Generously listed at 6-foot and 180 pounds, he’s not real big.

And as the gatekeeper in the Washington Warriors' defensive backfield, Ryan Cain is not a speed burner, either.

“I’m fast enough,” he says.

So what is it that makes the relatively unheralded senior such a key player, in the mind of his head coach, for beating Cedar Falls Friday night at Kingston Stadium?

“He plays with heart,” says Tony Lombardi, who has coached at all levels from peewee football to the pros.

“Ryan’s a game changer. When we need a big play, he makes one. He’s done that for us all year and a lot of times in crucial situations.”

In Monday’s 28-26 upset of Linn-Mar, for instance, Cain intercepted one pass and tipped another that led to a second interception.

More than that, according to Lombardi, he kept the Lions’ outstanding wide receiver Andy Henry from exploding one of his trademark big-yardage catches.

“He pretty much shut down the best receiver in the league. He couldn’t have played him any better," Lombardi said.  “And when you can shut down a team’s passing game, more of our guys can concentrate  on stopping the run. It makes all the difference in how we do things on defense.

“That was what was different from the first time we played Linn-Mar.”

Just a month ago, the Lions had embarrassed Washington, 56-7.

In that game, Henry caught two of his three scoring bombs after beating Cain one-on-one downfield.

“Only time I was beat all year,” the multi-purpose two-year starter points out.

“Ryan’s a competitor,” Lombardi notes. “I knew he wouldn’t let that happen again. I knew he’d come back. That’s a reflection of his character.”

For his part Cain, a soft-spoken and confident-without-being-cocky young man, says “I love a good challenge.

“When our line can put good pressure on ‘em, I just try to focus on my man.”

He’ll face another stiff challenge Friday night in Cedar Falls speedster James Harrington, en elite state-champion sprinter bound for a track scholarship at Alabama.  Stop him, and the Warriors have a chance for another upset.

Except for the first Linn-Mar match-up, Cain has been up to the task all year after missing the first four games with a broken collarbone.

He was injured on the second day of preseason practice in August while diving for a pass.

It was first feared that he would be lost for the year.

But under the care of Dr. Ned Amendola, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and team physician for the Iowa Hawkeyes, he was back on the practice field in a month.

Amendola had treated current Hawk player Keenan Davis for an ankle injury when he played at Washington and this year also successfully repaired Warrior teammates Will Griffin and Paul Nash.

“He told me (Iowa running back) Marcus Coker had a similar break as mine,” Cain explains. “He set mine and put me on a rehab program at the sports clinic down there.

“It came out fine.  I guess he’s Iowa’s team doctor for a reason. He’s the best at what he does.”

While Cain was out of the line-up along with Griffin, Washington opened its season with a lackluster 2-2 mark.

Since he’s returned, the Warriors have won six of their last seven games, the latest  two as underdogs in the playoffs.

Lombardi says Cain’s had a major impact in every one of the victories.

In his first full game back against Dubuque Senior he caught a 15-yard screen pass as a receiver and broke up several passes on defense.  His break-out performance, however, came the next week when Washington stunned No. 2 ranked Iowa City High, 27-24.

Used in critical spots as a receiver, Cain caught an eight-yard pass on fourth down with less than two minutes to go to keep a drive alive and then caught a game-winning six-yarder with 10 seconds left.

“And he had a guy draped all over him who could have got 15 years to life on a felony for assault,” says the ever-colorful Lombardi. “But that catch and that game were huge turns of events for our program. We gained confidence that we could play with anybody.

“That was a big, big win that changed our season.”

Two weeks later in a shocking 66-27 shellacking of Iowa City West, Cain intercepted two passes and ran one of them back for a touchdown.

Then, in the first round of the playoffs at Davenport Assumption, he was all over the field, returning a kickoff for 41 yards and another for a 90-yard touchdown that was nullified by a penalty.  He later scored on a short pass and intercepted one at a key juncture that helped spur a comeback 38-35 upset.

“He’s been a difference-maker, no question,“ Lombardi says. “Would we be where we are today without him? I don’t think so.”