Mclouth ? A rowdy group of Oskaloosa fans swarmed the north end zone Friday night to celebrate the Bears’ first victory of the season.

Meanwhile, it was eerily quiet at the other end of the field, where the winless McLouth Bulldogs gathered following their 20-0 loss on homecoming night. It was their 16th consecutive loss and fifth straight in the rivalry series.

“We’ve just got to get better offensively,” said McLouth coach Harry Hester, whose team fell to 0-5. “Defensively, I think we’re playing well, but we’ve gotta work some things out offensively.

“We’ve gotten better, so I’m not displeased with this, but this is a game I think we could have won.”

Two shortcomings inside the red zone and one big defensive breakdown cost the Bulldogs. An illegal shift nullified a second-and-goal opportunity from the one-yard line late in the second quarter, then a fourth-quarter pass from Kevin Stewart grazed through Joel Gill’s hands.

Both were golden chances for McLouth to tally its second touchdown of the season and stay in the game.

“If we could’ve got in right before the half, that would have made it 14-7 and been tremendous for our confidence,” Hester said.

Instead, the confidence boost went to the Bears, who picked up their first victory under new coach Terry Porter.

Oskaloosa (1-4) ran its offense to perfection, amassing 240 rushing yards. Junior tailback Todd Newell rumbled for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, and fullback Coby Tenpenny added 37 yards on the ground.

“The blocking was spectacular, which I think everyone could see,” Newell said of the Bears’ offensive line, which consistently provided gaping holes for him to run through.

“Once everything starts clicking, we really start rolling.”

It took most of the first quarter for things to come together for Oskaloosa. Its first two drives fizzled with a punt and an interception before Newell’s eight-yard touchdown scamper on the second play of the second quarter.

Two possessions later, Oskaloosa quarterback Kevin Miles hooked up with Jeff Lata for a 40-yard touchdown strike after Lata broke free on a fly pattern.

That pressed the Bears’ lead to 14-0 with 6:04 left in the first half.

McLouth put together a 73-yard drive to the Oskaloosa one-yard line with just seconds remaining in the first half, but came up empty because of a penalty.

Newell scored his second touchdown on a five-yard run with 9:20 left in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach. There was little McLouth could do to counter, because the Bears’ defense continually got penetration into the backfield.

Oskaloosa held the Bulldogs to 167 yards of total offense. Mike Stinnett had three sacks, and John Falor added eight tackles while preserving the shutout.

“Coming in, I thought we were one of the better 0-4 teams around,” Porter said. “But my hat is off to McLouth. They’re trying to rebuild, just like we’re trying to rebuild, and it’s a tough road home. They were looking for No. 1, and we were looking for No. 1. It feels good to finally get it.”

Oskaloosa 20, McLouth 0

Oskaloosa 0 14 0 6 — 20

McLouth 0 0 0 0 — 0

O — Todd Newell 8 run (Newell run).

O — Jeff Lata 40 pass from Kevin Miles (run failed).

O — Newell 5 run (pass failed).