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High School Football

Dodgers head to No. 1 North Polk

ALLEMAN — The Fort Dodge football team had to scratch and claw its way into the 2024 Class 4A playoff field. Now that the Dodgers are in, they refuse to rest on their laurels. The ultimate challenge awaits on Friday, as head coach Nik Moser’s squad visits North Polk to take on the top-ranked and top-seeded Comets. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Fort Dodge (7-2 overall) is the 16th and final seed in the bracket. The co-District 1 champions clinched a bid with a dramatic 24-20 victory at No. 8 Spencer last week. The Dodgers will be a heavy underdog on paper against North Polk (9-0), ...

Familiar foe for Humboldt

Top-ranked Humboldt will meet a familiar foe in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs, while Algona will face a perennial power. The Wildcats (8-1 overall) fought through one of the toughest districts (3A-2), going 5-0. They will meet their district’s third-place team again, Clear Lake (6-3). The Bulldogs (8-1), who were that district's runner-ups, will host Harlan (6-3). In other area contests, defending eight-man champion Bishop Garrigan (9-0) will entertain Riceville (8-1). Emmetsburg (8-1), the district runner up to Manson Northwest Webster (8-1) in Class 1A, District 2, ...

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Good teams come and go in sports. Successful programs withstand the test of time. Teams rely on the specific talent of individuals or classes to succeed. Programs develop a system that stabilizes and sustains. Teams aren’t always necessarily about chemistry, unity or other intangibles. ...

Cougars back home

MANSON — The ninth-ranked Manson Northwest Webster football team has put together a season to remember so far, but they don’t want it to end. Gone are the mental hurdles and moral victories. The Cougars are here to win. For the past two weeks MNW (8-1 overall) has been the underdog, but for the past two weeks the Cougars - who are looking for their first trip to the quarterfinals - have proven the critics wrong. MNW will host its second straight postseason opponent when it entertains Sumner-Fredericksburg in a Class 1A second round contest. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in ...

ROAD WARRIORS

There’s just something about a road win in sports. Maybe it’s the “us against the world” mentality. Maybe it’s the real-time memories alongside loyal friends and family who made the trip and braved the elements. Maybe it’s the fact that no one goes their separate ways after the ...

Dodgers are district champs

SPENCER – The tears of sheer joy welling up in Gavin Pederson’s eyes started to flow the minute he saw his parents. This one was personal for the Fort Dodge football program. And it made the outcome all the more emotional. The precocious Dodgers officially punched their Class 4A playoff ticket the hard way, putting their sprouting maturity and mental toughness on full display in a 24-20 victory over eighth-ranked Spencer to clinch a share of the District 1 championship. A fourth-down stop with a little over a minute remaining in regulation at the FDSH 36-yard line sealed the win ...