AIDEN MOOTHART OF WEBSTER CITY hauls in a catch against Clear Lake on Friday night at Lynx Field. (DFJ photo by David Borer)

WEBSTER CITY — A defensive battle went against the Webster City football team this past Friday night, as the Lynx fell to No. 5 (Class 3A) Clear Lake, 10-2.

The Lions scored a touchdown in the second quarter to take a 7-2 lead at the break, adding on a fourth quarter field goal for the only other points of the contest.

“We played hard defensively and had 10 tackles for loss, but they broke a 53-yard run for the only score they needed,” WCHS head coach Bob Howard said. “They have great size and athleticism across the board on the defensive side, but we were our own worst enemies as well with five separate series of either a bad execution of a play, causing a big loss, or a procedure penalty.

“Clear Lake is way too good to give them help with our mistakes. We have a very small margin for error, so when we make the kind of self-inflicted mistakes we made against Clear Lake, it’s pretty hard to beat any good team. ”

Jaxon Cherry ran for 85 yards on 22 carries with Keegan Hisler adding 53 yards rushing and 25 yards passing. Aiden Moothart caught both of Hisler’s completions for 25 yards.

On defense, Cherry recorded two sacks with Luke Estlund, Jayden Weinzetl and Cael Nixon all registering one sack each. Cherry had 9.5 tackles and Nixon was in on 4.5 stops. Briar Klaver also picked off a pass for the Webster City defense.

“It’s certainly my responsibility to find an answer on both sides of the ball for both our physical performance, execution and effort, and to generate a higher degree of intensity and leadership,” Howard said. “The kids play hard and with great effort, but I don’t think I’ve done a very good job of helping them gain football awareness.”

The win was the first for Clear Lake against the Lynx since 2014, which was the final victory in a run of eight consecutive wins beginning in 2008. Webster City scored wins vs. its North Central Conference rival in both 2017 and 2015.

Up next for the Lynx will be a road trip to Hampton-Dumont/CAL, who suffered its first loss of the year to Humboldt last week.