Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Noah Daniel of Fort Dodge breaks free for one of his two kickoff returns for touchdowns on Friday night against Webster City inside Dodger Stadium.

Football is a sport often dictated by the reaction to both opportunities and miscues.

When Webster City was presented with opportunities during Friday night’s season opener at Fort Dodge — often after Dodger miscues — the Lynx took full advantage.

FDSH, meanwhile, couldn’t capitalize enough on the former and let the latter dictate their body language far too often in a 41-13 triumph for the visitors.

Webster City gave new head coach Andy Brim a resounding win in his debut with 28 unanswered second-half points. So much of the effort was familiar; the Lynx were methodical in the ground game and relentless on defense in extending their recent streak in the series versus the Dodgers to four consecutive victories.

Head coach Nik Moser’s squad, meanwhile, saw a close ballgame at halftime turn into a lopsided one as the third quarter progressed. And once the floodgates opened, Fort Dodge simply had no answer for an opponent steeped in success and true to their system.

“We were right there through first half, but when things don’t go your way, you have to fight through it. That’s football,” Moser said. “We didn’t do that well enough, and that’s on me. We had a really rough start (to the third quarter), but there was a lot of time left in the game. I didn’t do a good enough job of reminding them of that as it was happening. We let that snowball and didn’t respond with the resilience we need.

“We had six guys on offense and eight on defense who were playing their first full games at the varsity level. We had about 20 kids total who were doing the same. These aren’t excuses — just a reminder of reality and that we have a long way to go. We can — and will — get better. But you also have to credit Webster City. They got after it.”

The Lynx dominated the scoreboard down the stretch, but were consistent throughout with their trademark single-wing offensive attack. There’s nothing fancy or flashy about it, but the effectiveness in its simplicity has turned Webster City into a steady winner under legendary Hall of Fame coach Bob Howard and now Brim — a long-time program assistant.

Thanks to an incredible show put on by Fort Dodge’s Noah Daniel, the teams went into the locker room tied at 13. The junior speedster returned the game’s opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, then did the same — this time from 95 yards out — in the final five seconds of the first half after Webster City had gone up 13-7.

Even though the score was knotted, the Lynx had been incredibly effective on the ground, rushing 28 times for 199 yards before the break. The Dodgers, meanwhile, had managed only 49 yards of total offense at that point.

A five-plus minute flurry to start the second half was the turning point. Lynx junior Jaxon Griffith returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter 96 yards to paydirt, and Fort Dodge fumbled on the next play from scrimmage. That led to another Webster City touchdown, as the Lynx converted on 3rd and 12 and later 4th and 2 to keep their next touchdown drive alive.

The Dodgers didn’t turn the ball over once in the first half, but had five fumbles in the third period alone — losing two. Fort Dodge also had a drive that reached the Webster City 1-yard line in the second quarter stall out after losing 22 yards from scrimmage on an errant snap.

“We have to be one of the most improved teams around from Week 1 to Week 2,” Moser admitted. “And I’m not losing confidence in our ability to do that. We have something to go from now. We’ll watch film and correct mistakes. But we have to grow up in a hurry. And we have to clean things up and be better. That goes for me and all the coaches on down the line. You need to have a short memory and show some resilience when you get knocked down like this.”

Griffith rushed for 133 yards on just 10 carries. Senior Jayden Weinzetl added 99 on 14, and senior spinback Luke Estlund contributed 88 yards and three scores.

Estlund attempted only one pass for Webster City, which is now 50 games over .500 since 2015. The Lynx were Class 3A quarterfinalists a year ago.

Senior Jamarius Gibbs-Green had 71 yards rushing and 68 receiving for the Dodgers, who were without injured first team all-state linebacker Dreshaun Ross. The junior is out for the season after having successful shoulder surgery earlier this month.

Sophomore quarterback Tru McBride, making his varsity debut, completed nine passes for 130 yards, but was under duress most of the night against a swarming Webster City defense — led by Estlund, Weinzetl, Aiden Hrnicek, Kaleb Hansen and a host of others.

Fort Dodge returns to action on Friday at Mason City. The Riverhawks clipped Marshalltown on Friday, 26-25.

FD WC

First Downs 12 19

Rushes-Yards 27-46 49-347

Passing Yards 130 13

Comp-Att-Int 9-20-1 1-1-0

Total Yards 176 360

Punts-Avg. 2-42.0 1-21.0

Fumbles-Lost 6-2 1-0

Penalties-Yards 3-25 8-45

Fort Dodge 7 6 0 0 — 13

Webster City 7 6 21 7 — 41

Scoring Summary

Fort Dodge — Noah Daniel (93-yard kickoff return), 11:49 left first quarter. Albert Myrvold kick.

Webster City — Luke Estlund (5-yard run), 7:02 left first. Israel Torres kick.

Webster City — Jayden Weinzetl (13-yard run), 0:05 left second. Kick blocked.

Fort Dodge — Daniel (95-yard kickoff return), 0:00 left second. Kick blocked.

Webster City — Jaxon Griffith (96-yard kickoff return), 11:47 left third. Torres kick.

Webster City — Estlund (4-yard run), 6:46 left third. Torres kick.

Webster City — Estlund (29-yard run), 2:21 left third. Torres kick.

Webster City — Griffith (62-yard run), 11:44 left fourth. Torres kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Fort Dodge: Jamarius Gibbs-Green 14-71, Noah Daniel 2-7, Tru McBride 6-7, Will McElroy 1-1, Team 4-(-40). Webster City: Jaxon Griffith 10-133, Jayden Weinzetl 14-99, Luke Estlund 13-88, Cael Nixon 11-30.

PASSING — Fort Dodge: Tru McBride 9-20-1-130. Webster City: Luke Estlund 1-1-0-13.

RECEIVING — Fort Dodge: Jamarius Gibbs-Green 4-68, Tytrell Mosley 4-58, Dalton Eckley 1-4. Webster City: Gabriel Ruby 1-13.