NO SHAME SETBACK
No. 2 Xavier as good as advertised against Lynx in 4A quarters
CEDAR RAPIDS — A mixture of sweat and tears crept down the cheek of Jamin Stuhr as he stood rigidly and hung on every word out of Webster City head coach Bob Howard’s mouth as the wind whipped around them at Saints Field late Friday night.
Stuhr’s prep football career was over, that realization was slowly starting to sink in minutes after No. 8-ranked WCHS fell to No. 2 Cedar Rapids Xavier, 24-13, in the Class 4A state quarterfinals. And yet the overriding emotion was pride — for his team and its character, and for the success the Lynx attained during a roller coaster fall that began with a thud and ended with a flourish.
“We’re incredibly happy with how we played,” Stuhr, a starting offensive tackle and defensive end, said. “This just goes to show how tight-knit of a group we are. We started 1-2, but we stuck together and came out 8-3. That’s pretty good.”
Yes it is.
WCHS really did nothing wrong against the Saints (10-1) — the Lynx rushed for 193 yards, had 17 first downs, controlled the clock, limited penalties and didn’t turn the ball over — and yet it still wasn’t enough. Xavier is, well, Xavier — arguably the bellwether of the class and the favorite to win its fourth state championship since 2006 later this month. With a versatile and balanced offense stocked with thoroughbreds, the Saints scored on four consecutive possessions and out-gained WCHS 355-206 to advance to the semifinals.
“They beat us. We didn’t lose, they just beat us,” WCHS junior spinback and cornerback Ty McKinney said. “Obviously a loss is a loss and it’s even worse when it ends your season, but sometimes you’ve just got to give credit where credit is due. But we battled and there was no giving up, so I’m very proud.”
Xavier tailback Will Hiserote accounted for 188 yards of offense; he rushed for 148 yards on 17 carries and also reeled in three passes from quarterback Alex Neal for 40 yards. Backfield mate Christian Stanek ripped off 84 yards rushing on just four totes, including touchdown runs of 57 and 19 yards. Neal completed 7 of 10 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.
The Saints played the power game between the tackles at times. They also ran the option to the perimeter and, when necessary, went to the air. And there was just little WCHS could do to slow the locomotive down.
“That’s the best offense we’ve faced,” Howard said. “They’re very good and they took advantage of how we lined up … there were holes we were going to give them and they hit them.
“They are much more athletic and bigger and stronger and faster. That’s not an insult to our kids, we just don’t match up. I don’t know if they’ll win the state championship, but I’m guessing they’ll be right there.”
The Lynx best defense proved to be their offense, as both of their scoring drives were marathon marches down the field.
Trailing 7-0 after Stanek’s 57-yard rumble right up the middle midway through the first quarter, WCHS answered with a 12-play, 65-yard excursion that chewed 5:59 off the clock. Sophomore tailback Jaxon Cherry capped the drive when he sprinted toward the Xavier sideline and beat the defense to the pylon for a 9-yard touchdown run.
A 23-yard field goal by Trysten Vasquez early in the second put Xavier back in front, and the Saints delivered a dagger just before the intermission. Taking over at their own 19, they traveled down the field quickly and padded their lead with 11 seconds remaining in the half when Neal rolled out to his right and threw a dart to Spencer Mesch for a 7-yard touchdown and 17-7 lead.
WCHS pulled within 17-13 on the opening possession of the third quarter that included 13 plays, a nice catch over the middle by Connor Hanson and a crucial fourth-down pickup in the red zone. Cherry found his way into the end zone again on a 4-yard rumble up the middle.
“That was pretty important and we used up most of the quarter,” Howard said.
Xavier answered right back though on Stanek’s second touchdown just 46 seconds into the fourth quarter.
WCHS had several chances later in the final period to make Xavier sweat, but came up empty twice. CJ Hisler was stuffed on a fourth-and-2 run at the Xavier 31 with 6:54 remaining, and a pair of botched plays on the Lynx next possession took the ball from near the Saints’ 20 back to their own side of the field with 2:03 to go.
And that was ballgame.
Cherry was a beast on both side of the ball. He lugged the ball 21 times for 103 yards and the two scores on the ground, and he also made a game-high 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops, on defense.
“He had a great game for a sophomore and that should be a huge learning experience playing against a team like that,” Howard said.
Hisler churned out 68 yards on 14 carries and surpassed 1,000 yards on the season. McKinney picked up 55 yards on 13 attempts, and he also completed 3 of 5 passes for 13 yards.
Keegan Hisler and Devon Stoakes both collected seven tackles, and Stuhr finished with 51⁄2. Cherry and Charlie Stansfield had the Lynx only two tackles for loss, as Xavier averaged 8.7 yards per play. Conversely, WCHS averaged 3.7 yards on its 55 offensive snaps.
The Lynx were denied a second trip to the semifinal round over the past seven seasons. They’re 1-3 in the quarterfinals since 2015.
That didn’t really matter to the 12 seniors afterward, however. Sure, they would have liked to push on to next week’s semifinals, but there was a sense of satisfaction even in defeat.
“Everybody did everything they could,” WCHS senior all-state offensive guard Truman Klein said. “We started off (the season) rough, but we got this far. This program has been everything for me … I don’t know what I’m going to do without this. I’m not looking forward to next year, that’s for sure.”
All three of the Lynx losses came against state semifinalists — Xavier, Waverly-Shell Rock (4A) and Humboldt (3A), who are a combined 31-2.
SCORING SUMMARY
Webster City 7 0 6 0 — 13
CR Xavier 7 10 0 7 — 24
First Quarter
CRX — Christian Stanek 57 run (Trysten Vasquez kick), 7;09.
WC — Jaxon Cherry 9 run (Levi Mussman kick), 1:10.
Second Quarter
CRX — Vasquez 23 FG (8:06.
CRX — Spencer Mesch 7 pass from Alex Neal (Vasquez kick), 0:11.
Third Quarter
WC — Cherry 4 run (kick failed), 4:37.
Fourth Quarter
CRX — Stanek 19 run (Vasquez kick), 11:14.
TEAM STATISTICS
WC CRX
First downs 17 12
Rushing 16 8
Passing 1 3
Penalty 0 0
Rushes-yards 50-193 31-248
Passing yards 13 107
Comp-Att-INT 3-5-0 7-10-0
Return yards 34 38
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 0-0
Punts-Ave 3-34 2-20
Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-0
Penalties-yards 4-20 3-24
Time of Possession 27:58 20:02
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Webster City Lynx
RUSHING
Player Att Yds TD
Jaxon Cherry 21 103 2
CJ Hisler 14 68 0
Ty McKinney 13 55 0
Devon Stoakes 1 -16 0
Connor Hanson 1 -17 0
PASSING
Player Com Att Yds TD
Ty McKinney 3 5 13 0
RECEIVING
Player Rec Yds TD
Connor Hanson 1 13 0
Devon Stoakes 1 5 0
CJ Hisler 1 -5 0
Tackles
Player So Ast Tot
Jaxon Cherry 10 4 12
Keegan Hisler 7 0 7
Devon Stoakes 6 2 7
Jamin Stuhr 5 1 51⁄2
Ty McKinney 4 0 4
Evan Estlund 2 2 3
Kyzer Stanley 2 1 21⁄2
Brendyn Carlsen 2 1 21⁄2
Connor Hanson 2 0 2
Charlie Stansfield 2 0 2
Truman Klein 1 0 1
Austin Mason 0 2 1
Brandon Lahr 0 1 1⁄2
CR Xavier Saints
RUSHING
Player Att Yds TD
Will Hiserote 17 148 0
Christian Stanek 4 84 2
Alex Neal 10 18 0
PASSING
Player Com Att Yds TD
Alex Neal 7 10 107 1
RECEIVING
Player Rec Yds TD
Trysten Vasquez 2 49 0
Will Hiserote 3 40 0
Aidan McDermott 1 12 0
Spencer Mesch 1 6 1