Full steam ahead

Ragland led the charge as the Bobcats ran past the Railsplitters 28-14 for Marshalltown’s first win on the new turf at Leonard Cole Field.

The Marshalltown senior running back carried the ball 30 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns, including the dagger on a 2-yard run with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter. Ragland’s 30 carries are believed to be a school record.

“This is probably my favorite football moment,” Ragland said. “We were all jumping around in the locker room. This just feels amazing.”

Ragland opened the scoring on a 13-yard run up the middle one play after a fumble recovery from Zak Wilder for a 7-0 Bobcat lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE – Marshalltown’s Mochamad “Angga” Pramana (5) helps Zak Wilder (34) celebrate recovering a fumble during the first quarter of Friday’s football game against Des Moines Lincoln.

“He’s a tough kid,” MHS head coach Adam Goodvin said. “Very, very proud of him. … It was a physical game and our kids just kept sticking their nose in there and plugging away.”

Ragland and Aiden Smitherman had a couple of big runs in Marshalltown’s next scoring drive capped by a 20-yard reception from Ethan Gorsuch on a pass from Jacob Hayes. The 15-play, 84-yard drive put the Bobcats up 13-0 after a blocked extra point, with 5:43 to halftime.

Goodvin hoped that the Bobcats could’ve converted a few more of those longer drives into points — a similar drive before half ended in a missed field goal and an 8-minute plus drive to start the second half ended in a turnover on downs — but Marshalltown’s run-heavy offense accomplished the goal of dominating time of possession.

“Lincoln’s got some explosive players, and being able to keep the ball out of their hands the way we did was very crucial in this game,” Goodvin said.

After that long opening drive of the second half, Lincoln needed just six plays to get on the board on a 23-yard touchdown play from Jackson Lamb to Braylen Jenkins.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – Marshalltown’s Mochamad “Angga” Pramana (5) and Davis Ragland, left, bring down Des Moines Lincoln quarterback Jackson Lamb (7) for a sack in the first half of Friday’s football game.

The Bobcats didn’t flinch, once again commanding the clock on a seven-minute touchdown drive ending on a 23-yard reception by Kyle Smith on a Hayes pass floated to the end zone on 3rd-and-13.

Hayes was 7-of-11 passing for 103 yards and two touchdowns, providing some needed balance when the Bobcats needed to go away from the run.

“We felt we had some matchups on the outside that we really liked, and it was just a matter of giving him time to get rid of the football,” Goodvin said. “Our receivers did a great job tonight of running routes, and being physical blocking in the run game.”

Once again, the Railsplitters were quick to respond on a 58-yard pass from Lamb to Blake Butters, needing just 95 seconds to get back within a score.

From there, Ragland took over with seven carries on an eight-play drive — all runs — and Ragland rambled in from two-yards out to put the Railsplitters out of reach.

“I just had to keep my legs going,” Ragland said. “That’s always what I’ve been doing, even back since the MFL, keep my legs turning. When you do that, guys bounce off you, good things happen. And the O-line did a great job the way holes were opening up, they did an amazing job and I have to credit everything to them.”

Jamison Niehouse locked in the victory with an interception to immediately end Lincoln’s next drive and the celebration was on.

Capping it all off was a chance for Xayvion Anderson, a senior captain who has missed almost all of this season after injuring his ankle, to come out and take the final two knees to seal the victory.

“He’s been a special player for us,” Goodvin said. “And that was a pretty special moment for him. … We don’t have many seniors this year, but they’re a great group of kids. This whole group has just been a lot of fun.”

Marshalltown’s season finale will be no picnic as they head to West Des Moines Valley to take on the Tigers, ranked fourth in the most recent RPI ratings issued by the IHSAA.

But on the strength of back-to-back wins, Ragland knows the Bobcats will be ready to get to work next week in preparation for the challenge.

“The mood’s hype in practice right now,” Ragland said. “This really gives us some confidence and I still feel like we have a chip on our shoulder. We’re gonna go into that game with the same mentality we’ve had going into these last two games, and come out hard.”