken 2-34, Wyatt Valenta 3-25, Gabe Wright 2-8, Reis 2-7, Carlson 1-6, Grimm 1-5; MHS: Kyle Smith 7-46, Smitherman 1-16, Gersema 1-1.