WEBSTER CITY – The running game, the running game, the running game – that’s all anyone ever wants to talk about with regards to the fourth-ranked (Class 3A) and unbeaten Webster City football team.

How many yards will Gavin Dinsdale churn out this week? Are Avery Fuhs and Payton Kannuan going to average almost eight yards per carry all year? Will the Lynx rush for 400 yards this week?

But as these questions are asked, and as all of the attention continues to be heaped upon Webster City’s ground attack, a funny little thing has happened.

Right under everyone’s nose, and maybe to the surprise of some, the Lynx have developed a not-too-shabby air assault. And what’s the significance? If opponents want to continue to gang up on the run, WCHS will continue to try to burn them on the perimeter.

“You’ve got to be able to make teams pay for it,” WCHS head coach Bob Howard said. “The pass protection has been getting a lot better and that’s been a big key (to the success), and Avery (Fuhs) throws well when he’s able to set his feet.”

Expect Humboldt (2-4, 2-2 District 2) to be the next foe to put its focus on the WCHS backfield tonight when the district rivals meet at Lynx Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

And expect WCHS (6-0, 3-0) to continue to let Avery Fuhs drop back and look for his twin brother, wide receiver Alec Fuhs, deep over the middle.

WCHS – looking for its first 7-0 start to a season since 1987 when it went unbeaten through the regular season – won’t put it up 15 or 20 times a game; it’s more like six to 10. But the results have provided huge dividends.

Avery Fuhs has completed 57 percent of his passes and averaged 17.4 yards per completion over the last four games. That span has also yielded four passing touchdowns and no interceptions.

The senior spinback has thrown for 526 yards and seven TD’s on the season. Alec Fuhs has been on the receiving end of 17 of the team’s 28 completions and all seven of his brother’s scoring plays.

Practice might not have made perfect, but WCHS isn’t complaining.

“We spend a good amount of time on it in practice,” Howard said. “We probably spend more time on passing than we should be for only throwing six or eight times a game, but sooner or later you’re going to have to throw.”

And it’s not like Howard blames opponents for their defensive strategies. If he had to game plan to slow down Dinsdale, well, he’d bring everybody he could up for run support.

“People have to play that way, and I guess that’s how I’d play us to make us do something else,” Howard said. “But nobody has really stopped (Dinsdale) either.”

Facing extra defenders shaded his way on nearly every snap, Dinsdale still averages 124.7 yards rushing and two touchdowns per game.

WCHS will have to be prepared to defend the pass itself tonight against a Humboldt squad that blanked Greene County, 14-0, last week. However, the Rams were without all-district quarterback Daric Whipple.

Wildcats’ junior quarterback Drew Thomas will put the ball up early and often. He’s thrown for 1,047 yards and nine TD’s so far this season, and no one on the Lynx sideline will forget what he did just one year ago when he torched them for 414 yards and six scores in his team’s 42-14 victory.

Howard admits that he went into last year’s game expecting the Wildcats to rely on their run game to get the job done. He’s not about to make that mistake again.

“I expect them to throw it 40 times. I’m not falling into the same trap I fell into last year,” he said. “Thomas throws well and moves well, and he throws well on the move. The big challenge is trying to get a pass rush on him and contain him a little bit.”

Thomas isn’t afraid to tuck and run either. He’s Humboldt’s second-leading rusher with 312 yards and four TD’s. Kyle McBeth (370 yards) leads the Wildcats.

A win would guarantee WCHS a berth in the postseason for an eighth consecutive season, but just reaching the playoffs is not at the top of the team’s list of goals right now. The Lynx want that undefeated record and district championship, but it’s not going to be handed to them.

“Our goal is to win the district, and as long as you’re undefeated, the goal is to be undefeated,” Howard said. “But if we don’t play well (Humboldt) could knock us off. They have enough talent that it can happen.”