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High School Football

Battle of Highway 169

HUMBOLDT — Over 100 times Algona and Humboldt have met, but never with this much magnitude. For the 108th time in the Battle of Highway 169, the Bulldogs (6-0, 2-0) will travel to Humboldt (5-1, 2-0) to try to be the lone unbeaten team remaining in Class 3A, District 2. “First of all the big thing is the 108 years of tradition,” said Humboldt head coach Derrick Elman. “This has been going on for 112 straight years, we had three flu epidemic years and one canceled because of snow. “Throw on top of that Algona’s ranked No. 1 and we’re No. 2. That is a great thing for the ...

Unbeatens clash in Algona

Defending champion Bishop Garrigan will get a taste of what the postseason is going to feel like. The top-ranked Golden Bears (6-0 overall, 4-0 8-Man, District 2) will host seventh-ranked GTRA (6-0, 4-0) who is gaining steam in the AP prep rankings. Bishop Garrigan has put together a remarkable two-year stretch, winning 18 straight games and claiming the school’s first ever eight-man state championship a year ago. This week has tons of playoff implications for Messenger-area teams. In Class 3A top-ranked Algona and fifth-ranked Humboldt have more than likely locked up playoff ...

Key road contest for Dodgers

LE MARS — The ninth-ranked Fort Dodge football squad has played their way into the Class 4A playoff hunt. For all intents and purposes, the Dodgers’ postseason run starts now. Head coach Nik Moser’s team heads to Le Mars for a rare Thursday night game against the Bulldogs. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Fort Dodge (5-1 overall, 2-0 in Class 4A-1) has reeled off five consecutive wins for the first time since 2015 and is currently in control of its own destiny. The tight rope the Dodgers are walking will see the degree of difficulty increase dramatically, though, if they aren’t ...

RUNNING WILD

As is often the case with Homecoming week, the complicated emotions and landslide of distractions bled into Fort Dodge’s football game with Storm Lake on Friday. When push came to shove, though, the Dodgers simplified their 55-26 victory over the Tornadoes at the point of attack with a ...

Gaels keep playoff hopes alive

COON RAPIDS — The St. Edmond football team kicked off a modified three-game season with a convincing 55-22 victory here Friday night over Coon Rapids-Bayard. Behind two defensive touchdowns just over a minute into the game, the Gaels moved one step closer to securing the first eight-player playoff appearance in school history. Koleman Hanson, who was 7-for-8 on extra-point attempts, scored on a fumble recovery to set the tone early on the Crusaders, who posted a 59-34 victory over St. Edmond last year. “That’s about as well of a start as you could have,” SEHS head coach Matt ...

Cougars off to best start in 10 seasons

MANSON — The Manson Northwest Webster football team is off to its best start in over 10 years. The Cougars (5-1 overall, 3-0 district) won their third straight game, knocking off Sioux Central (3-3, 0-3) by a final score of 24-14 on Friday night. It’s the most wins in a season for the Cougars since they went 8-3 in 2013. On Friday, quarterback Logan Moline accounted for two touchdowns. He had a one-yard TD run and threw a 16-yard scoring strike to Cooper Harman. Kamden Birkey had the other touchdown, scoring from four yards out. Birkey finished with 88 yards and Harman had ...