The numbers and big plays produced from the passing game for the Marshalltown football team are no doubt eye-popping.

Thirty touchdowns against nine interceptions for the season and 272 yards per game come from the Bobcats putting the ball in the air.

There still is a ground-component to the well-oiled machine that Marshalltown has.

The fourth-ranked Bobcats (11-0) have improved in the running game as the season has gone on and look to continue that trend tonight in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state playoffs against fifth-ranked Ankeny (10-1) at Leonard Cole Field.

"I think we have this false reputation of being pass-happy," said Marshalltown head coach Dave Holdiman. "We ran the ball more times than we passed it against Waukee. We will run the ball if the numbers in the box dictate run the ball."

The Bobcats ran 40 times for 170 yards in Monday's 31-26 first-round victory over Waukee - the first state playoff victory in school history. Marshalltown passed on 34 snaps against the Warriors.

"We can pass the ball very effectively and we'll continue to do that, but if you're going to disrespect our running game, we're going to run the ball and we've done a real good job of that," Holdiman said.

"I think that presents a lot of problems for defenses when you are able to do both. They can't play a nickel defense back there on you and that lets us get a lot of one-on-one coverage and we like that."

One-hundred rushing yards as a team is a number that Holdiman shoots for every game and the Bobcats have done that in seven straight contests and eight times in 11 games this season.

Running back Austin Ruddick leads Marshalltown with 778 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Ruddick has three 100-yard games this season and is averaging 92 yards per game over the Bobcats' last four contests.

Marshalltown has its top two rushing totals of the season during postseason play with 171 yards against Indianola in the substate game and 170 against Waukee.

While the Bobcats' run-pass ratio is 45 percent run-55 percent pass, Ankeny relies heavily on the run. The Hawks run the ball 86 percent of the time.

"Ankeny runs a three-back offense with the quarterback as the fourth running back if need be," Holdiman said. "As usual they run the ball very effectively and if you load up too many against the run, they will throw the ball and they are very good at that as well."

Senior back Tyler Leo leads the Hawks' attack with 184 rushes for 1,357 yards and 18 touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Joel Lanning adds 494 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

"They are going to attack the middle, off tackle and outside all on the same play," Holdiman said. "There's a threat up the middle with the big fullback, there's a threat off tackle with the second man through or the quarterback keeper possibility and then there's the option and pitch or handoff sweep off that action with the backside halfback, they're multi-faceted and they've been running it for years."

"It forces you into playing assignments and into a lot of one-on-one situations where you've got to be able to make a tackle," Holdiman said.

Ankeny has played a pair of Iowa Conference teams this season, defeating Mason City 45-7 and downing Waukee 32-29 in the season opener.