OTTUMWA — Heart.

Despite a 27-0 loss, the Ottumwa football team showed a lot of heart in the first half.

At the end of the first half, the Bulldogs only trailed defending state champion West Des Moines Valley 7-0 in their home opener Friday at Schafer Stadium.

After Tigers’ quarterback Tanner Stein found Clint Boffeli for a 27-yard touchdown reception with 8:17 left in the first quarter, the Bulldogs’ defense was able to stifle Valley’s offensive attack.

“Our defense was rock solid there for a while,” said Ottumwa defensive end Logan McCarty.

In fact, Ottumwa almost tied the game at the end of the first half when Bulldogs’ quarterback Alex Goodvin hooked up with Kyle Keck for a 64-yard reception deep in Tiger territory. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs couldn’t score once they got in the red zone.

Keck had a monster game, catching eight passes for 127 yards.

Though he rushed for two touchdowns, the Bulldog defense did laudable job against Tigers’ running back Tyus Mason — he finished with 66 yards on 22 carries.

Ottumwa did have some critical errors that cost them offensively.

“We got to cut down on mistakes,” Bulldog running back Seth Griffiths said. “We just have to cut down on those because those killed our drives.”

Valley recovered a fumble and picked off Goodvin in the contest. Both turnovers took place in the Tigers’ territory. Penalties at inopportune times would also prove costly for Ottumwa.

Mason plowed his way in into the end zone for the Valley’s second touchdown with about four minutes left in the third to put his team up 13-0. Alex Langer missed the extra point Later in the fourth, Mason scored on an eight-yard scamper, extending the Tigers’ lead to 19-0. The Tigers went on to win 27-0.

Ottumwa (0-1) plays at Keokuk next Friday.

Valley 27, Ottumwa 0

Valley     7    0    6    14    —    27

Ottumwa    0    0    0    0    —    00

Scoring By Quarters

First Quarter

VALLEY — Clint Bofelli 27-yard pass from Tanner Stine (Alex Langer kick) 8:17.

Third Quarter

VALLEY — Tyus Mason 2 yard run (Kick failed) 4:05

Fourth Quarter

VALLEY — Mason 8-yard run (Langer kick) 5:56

VALLEY — Michael Christiansen 5-yard run (Langer kick) :27

TEAM STATISTICS

                    Ott     Val

Rushes-yards         25-27      35-113

Passing yards      169     143

Comp-Att-Int         13-25-1    13-18-0         

Return Yards         54         49

Fumbles-Lost        1-2        0-0

Penalties-Yds        4-22    8-42

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Valley

RUSHING —     Mason 22-66, Stine 1-3, Grant Schulte 1-(-4), Drew Gray 3-15, Christiansen 8-33.

PASSING — Tanner Stine 8-12 143 yards, Grant Schulte 5-6, 35 yards,

RECEIVING — Clint Boftelli 5-61 yards, Tanner Hinkle 4-78 yards, Mason 3-37 yards, Rasheed Ulis 1-2 yards

Ottumwa

RUSHING —     Seth Griffiths 16-34 yards,  Alec Maas 1-4 yards, Goodvin 8-(-11) yards

PASSING — Goodvin 13-25, 169 yards

RECEIVING — Kyle Keck 8-127 yards, Griffiths 4-24 yards, Maas 1-13 yards.