The strategy for the Jefferson football team for Thursday night's showdown with Linn-Mar didn't take long to figure out.

And J-Hawks coach Brian Webb wasn't trying to fool anyone.

"We knew all week our speed was quicker than them, so that is what we did. Pretty simple game plan," he said.

A simple plan that had remarkable results.

Jefferson unofficially rushed for 458 yards on 48 carries, gashing the Lions at every opportunity en route to a 43-16 triumph at Kingston Stadium.

The victory pushes the J-Hawks to 6-3 overall, 3-2 in Class 4A District 6. Linn-Mar falls to 4-5, 3-2. Cedar Falls also finished 3-2 in district play with a 70-13 win over Waterloo East on Thursday at the UNI-Dome.

All three teams tied for second. Unofficial projections have the J-Hawks getting the No. 2 seed and a potential first-round home playoff game next Wednesday at a site to be determined, perhaps at Kingston Stadium or perhaps somewhere else.

It is also projected that Linn-Mar and Cedar Falls would be tied under the point system for third with the Lions getting the No. 3 seed based on a win over the Tigers earlier this season.

Official playoff seedings and pairings will be announced early Saturday morning after the completion of Week 9 games.

Linn-Mar could have grabbed second-place outright and a home game in the playoffs with a win Thursday. The J-Hawks were having none of that.

"Our mentality all week in practice was to come out strong and never look back," Webb said. "Our kids came out blazing. All week we practiced with our foot on the gas and it carried right into the game."

Jefferson took the opening kickoff and needed just six plays to drive 73 yards. Valentino Green capped off the march with a 16-yard run.

"That's just the way we wanted to do it," Green said of Jefferson's start. "We knew we were the faster, more athletic team and we wanted to use that to our advantage."

The J-Hawks fumbled away a golden opportunity on their next drive. Tavian Rashed coughed up the ball at the Lion 7 where Logan Hagmeier recovered for Linn-Mar.

But the Lions failed to move the ball and the J-Hawk special teams blocked a Kirby Kerr punt. After a scramble for the ball, Green fell on it for a touchdown, upping the lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

Linn-Mar answered with a 37-yard Alexy Boehm field goal, but the J-Hawks needed just three plays after the kickoff to score again. Manny Olutunde raced in almost untouched from midfield and it was 20-3. Green scored again before the half and it was 27-3 at the break.

The Lions did manage a couple scores in the second half, but the defense never did force a punt until the final minute of the game.

Rashed, running mostly on jet sweep plays, rushed for 145 yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Jared Eivins also went for 141 yards on just 10 carries. As a team, the J-Hawks averaged just a shade under 10 yards a carry.

Green, although pleased with a 6-3 regular season, said the J-Hawks are far from finished.

"Hopefully we can get a home game," he said. "This is a win we will enjoy tonight, but there is still work to do.

"The program has come a long way since we were freshmen," the senior continued. "We want to keep showing people that we can win football games."

Jefferson finished 1-8 in Webb's first year as head coach in 2012 and went 1-8 again in 2013. The J-Hawks improved to 4-6 last season and made the playoffs and now they've clinched a winning season. Webb inherited a team with a long losing streak and has turned the program around in a relatively short period of time.

Webb knows rest will be key with the playoffs looming.

"We've got to get healed up," he said. "It worked out well this year that we finished on a Thursday to give us one more day of rest for our kids."

Kennedy and Washington have earned home playoff games next Wednesday at Kingston Stadium. The IHSAA will decide if Jefferson also will play at Kingston for a triple-header or if the J-Hawks will need to find a temporary home somewhere else that night, assuming they finish with a No. 2 seed. Teams that are seeded No. 3 or No. 4 will open the playoffs on the road.

Jefferson athletic director Chris Deam indicated Thursday that the IHSAA is not excited about having three games at Kingston, because one of the games would have to start in the afternoon.

JEFFERSON 43, LINN-MAR 16

.                         LM         CRJ

First downs            14           21
Rushes-yards    38-153     48-458
Passing yards          90           76
Comp-Att-Int     8-19-1       6-8-0
Fumbles-lost          1-0          2-1
Punts-avg.        6-22.6     1-52.0
Penalties-yards     4-30        3-25

Linn-Mar     3  0 7 6 - 16
Jefferson   20 7 9 7 - 43

Scoring plays

J - Valentino Green 16 run (Zeb Render kick)
J - Green recovered blocked punt in end zone (Render kick)
LM - FG Boehm 37
J - Manny Olutunde 50 run (kick blocked)
J - Green 4 run (Render kick)
LM - Daniel Gorsich 14 pass from Reese Phillips (Boehm kick)
J - FG Render 32
J - Jared Eivins 5 run (kick failed)
J - Dylan Hart 16 run (Render kick)
LM - Brennan McGaffe 5 run (kick blocked)

Individual statistics

Rushing

Linn-Mar - Brennan McGaffe 11-59, Zach Luehring 8-62, Neme Siaway 4-10, Reese Phillips 11-11, Josh Gassmann 2-10, Daniel Gorsich 1-(minus 3),Nolan Hollinger 1-4.
Jefferson - Jared Eivins 10-141, Manny Olutunde 5-69, Tavian Rashed 14-145, Valentino Green 3-23, Mason Short 2-22, Dylan Hart 12-57, RhettThompson 1-(minus 1), Myles Glassberg 1-2.

Passing

Linn-Mar - Reese Phillips 7-18-1-51, Aaron Pistulka 1-1-0-39.
Jefferson - Jared Eivins 6-8-0-76.

Receiving

Linn-Mar - Daniel Gorsich 3-29, Josh Gassmann 1-39, Kirby Kerr 1-7, Brennan McGaffe 1-(minus 4), Neme Siaway 1-3, Mark Troutman 1-17.
Jefferson - Valentino Green 3-33, Brock Hunt 1-17, Zachariah Szabo 1-10, Mason Short 1-16.