October 10, 2008 vs. Iowa Falls-Alden
Lynx steamroll over Cadets, 50-14; next play Clear Lake
for District Championship
Webster City to play in postseason for first time since 1996, Hill tops 1,000 yards
for season
(Webster
City)
First things first: for the first
time since 1996, the Webster City Lynx (6-2, 5-1) will be playing in the
postseason as a convincing 50-14 victory over Iowa Falls-Alden (3-5, 2-4)
assured the Lynx of a Substate spot come Wednesday, October 29th; the Lynx join
Clear Lake--their opponent in the season finale--as the only teams in District 2
with guaranteed postseason play. The Lynx win over the Cadets also marked
only the second time since 1996 that Webster City has won 6 games in a season as
the 2008 squad joins the 2001 team who went 6-3 that year. As well, the
Lynx victory over Iowa Falls is their fourth in a row--a feat which hasn't
occurred since 1996 when that squad rattled off 7 straight wins.
Furthermore, for the first time since--again--1996, a Webster City rusher has
surpassed the 1,000 yard mark as senior RB John Hill--who prior to the game had 890
yards--collected 175 yards on 23 carries to bring his total to 1,065 on the
season; the last Webster City ball carrier to exceed the 1,000 yard mark was
Jared Smith who had 1,874 which is the second highest total in school
history. It must be noted that Hill's accomplishments are all due to the
excellent blocking of Josh Evans, Cole Besaw, Stephan Cook, James Hartley,
Ryan Vande Zande, Karl Peterson, Kevin Kannuan, Brett Hilpipre, and Brent
Nelson.
All that aside, the Lynx victory over Iowa Falls showcased an ever-improving Webster City football team that now has put itself in contention for the District 2 championship--a feat that has only occurred once in 1994 since the creation of District pairings in 1992. (For the record, the 1996 squad was the District Runner-up.) However, the road to a District Championship goes through Clear Lake--the Lynx's last opponent in the regular-season finale--and the Lions (8-0, 6-0) are the #2-rated team in Class 3A. Simply put, if the Lynx want to be the best, they're going to have to beat the best.
"I'm very proud of our kids," said head coach Bob
Howard who improved his overall record as Webster City's coach to 9-8,
"they've gotten better each week and in the past month I believe they've become
confident in themselves and it shows. Their major goals this season were to
not only have a winning record, but also get that tenth game--and they've done
that." Howard then added, "I will say that although I'm not a big fan of
the way the playoffs were expanded, our team has earned their spot in the
postseason." Howard, who also serves as the President of the Iowa Football
Coaches Association, is referring to the fact even if the Lynx lose to Clear Lake,
they still will finish second in the District (as Algona lost to
Forest City on Friday night) and under the old playoff system, only the top two
teams qualified for the playoffs.
Despite the seemingly biased focus by the media (excluding the Daily Freeman-Journal) on the Cadets and their quest for a Substate spot, the fact remains that when it comes down to it, football is about blocking and tackling, running and stopping the run--not what the papers write or what someone says on IowaPreps.com or even if your opponents choose to dance on your logo at midfield; simply put, Webster City came ready to play football and by end of the game, rammed the ball down the Cadet's throats to the tune of 416 total rushing yards.
Kicking off to Iowa Falls-Alden, on the first play
of scrimmage the Cadet's fumbled the ball and it was recovered by DT Nate
Sego. Five plays later Hill scored the first of his four
touchdowns (and seven total scores when factoring in 2-point conversions) and
barely a quarter and a half later the Lynx were up 20-0. On their second
drive of the game, senior spinback Brent Nelson ran up the Cadet's gut for a 40-yard touchdown
and was followed by a 3-yard run by Hill before the Cadet's mounted their own
drive which resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run.
Entering the second half up 20-7, Webster City opened up the 3rd quarter by not only recovering an onsides kick at midfield, but by marching right down the field as Hill scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. Iowa Falls-Alden then responded exposed a temporary weakness in the Lynx defense and using their ground game, eventually scored from 2-yards out to make narrow the gap to 28-14. However, from that point on the Lynx defense stiffened and the offense turned it up by rattling off 22-straight points make the score 50-14 with just over 6 minutes remaining in the game. Amidst those 3 touchdowns were great punt returns by DB Nate Treibel, a 30-yard touchdown run by RB Ross Haren, an interception by DB Karl Peterson, and big hits and quarterback sacks by DB Alex Davis and DE Ryan Vande Zande, respectively.
"These kids have worked hard while being very
coachable and it's paid off," said Howard, "they've put themselves in position
to play for a District Championship, get to the postseason, and bring back the
winning tradition of Webster City. I couldn't be prouder of them."
Offensively, Hill's 175 yards on the ground was followed by Nelson's 91-yards on 11 totes. As well, Haren added 90 yards on 9 carries while WB Kevin Kannuan had 49-yards on 8 rushes. Nelson was 1-of-2 in the passing department for 12 yards as he connected with RB Bret Hilpipre on a screen pass. Defensively, Webster City was led by Vande Zande who had 7 1/2 tackles and he was followed by Peterson (5), Davis (5), and junior LB Ben Rasmussen (5).
Next week
Webster City takes to the road for the fifth time this season to
take on the Clear Lake Lions for the District 2 Championship; kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
WEBSTER CITY
14 6 16 14 - 50
IOWA FALLS-ALDEN
0 7 7 0
- 14
1st Quarter
WC - Hill 11 run (kick failed)
WC - Nelson 40 run (Haren run)
2nd Quarter
WC - Hill 4 run (run failed)
IF-A - Lauterbach 1 run (vierkandt kick)
Third Quarter
WC - Hill 6 run (Hill run)
IF-A - Adams 2 run (Vierkandt kick)
WC - Haren 30 run (Hill run)
4th Quarter
WC - Hill 8 run (Hill run)
WC - Nelson 10 run (kick blocked)