September 25, 2008 vs. Hampton-Dumont
'MOUSE OVER' a picture for its caption
Lynx hammer out 33-13 Homecoming victory
Webster City redeems itself by defeating
Hampton-Dumont for second Homecoming win in a row
(Webster City)
"Water under the bridge"--call it the motto
for the Webster City Lynx (3-2, 2-1) the past seven days since their embarrassing loss
to Algona a week ago which witnessed a total breakdown by the defense.
"Water under the bridge" could also have been the motto for the Lynx's seemingly
uncharacteristic low offensive output against Algona in which they only scored
14 points--not the kind of performance one brags about.
As said, "Water under the bridge."
Homecoming 2007 saw Webster City beat Humboldt--the defending 3A state champs--27-20 and this year's opponent was no pushover either as the past two years, Hampton-Dumont has amassed a regular-season record of 18-0 while qualifying for the Class 2A plays on as many occasions. Clearly, the Bulldogs are a program used to winning and they not only entered tonight's contest against the Lynx with an overall record of 2-2, but intent on picking up where Algona left off.
However, the Bulldogs ran into a much-improved offensive and defensive Lynx team and it showed. "We had a good week of practice," said Webster City head coach Bob Howard, "we made some adjustments on defense while switching some personnel around--and it showed in our performance tonight. This was a good win for us against a program that is used to being successful."
From the git-go it was clear that the Lynx showed
up to play despite the fact that on the opening kickoff to Hampton-Dumont,
Webster City's kickoff team allowed the Bulldog's return man take the ball back
to their own 37-yard line. However, two plays into their opening drive,
the Bulldogs put the ball on the ground and senior LB Ross Haren pounced
on it--and as the saying goes, "It was on!" as Webster City's offense took
the ball 62-yards in just 7 plays and scored from 3-yards out when RB Bret
Hilpipre pierced the goal line.
Five plays later--if you include PK Dalton Keane's extra point and K Ryan Vande Zande's kickoff--the Bulldogs were forced to give the Lynx the ball back via a punt. Nine plays after that on 2nd & 4, senior QB Brent Nelson scored from 29-yards out to put the Lynx up 13-0.
Yet, despite the early lead by Webster City, Hampton-Dumont did't throw the towel in and on their next possession drove 90-yards to eventually score on a 3-yard touchdown run on a 4th & goal situation; on the drive, the Lynx committed both a facemask and pass interference penalty that aided in the Bulldogs' drive. The 13-7 margin would be the closest the Bulldogs would come as with less then 1 minute remaining in the half, Webster City scored on a 1-yard run by RB John Hill to make it a 19-7 ballgame. Although Hampton-Dumont drove to the Lynx's 20-yard line with less than :10 seconds left in the half, a field goal attempt by the Bulldogs sailed to the right.
Opening up the 2nd half, the Lynx picked up where
they left on and capped off a 5-minute, 11-play drive by moving 64-yards and
scoring from 6-yards out when WB Kevin Kannuan zig-zagged his way into
the endzone as the Lynx took a 26-7 lead.
Several plays later after Webster City kicked off to Hampton-Dumont, DB Alex Davis intercepted a Bulldog pass and returned it 25-yards. The Lynx offense then scored in just three plays when WR Karl Peterson caught a 14-yard pass from Nelson for Webster City's final score of the game as the Lynx assumed a 33-7 lead. Although Webster City squandered several other chances to score--Peterson almost notched his second touchdown reception of the game after catching a 28-yard pass but then fumbled the ball going into the endzone--the final quarter of play saw outstanding defense by Webster City. Hampton-Dumont scored with less than one minute remaining in the game against second-team Lynx players.
"Tonight's game was definitely a gut-check for our kids," said Howard, "and I thought tonight's performance by them spoke for itself. We still have a long way to go to get where I think this team can be, but overall I am very pleased with their performance."
Overall,
Webster City's vaunted single wing offense was led by Hill who rushed for 165
yards on 25 carries while Kannuan added 67 hard earned yards on 11 totes.
As well, Nelson had 52-yards on 9 carries; Nelson also was 4 for 6 passing for
79 total yards and 1 touchdown and his main target was Peterson who hauled in
all 4
passes for 79 yards and 1 touchdown.
Defensively, the Lynx were led by a multitude of players which included OLB Tyler Mosbach (5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery), LB Ben Rasmussen (8 tackles), and DB Nate Triebel (4 tackles, 1 interception). Also adding to the mix were Davis (3 tackles, 1 interception for 25-yards), DE Tyler Moen (2 tackles, 1 QB sack for -10 yards), and LB Ross Haren (3 tackles, 1 fumble recovery).
Webster City goes on the road this Friday, October 4th, as they travel to Waverly to take on the Waverly-Shell Rock Go-Hawks who have an overall record of 1-4 (1-2 in District 2 play; kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
WEBSTER CITY 13 6
14 0 - 33
ALGONA
0 7 0 6 -
13
1st Quarter
WC - Hilpipre 3 run (Keane kick)
WC - Nelson 29 run (kick failed)
2nd Quarter
HD - Johansen 3 run (Soikkanen kick)
WC - Hill 1 run (pass failed)
Third Quarter
WC - Kannuan 6 run (Keane kick)
WC - Peterson 14 pass from Nelson (Keane kick)
4th Quarter
HD - McLennan 18 pass from Johansen (pass failed)
