Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Keaton Dornath of Fort Dodge wrestles against Johnston's Emin Okic inside the Dodger gym.

The Fort Dodge wrestling team will step right into the fire to start the New Year here on Thursday.

The third-ranked Dodgers face No. 6 Dowling to open the 2017 portion of their schedule.

Fort Dodge (5-0 overall) had a perfect dual mark in December, which included a 37-34 victory over No. 9 Johnston.

“We had a productive break,” said FDSH head coach Bobby Thompson. “The kids are eager to get back on the mat.”

Junior varsity action starts at 6:30 p.m., with varsity to follow in the Dodger gym at 7:30 p.m.

Fort Dodge’s seniors, along with 2016 graduate Sam Cook, will be honored between the junior varsity matches and the varsity dual.

The Dodgers enter Thursday’s matchup with six ranked wrestlers, while Dowling sports five.

“They’ll be a tough opponent,” Thompson said. “They have a lot more depth than we do, so it will be a great test right out of the gates.”

Fort Dodge’s six ranked wrestlers have combined record of 110-7 so far this season.

No. 3 junior Cayd Lara (18-1) enters the meet with 99 career victories. He’ll try to become the third Dodger on this roster to reach the century mark.

Top-ranked junior Drew Bennett (18-0) is scheduled to face Dowling’s fourth-rated Sergio Orozco at 113 pounds.

Defending two-time state champion Brody Teske (18-0) and defending state champion and No. 1 Triston Lara (19-0) also look to stay unbeaten.

Ninth-rated Damond Lockner (19-4 at 126) and No. 6 Jeremy Ayala (18-2 at 106) will also be in action.

Ranked wrestlers for the Maroons are No. 1 Jake Watters (132), No. 10 Greg Hagen (182), No. 2 Kaden Sauer (195), and No. 5 Jacob Zachary (220).

“There will be some good matches,” Thompson said. “113 should be the highlight match between Drew and Orozco.”

This weekend, the Dodgers will compete in the Iowa City West dual tournament, beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Fort Dodge expects to welcome sophomore Triston Licht back to the lineup for the first time this season in Iowa City.

“It will be huge (to have complete lineup),” Thompson said. “Especially once we get Triston firing on all cylinders.

“It will be nice to have everyone in there at close to 100 percent.”

There will be eight squads competing at West. The Dodgers will start in a pool with Pleasant Valley, host Iowa City West and Lewis Central.

Iowa City West’s top-ranked Nelson Brands and Cayd Lara are also expected to square off again. Brands handed Lara his only loss of the season in the finals at the Council Bluffs Classic.

Lewis Central’s Gabe Kjeldgaard is rated sixth at 138, and Mac Southard is fourth at 160. Pleasant Valley’s Eli Loyd is ranked sixth at 120 pounds.

PROBABLE LINEUP

106 Jeremy Ayala, fr., 18-2

113 Drew Bennett, jr., 18-0

120 Brody Teske, jr., 18-0

126 Damond Lockner, jr., 19-4

132 Drevon Ross, jr., 11-10

138 Triston Lara, sr., 19-0

145 Levi Trenary, sr., 10-8

152 Cayd Lara, jr., 18-1

160 Dorian Franklin, jr., 6-5

170 Kaden Smith, so., 12-9

182 Keaton Dornath, sr., 16-5

195 Triston Licht, so. (Sat.) , 0-0

220 Lazaro Lerma, fr., 0-0

285 Logan Finowski, so., 6-12