WEBSTER CITY – Truthfully, it was over in two plays.

Not even a minute had been shed off the clock and no points had been scored, but in two snaps of the football Webster City declared that it was going to run the rock with success whenever it wanted in its non-district clash with Iowa Falls-Alden Friday night at Lynx Field.

Gavin Dinsdale took the ball up the field for 14 and 13 yards on the opening two plays and it was simply a sign of things to come, as WCHS gouged the Cadet defense for 351 rushing yards 396 yards of total offense in a 42-7 rout that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated.

“We know we’re a good football team and we just wanted to prove it (Friday night), and I guess we did,” Dinsdale said after abusing Iowa Falls-Alden for 230 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Dinsdale reached the end zone three times in the first half and once in the third quarter before taking the rest of the night off. He now sits with 941 yards on the season, good for sixth in Class 3A, and his 15 touchdowns has him tied for the class lead.

The unstoppable ground blitz started up front; offensive linemen Victor Jergens, Clay Fortune, Dalton Draeger, Hunter Bryan and Cam Gordon flew off the ball and opened up gulfs wide enough for Dinsdale to dance through. Blocking back Cooper Lawson, just a freshman, sealed the outside with punishing blocks that helped spring Dinsdale for several long runs.

“We’ve always known we have the potential, but it just comes down to our mental intensity,” Jergens said. “With how good of a running back Gavin is, you give him any gap and he’ll be able to find it. It’s up to us to create that gap and he’ll do the rest.”

WCHS (2-4) played with a new-found aggression following a disappointing homecoming loss to Greene County a week earlier.

“It was a really tough week coming off that loss on homecoming,” Jergens said. “It’s hard to let the (fans) down, so you come in and you’ve got a little chip on your shoulder.”

Dinsdale chewed up 111 yards on the Lynx first two drives alone, both ending with him diving across the goal line from 3 and 7 yards out. The opening series went 74 yards on seven runs and set the tone for a first half that ended with WCHS in complete control, 28-0.

“The first half was pretty solid,” WCHS head coach Bob Howard said after he picked up career victory No. 297. “We executed well … moving the ball that first possession was a really big deal, so that was good to see us with focus right off the bat.”

Spinback Avery Fuhs also had his best outing of the season. He notched his first touchdown pass of the campaign early in the second quarter when he found tight end Cole Reigelsberger open over the middle for a 29-yard score. Fuhs completed 3 of 6 throws in all for 45 yards.

“We worked hard on Avery’s footwork this week,” Howard said. “He’s got a great arm when he steps up and sets his feet … that was really good to see because we’re going to need that going forward.”

A Dinsdale 18-yard gallop made it 28-0 in the Lynx favor with 4:34 left in the second quarter. WCHS out-gained IF-A (1-5) 276-27 over the game’s initial 24 minutes.

Dinsdale punched it in from the 3 on the Lynx opening possession of the third quarter, giving them five touchdowns in six chances.

Domenic Khaleet added 43 rushing yards and Fuhs finished with 39, highlighted by a 25-yard jaunt up the gut on the statement-making opening possession. Sean Vogelbacher relieved Dinsdale in the fourth quarter and chewed up 27 yards, the final two coming on a touchdown run with 4:06 to go.

Excluding a 67-yard drive that featured several long passes that ended with a Mason Ites 1-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, the Cadets were stuck in neutral all night. WCHS limited them to 128 yards of total offense, including just 24 yards on 16 rushes.

IF-A quarterback Ross Norem completed 8 of 24 passes for 104 yards.

Ryan Ferrari were inserted into the Lynx starting lineup at outside linebacker, and he flew all over the field and helped shut down the Cadets’ ground efforts. He finished with a team high five tackles, including two solo stops.

Ferrari and inside linebacker Rylee Lawson both produced sacks.

“The run defense was pretty solid all night,” Howard said. “We found a spot for Ryan playing him off the edge and he had a very good ballgame. Rylee had a great game again, too.”

WCHS will look to bring the same intensity to the field this Friday night when it gets back to work in 3A District 2 against Humboldt (5-1) on the road. The Lynx know they need to finish strong over the final three weeks of the regular season in order to reach the playoffs, but they’re not about to look too far ahead.

“With our record we shouldn’t be looking any farther ahead than we need to,” Jergens said. “We’re the underdogs against Humboldt, but that doesn’t matter.”

“If we win out we’ll be second in the district,” Howard said. “That’s big talk, but we felt to begin with that we had a shot at Humboldt and hopefully we’ll continue to improve this week and go over there and have a good ballgame.”