The Cedar Falls Tigers and Iowa City High Little Hawks are the two premier football teams in the Mississippi Valley Conference this season.

Heck, they're two of the established powers in the entire state.

Cedar Falls is ranked No.1 in Class 4A. Iowa City High is ranked No.2, making them two of the favorites for the state title.

Then there's Linn-Mar. The Lions are undefeated, just like Cedar Falls and City High. The Lions are ranked in the top 10, although not quite as high as Cedar Falls and City High. And the Lions have a powerful team, just like Cedar Falls and City High.

But unlinke the Tigers and Little Hawks, the sixth-ranked Lions (4-0) are flying under the radar a little bit.

"I'm fine with that," Linn-Mar Coach Bob Forsyth said with a smile after practice Wednesday. "I prefer that."

He's willing to let folks talk about Cedar Falls and City High, speculating on their relative strengths and chances of winning a state crown. Linn-Mar plans to keep going about its business, quietly working hard and preparing for Friday night's game at winless Cedar Rapids Prairie.

"Yeah, it's nice to fly under the radar," mighty mite senior Travis Kvach agreed.

As the Lions learned last year, it's not how you start the race but how you finish. They learned the hard way.

Linn-Mar raced to a 7-0 start in 2010, then lost three of its last four games to finish 8-3. Two of those losses were to Iowa City High, once in the regular season and once in the second round of the playoffs.

The Lions began fast, but finished slow.

"We had to learn to finish," said Kvach, a 5-foot-6, 140-pound defensive back and receiver. "That was our motto all summer long, and the back of our T-shirts said 'Finish.'"

The Lions host Iowa City High on Oct. 14 at the new Linn-Mar Stadium. Both clubs could be 7-0 going into that game, but Forsyth will not allow any peeking ahead.

"The biggest thing is, the kids have to understand that we're in for a tough test this weekend and the next weekend and on down the road," he said. "It just gets tougher all the time now."

Linn-Mar has established itself as a well-balanced ballclub that can run and throw. The Lions are averaging 443 yards per game, split nicely between rushing (266 per game) and passing (177 per game) while averaging 42.8 points.

One of the Lions who helps the running game and passing attack is tight end Jacob Hutchins, who's a good receiver (8 catches for 98 yards) and a good blocker.

"A tight end has to be both," Hutchins noted. "He has to be a blocker and a good pass-catcher."

When Linn-Mar broke the school record for most rushing yards against Dubuque Wahlert two weeks ago, quarterback Mark Atwater quickly included Hutchins as an honorary member of the offensive line that helped paved the way.

"I just want to do everything to help the team," Hutchins said modestly.

Kvach is a double-threat as well. He's caught five passes for 73 yards to help the offense and has made nine tackles to help the defense.

Hutchins and Kvach, both seniors, mirror the team in some ways. They fly a little under the radar as well.

"I'm proud of all the kids and I'm proud of the steps we've taken as a program, but I prefer just doing our thing," Forsyth remarked. "No matter what gets written or what gets said, you have 48 minutes between the lines to prove yourself. And we're trying to do that every week."

The Lions are looking for a happy ending this season.

"We've just got to finish," Hutchins said. "We've got to take every team week by week."

The unhappy ending last year is etched on their minds. "It's motivation," Hutchins said. "It's something you can learn from."

The Lions have lofty goals.

"I think we can go all the way to the championship," Kvach said. "Obviously there are two great teams with City High and Cedar Falls, but we'll come across them when we get to them. We have great talent on our team."

Linn-Mar does not play Cedar Falls during the regular season, but they could meet in the playoffs. Only one team from the Mississippi Valley Conference can make the Class 4A finals due to the brackets, so Cedar Falls, Iowa City High and Linn-Mar could be chasing the same dream when the time comes.