What’s wrong with the Lynx big boys? Why can’t WCHS run the ball as effectively as it has in recent seasons?

When you play a pair of top-5 teams in the opening three weeks of the season, tough sledding is going to happen no matter how much experience an offensive line possesses. Still, they were tired of the looks and questions and wanted to shut everyone up, quite frankly.

Mission accomplished.

The Lynx front six asserted their dominance early on and shoved Mason City’s defensive front in whichever direction it wanted for 48 minutes Friday night at Mohawk Field, leading to the most complete performance of the season in a 36-3 rout.

WCHS tailback CJ Hisler avoids a defender during Friday’s 36-3 win over Mason City. Hisler rushed for a game-high 99 yards to help the Lynx improve to 2-2 on the season. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“We’ve heard all of the noise that it isn’t what it has been and we took that personally,” Klaver said. “We tried to come up here and prove that we’re capable, and we showed that.”

Facing a box of eight and nine defenders, WCHS (2-2) didn’t need to put the ball in the air once in a first half in which it built a 15-3 lead. The Lynx threw just five total passes and churned out 330 total yards of offense, 295 of which came on the ground.

Mason City had no answer for the Lynx bread and butter power game between the tackles. Tailbacks Connor Hanson (64 yards) and Jaxon Cherry (63 yards) combined for 127 yards rushing and four touchdowns, and spinback Ty McKinney fought for every one of his 69 yards. Wingback CJ Hisler had some success going to the outside, but he also gained ground through the teeth of the defense for a game-high 99 yards rushing.

“That was just our off-tackle power play, our base play,” WCHS head coach Bob Howard said of what worked so effectively. “We spent an awful lot of time on it last week in practice and (tight end) JJ Moore had an outstanding game. They have an outstanding linebacker (Branson Peters) and I’m not sure he made a tackle because either JJ or CJ were on him every play and blocked him really well.”

Throw in a stingy defensive performance which generated five sacks and yielded just 151 yards of total offense for Mason City (1-3), and it was easily the Lynx most complete performance of the season.

WCHS tailback Connor Hanson (33) sails through the air as he picks up a first down against Mason City on Friday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“That was a good performance on both sides of the ball,” Howard said. “We got as much as we could have gotten out of this for confidence and if momentum is the word to get ready to play (No. 7-ranked) Fort Dodge next week.”

WCHS was methodical and precision-like on all five of its scoring drives that covered 63, 60, 68, 86 and 13 yards. Rather than rely on the home run ball, the Lynx repeatedly marched down the field in small chunks of 3 and 4 yards — old-school smash mouth at its finest.

Mason City owned a 3-0 lead after one quarter on a 30-yard field goal by Carson Siemons, but a 1-yard dive into the end zone by Cherry on the first play of the second quarter capped a long drive that put WCHS in front to stay.

Hanson’s first touchdown, a 2-yard run up the gut, put the finishing touches on an 11-play drive that extended the lead to 15-3 at the intermission. The Lynx 26 first-half running calls generated 136 yards.

WCHS finally put the ball in the air on the opening possession of the second half and it paid dividends. A 30-yard strike from McKinney to Hisler on third-and-8 moved the ball into the red zone, and a few plays later McKinney spotted a wide open Devon Stoakes in the end zone for a 7-yard TD pass.

Webster City’s Dylan Burnette-Bingham (65) makes a tackle during the Lynx 36-3 win over Mason City Friday night in Mason City. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Cherry, a sophomore, ran over the Mohawks — quite literally — on the Lynx next possession with 35 yards on four totes, capped by a 6-yard burst into the end zone to increase the lead to 29-3.

An Austin Mason interception off a deflected pass set WCHS up at the Mohawk 13 midway through the fourth quarter and Hanson cashed in the turnover with another 2-yard touchdown.

Cherry says the tailback platoon is working for both players, who are also keys on the defensive side of the ball.

“It’s great because we need a break every now and then,” Cherry said. “It’s a lot of running around.”

Another sophomore, outside linebacker Keegan Hisler, was a defensive menace throughout. On the first series of the game alone he made three tackles and forced a fumble, and he finished the first half with six tackles and 21⁄2 sacks.

WCHS sophomore linebacker Keegan Hisler (2) tackles Mason City’s Isaiah Washington in the backfield and forces a fumble on the opening possession of the game Friday night in Mason City. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Stoakes made a team-high 61⁄2 tackles, Hanson sacked Mohawk quarterback Kale Hobart twice, and CJ Hisler kept Mason City out of the end zone with an interception at the 5-yard line in the waning moments of the fourth quarter on a reverse wide receiver pass.

“Cherry is really getting a lot better at linebacker and we’re trying to use Keegan’s athletic ability,” Howard said. “We’re trying to get him in positions where he can just cut loose and play.”

Hobart had some success, as he completed 15 of 31 passes for 151 yards. The Mohawks were their own worst enemies a lot of the time though; they had a 65-yard touchdown pass negated on an illegal shift penalty early in the second quarter, and a Keegan Hisler sack on the next play ended the drive.

Mason City was flagged eight times — three of the 15-yard personal foul variety — for 81 yards.

Outside of a 22-yard gain by Isaiah Washington in the opening quarter, Mason City went nowhere on the ground. The Mohawks attempted just 14 running plays and netted a whopping 23 yards.

Offense — check.

Defense — check.

Exactly what WCHS needed as it now heads into the Class 4A District 1 portion of its schedule.

“We knew we needed this game before districts started,” Klaver said. “We needed to come out with some energy and enthusiasm and I think we did that.”

SCORING SUMMARY

Webster City 0 15 14 7 — 36

Mason City 3 0 0 0 — 3

First Quarter

MC — Carson Siemons 30 FG.

Second Quarter

WC — Jaxon Cherry 1 run (Cherry run), 11:56.

WC — Connor Hanson 2 run (Levi Mussman kick), 3:37.

Third Quarter

WC — Devon Stoakes 7 pass from Ty McKinney (Mussman kick), 7:45.

WC — Cherry 6 run (Mussman kick), 0:32.

Fourth Quarter

WC — Hanson 2 run (Mussman kick), 4:02.

TEAM STATISTICS

WC MC

First downs 17 12

Rushing 16 3

Passing 1 8

Penalty 0 1

Rushes-yards 54-295 21-2

Passing yards 212 112

Comp-Att-INT 3-5-0 15-32-2

Return yards 44 59

Sacked-yards lost 0-0 5-34

Punts-Ave 0-0 5-40

Fumbles-lost 3-0 2-0

Penalties-yards 1-10 9-81

Time of Possession 26:58 21:02

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Webster City Lynx

RUSHING

Player Att Yds TD

CJ Hisler 15 99 0

Ty McKinney 14 69 0

Connor Hanson 17 64 2

Jaxon Cherry 7 63 2

PASSING

Player Com Att Yds TD

Ty McKinney 3 5 42 1

RECEIVING

Player Rec Yds TD

CJ Hisler 2 35 2

Devon Stoakes 1 7 1

Tackles

Player So Ast Tot

Devon Stoakes 5 3 61⁄2

Keegan Hisler 5 2 6

Evan Estlund 3 1 31⁄2

Skyler Scott 2 3 31⁄2

Ty McKinney 3 0 3

CJ Hisler 3 0 3

Connor Hanson 2 2 3

Jaxon Cherry 1 3 21⁄2

Jamin Stuhr 1 1 11⁄2

Austin Mason 1 0 1

Charlie Stansfield 1 0 1

D. Burnette-Bingham 1 0 1

Brendyn Carlsen 1 0 1

Kyzer Stanley 0 1 1⁄2

Mason City Mohawks

RUSHING

Player Att Yds TD

Isaiah Washington 6 34 0

Branson Peters 1 1 0

Leon Walker 5 -1 0

Kale Hobart 8 -32 0

Team 1 0 0

PASSING

Player Com Att Yds TD

Kale Hobart 15 31 151 0

Leon Walker 0 1 0 0

RECEIVING

Player Rec Yds TD

Isaiah Washington 4 53 0

Tyree Shamel 3 32 0

Leon Walker 2 22 0

Will Fingalsen 3 22 0

Carter Thomas 1 11 0

Reid Johnson 1 11 0

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