Warriors too balanced for Bobcats
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior running back Tyler Englund tries to pull away from Waukee linebacker Brecken Beer (3) during the first half of Friday’s football game at Leonard Cole Field. Englund led the Bobcats with 81 rushing yards in their eventual 41-0 loss to the Warriors.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown sophomore quarterback Larrs Schoenfelder (9) finds running room behind his blockers during the first quarter of Friday’s football game at Leonard Cole Field.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Faith Banissan (3) has the ball stripped out of his hands by Waukee defensive back AJ Ritzman (32) during the first quarter of Friday’s football game at Leonard Cole Field.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior running back Tyler Englund tries to pull away from Waukee linebacker Brecken Beer (3) during the first half of Friday’s football game at Leonard Cole Field. Englund led the Bobcats with 81 rushing yards in their eventual 41-0 loss to the Warriors.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown sophomore quarterback Larrs Schoenfelder (9) finds running room behind his blockers during the first quarter of Friday’s football game at Leonard Cole Field.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Faith Banissan (3) has the ball stripped out of his hands by Waukee defensive back AJ Ritzman (32) during the first quarter of Friday’s football game at Leonard Cole Field.
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The Waukee football team showed Marshalltown all facets of its offense, each of which was too hard for the Bobcats to stop.
The Warriors handed Marshalltown its second-straight shutout loss, beating the Bobcats 41-0 on Friday night at Leonard Cole Field. It marked Waukee's eighth consecutive win in the series and showcased its skill in spades.
Waukee (4-2, 3-0) scored on each of its first six possessions -- four of which lasted no more than four plays and another that took 15 plays and nearly six minutes.
Marshalltown (1-5, 0-2), meanwhile, was limited to 154 yards of total offense and nine first downs.
"That's a top-10 team in the state and they're playing really good football right now, so obviously you've got to give them a lot of credit," MHS head coach Adam Goodvin said. "Against any team, especially a team like this, you've got to take advantage of the opportunities when you get them."
Marshalltown's offense only crossed midfield twice. The first was ended by a lost fumble and the last by the sounding of the final horn.
In the end, Goodvin pointed to a better effort than in the previous week's 57-0 loss at Cedar Rapids Kennedy as the silver lining.
"It was 100 percent non-negotiable," he said. "It had to be. If you step on a football field, you've got to put forth better effort than that, and they did. They've just got to be a little more consistent with the effort because if you're up 900 or down 900, the way you play the game of football cannot change.
"We've got to be more consistent in everything we do."
Marshalltown senior running back Tyler Englund pounded out 81 yards on 21 carries to lead the Bobcat ground game. Sophomore quarterback Larrs Schoenfelder added 18 yards, while senior Faith Banissan had 15 yards rushing and 35 receiving.
Marshalltown attempted a season-high 11 passes in the loss, with Schoenfelder completing five of them for 40 yards.
"[Our sophomores] are getting better every week, and as a staff we've got to take a step back and remind ourselves that they are sophomores," Goodvin said. "We've got to ensure that they're continuing to improve every single day and getting better, and I think for the most part they are.
"They've been thrown into the fire here and put in tough situations and it's been fun to see their improvement on a daily basis."
Senior linebacker John Schoenfelder upped his 5A-leading tackles total with a game-high 14 for the Bobcats. He also recovered a fumble for the team's lone takeaway against a Waukee offense that piled up 419 yards on 38 plays.
Waukee quarterback TJ Sleiter finished 12-for-14 for 233 yards and three touchdowns, and backup Pierce Miller was 4-for-4 for 75 yards and another score. Running back Sam Heinrich carried seven times for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
Marshalltown goes out on the road in Week 7 with a trip to Dallas Center-Grimes on Friday, Oct. 9. The Bobcats' final home game is on Oct. 16 against Waterloo West.
Waukee 41, Marshalltown 0
Score by Quarter
WAU 13 14 14 0 -- 41
MHS 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
WAU -- Cal Meisner 69 pass from TJ Sleiter (Braylon Blackford kick), 7:40.
WAU -- Sam Heinrich 68 run (run failed), 1:00.
Second Quarter
WAU -- Meisner 5 run (Blackford kick), 3:52.
WAU -- Traxton Boess 45 pass from Sleiter (Blackford kick), 2:32.
Third Quarter
WAU -- Colton Smith 14 pass from Sleiter (Blackford kick), 10:27.
WAU -- Gavin Springer 43 pass from Pierce Miller (Blackford kick), 3:21.
TEAM STATISTICS
WAU MHS
First downs 15 9
Rushes-yards 15-112 35-114
Passing yards 307 40
Comp-Att-Int 17-23-0 5-11-0
Total offense 38-419 46-154
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 9-70 9-74
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING -- WAU: Heinrich 7-92, Simeon Kpanlin 2-10, Brett Hickenbottom 2-7, Sleiter 1-6, Colt Curran 1-2, Miller 1-1, TEAM 1-(minus-6); MHS: Tyler Englund 21-81, Larrs Schoenfelder 8-18, Faith Banissan 3-15, Zane Moore 3-0.
PASSING -- WAU: Sleiter 12-15-232-0, Miller 5-5-75-0, Lukas Johnson 0-3-0-0; MHS: Schoenfelder 5-11-40-0.
RECEIVING -- WAU: Meisner 1-69, Boess 3-64, Myles O'Connor 4-50, Springer 1-43, Smith 3-39, Hickenbottom 2-17, Bo Snyder-Smith 1-11, Heinrich 1-10, Jake Purscell 1-4; MHS: Banissan 3-35, Madden Martin 1-8, Moore 1-(minus-3).