MASON CITY - The Fort Dodge football team slapped lipstick on a pig here Friday night, finding a way to bring home the bacon against arch-rival Mason City for the sixth consecutive time.

There was nothing remotely attractive about the way the Dodgers played on a teeth-chattering evening at Mohawk Field, but the bottom line was enough to warm the hearts of head coach Matt Miller and his players following a hard-fought 21-14 victory.

"In the end, it's about what you'd expect from a Fort Dodge-Mason City ballgame," Miller exhaled afterward. "Was it the way I figured we'd look? Not exactly. Did anything go according to plan? Not much. But a low-scoring, seven-point spread that came down to the last few plays? That's pretty typical of this (series).

"I said it after (prevailing by three points at Newton last month) and I'll say it again now: a win's a win - especially on the road in the CIML. It's all that matters. We're bringing the (Decker Sporting Goods) trophy home with us (the Dodgers have done so all five years since its inception) and win No. 6 along with it."

The Dodgers (6-1 overall, 2-1 in the CIML Iowa Conference) matched the most regular-season victories for the program since 1984 in a tug-of-war filled with miscues and questionable decisions on a surface resembling the rough at a U.S. Open golf tournament. There were 10 turnovers - six by the Mohawks (4-3, 1-3), four by FDSH - with the outcome decided more by self-inflicted wounds than successful execution.

In any event, the Dodgers came from behind for the fourth time in as many victories and improved to 3-0 on the road this year. It was Fort Dodge's ninth win in 12 games dating back to last October.

Junior Jontel Clayton scratched and clawed his way to 144 more yards on 32 carries, scoring the final two touchdowns to push the Dodgers ahead. Fort Dodge's defense did the rest, stopping Mason City twice on downs in the final two minutes of regulation.

The series of events at the end of the contest were, in a way, a microcosm of the entire night. A high snap led to a lost FDSH fumble on a punt attempt with a little over a minute to go, giving the Mohawks one last unexpected gasp from the Dodger 13-yard line.

Mason City had the ball on 3rd-and-1 from the FDSH 4, but instead of trying to pick up the first down and get into a goal-line situation, head coach John Lee called two unsuccessful fade routes into the back of the end zone that sealed the deal.

Senior safety Colin Hendricks had denied a Mohawk receiver over the middle on 4th-and-short to end the previous drive.

"I know John was worried about the clock after using all of his timeouts on our last possession," Miller said. "That's a tough call to make, because you don't want to run out of time before you get another crack at (scoring).

"I would have tried to get a first down first, especially given how successful they were with their fullback against us. There are a lot of plays I'm sure both of us would either call differently or like to have back, but if it works, you aren't questioning it."

The first half was a scoreless stalemate until Fort Dodge pieced together a methodical 17-play, 65-yard drive to go ahead 7-0 on a quarterback sneak by Jay Johnson with 27 seconds left before the intermission. Junior Willie Williams intercepted a Mohawk pass on the next snap and returned it to the MCHS 39, but Johnson himself was picked off by Jacob Peter moments later and Peter scampered 70 yards to paydirt at the horn to knot things up and steal all the Dodgers' momentum.

Fort Dodge's first possession of the third period didn't go as planned either, as Johnson was stuffed on a 4th-and-1 sneak from his own 44. The Mohawks then went 44 yards in seven snaps for a 14-7 advantage.

"To our kids' credit, they didn't panic at the end of the half or at the start of the third," Miller said. "Both times we were at a crossroads, where we could have let it carry over and really cost us. Yet both times, they shook it off and kept fighting.

"That's what's been great about this group - when adversity comes, they've answered the bell."

Clayton ripped off runs of 37 and 13 yards in response to his team being behind for the first time, and later powered his way in for a TD to tie it at 14-14. Junior Ethan Bartlett then recovered a fumble, setting up a six-play, 42-yard TD march that featured doses of both Clayton and shifty classmate Darreus Caston.

Clayton went over 2,000 yards for his career in his 13th varsity start. He now has 1,188 yards this year - the third-highest single season total in school history with two weeks still left on the docket.

"In my 10 seasons here, I'm not sure I've seen a better duo than (Clayton and Caston)," Lee said. "I knew they would get their yards, but we made them tough yards."

Caston scooped up a fumble on a strip by junior Mark Wilson, and senior Jordan Trueblood also pounced on a loose ball for FDSH. Williams, senior Cole Clarken and junior Will Kenny picked off throws by Mason City quarterback Lee Gealow, who was just 2-for-15 passing.

Despite equaling their fumble total from the first five games combined on Friday - thanks in large part to a matted-down, slick grass field that hasn't been mowed since August - the Dodgers still finished at plus-two in the turnover column and are now at plus-14 for the season.

Fort Dodge held Mason City to 14 points or less for the sixth straight time - a key reason the Dodgers have won all six to take a 46-41-8 lead in an all-time series dating back to 1912.

"The kids made the plays when they needed to - especially on defense," Miller said. "We knew Mason City had its back against the wall and was going to give everything it had, and (the Mohawks) did.

"We're pretty banged up. Darreus, Jontel, Ethan, Will - we had a lot of guys either come out for a while or go down. We're limping back to Fort Dodge, but we did what we came up here to do."

The Dodgers welcome West Des Moines Valley (4-3, 2-2) for their home finale next Friday. The Tigers were beaten by Waukee last night, 42-21.

Contact Eric Pratt at (515) 573-2141 or by e-mail at sports@messengernews.net