WEBSTER CITY – Webster City’s Gavin Dinsdale and his Sergeant Bluff-Luton counterpart Matt George are a lot alike. Except that they’re really not.

If that doesn’t make sense just yet, keep reading. Eventually, it will.

The senior tailbacks have proven to be two of the best in Class 3A this fall and they have the statistics to back up those claims. They’ve run circles around the opposition in leading their teams to a combined 21-1 record and into tonight’s quarterfinal round of the state playoffs.

Dinsdale and George will try to one-up the other when the fourth-ranked Lynx (11-0) and eighth-ranked Warriors (10-1) go to battle in Sergeant Bluff at 7 p.m. The winner will punch one of the four tickets to next week’s semifinals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Their talents make them alike. It’s their methods that differ.

Dinsdale, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound man-child, would rather run over defenders and he particularly enjoys when he realizes he’s broken a defense. It happens regularly.

George, a 6-foot, 175-pound speedster, does his damage in open space in a spread offense that is suited to exploit his talents. He’s a big-play time bomb just waiting to detonate.

Strength vs. speed. Brute force vs. finesse.

Buckle up. This could be fun.

“These two tailbacks, they’re two of the top guys in the state and they’re about as far apart as you can get,” WCHS head coach Bob Howard said. “The styles are so different. There aren’t a lot of 230-pound tailbacks in the state like Gavin and when you haven’t played against that, it can be tough.”

George will step onto his home turf with 1,826 yards and an 8.9 yards per carry average – video game-like numbers that includes 17 touchdowns. Dinsdale has racked up 1,684 yards and 26 TD’s while butting heads with overplaying defenses game after game.

Who has the advantage? That, they say, is why the game will be played.

Dinsdale has been bolstered by an improving offensive line that revels in its big back’s success. Teams can only run in front of the train for so long before they begin to brace for impact and accept the punishment, or so the theory goes.

” Almost every game you can feel that,” WCHS senior center Dalton Draeger said. “Once it gets down to five or six minutes left in the fourth quarter, they start giving up more and more.”

But these two teams, which rank Nos. 1 and 2 in the class in ground yards, are more than one-man shows. With a combined 7,617 yards, they’d have to be.

SB-L quarterback Jacob Shultz averages 8.0 yards per tote and has amassed 819 yards out of the wide open attack to go along with his 1,356 passing yards and 16 TD’s. For WCHS, shifty wingback Payton Kannuan provides a nice change of pace to Dinsdale and cranks out runs at 9.4 yards a pop with 1,148 in all under his belt. And the Warriors also have to game plan for spinback Avery Fuhs and his 772 ground yards. Fuhs can also sling the ball around the field; he’s completed 53 percent of his passes for 818 yards and 11 scores.

For WCHS, it will be about tackling in space and slamming the door on big plays. For SB-L, it will be about not letting the freight train leave the station.

“They’re good, and I think this will be the best offensive line we’ve faced,” Howard said. “Tackling will be a big deal, and not letting (George) out to the second level will be a big deal, too. If he gets out to the second level, I don’t know that we have anybody that can catch him.”

The Lynx pride themselves on their run defense, which allows just 108.8 yards per game. Victor Jergens – third in 3A with 75 solo tackles – anchors the unit that gives up just 13.6 points per game on average. WCHS has been even better in recent weeks, allowing just 6.2 points over its last five outings. Fellow linebacker Ryan Ferrari has been solid, defensive linemen Cole Briese and Robert Fredericksen have found ways into the backfield, and the return of Collin Oswald from injury has added another piece to the puzzle.

SB-L, which has won 10 consecutive games since a 49-14 loss to 4A quarterfinalist Council Bluffs Lewis Central in Week 1, isn’t afraid to throw the ball either, but will have to get by a WCHS secondary that leads 3A in interceptions with 18. Cornerback Landon Daniels sits atop the individual leaderboard with nine picks.

“Our pass defense has been fantastic and with as many passing teams as we’ve played, it’s had to be,” Howard said.

The Warriors have given up big chunks of yards, particularly in the playoffs. Spencer reeled off 362 in the opening round and Carroll piled up 637 on Monday in the second round.

That may play into the hands of the Lynx, who thrive in games in which they can methodically move the ball and eat time off the clock.

If SB-L, which allows 219 ground yards per game, is able to slow them down, it would be a first this fall.

“The way we’ve been playing offense, I think we’ll be able to move the ball,” Howard said. “Then it comes down to eliminating turnovers and penalties because those can be killers.”

BHRV couldn’t physically match up with WCHS in a lopsided 38-6 second-round rout. The Lynx didn’t stray from the script much, but an offensive wrinkle here and there – a couple of reverses – turned into big plays.

Are there more tricks left in the bag?

“It was close, but there are still some things left,” Howard said. “There’s nothing to save them for now.”

Dinsdale, who enters tonight needing just 50 yards to become the program’s all-time rushing leader, thinks the status quo has worked just fine.

“We’re mostly running our base stuff and it’s working,” he said. “Coach has a lot of plays that he wants to save for big games, but we’re not trying to trick anybody our here. If a new play helps us, we’ll use it.”

The 3A semifinals are scheduled for next Thursday at 5:36 p.m. and 8:21 p.m. The match-ups will be revealed following the completion of tonight’s quarterfinals.