MASON CITY — Fort Dodge used a flashy passing attack to get back on track in its home opener last week.

On Friday night, the Dodgers were all ground and grind.

Freshman tailback Dayson Clayton rushed for 200 yards and four touchdowns, and head coach Matt Miller’s squad churned out 353 total yards on the grass in methodically pounding arch rival Mason City, 47-6, for the program’s 14th consecutive win in the series.

Fort Dodge (2-1 overall) found beauty in offensive simplicity, mostly riding the legs of Clayton — the precocious brother of former Dodger rushing champion Jontel Clayton. Despite being a 15-year-old ninth-grader who just finished his first week of classes at FDSH, the 198-pound Clayton was perfectly comfortable playing big boy football behind the work of his veteran offensive line and backfield mate Savion Poe.

“Dayson did a really nice job of finding the hole and exploding through it,” Miller said. “We didn’t really hesitate when we decided (in preseason camp) to keep him up at the varsity level (as FDSH’s first-ever freshman running back). He’s advanced and strong physically for his age, and he’s mature enough to handle the responsibility.

“Our offensive line did a lot of growing up in this game. They imposed their will a little. (Three-year senior starter) Aaron Porter in particular was terrific, but they all played well. And Savion was excellent as the (lead blocker) at fullback. I wanted to see us establish the run (yesterday), and that’s exactly what they did.”

The Dodgers finished with 486 yards of offense and seven rushing touchdowns, a week after accumulating 515 total yards and seven scores through the air. Quarterback Drake Miller hit paydirt twice on short keepers, while Poe (66 yards) and Kaleb Jondle (55) flanked Clayton’s rushing efforts.

Clayton found the end zone from 7, 6 and 15 yards in the first half, as Fort Dodge built a comfortable 34-6 edge by intermission. He then darted 54 yards up the middle late in the third quarter to evoke the continuous clock rule.

Mason City (0-3) did move the ball, finishing with 196 rushing yards of its own and 312 total yards. The Dodger defense refused to break, though, stopping the Mohawks on four different drives inside the FDSH 31-yard line after allowing an early touchdown.

“We’re getting there,” Miller said. “We’ve come a long way from the first week, but we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do from a consistency standpoint.”

Dodger players again swarmed the Decker Sporting Goods Trophy after the victory, which goes to the winner of Iowa’s second-longest prep football rivalry. Friday marked the 103rd overall meeting between the programs on the gridiron, with Fort Dodge now holding a 54-41-8 all-time edge.

The Dodgers are 24-6 against the Mohawks since 1988, and during this 14-game streak, they’ve out-scored Mason City 422-148 — allowing more than 17 points only once.

The 41-point victory on Friday was the second biggest in the series since 1919. Fort Dodge beat the Mohawks 56-6 in 2015.

Senior linebacker Mitch Glass recorded a sack and had a fumble recovery, while senior Luke Jacobson intercepted a pass. Jondle, Austin Lee and Mason Bodholdt had sacks as well.

“Mitch, Kaleb and Luke made some big plays,” said Miller, who has never had a team lose to Mason City during his 14-year tenure. “It was great to see us have that sense of urgency and purpose. It’s a testament to our kids that they don’t take anything for granted, year after year, regardless of the records or score in this series.

“Make no mistake about it: this is always going to be a big win for us.”

Fort Dodge’s victory came with a price, as senior offensive lineman Chase Tepfer broke his fibula and is out for the year. Senior linebacker and punter Aidan Simonson also injured his left ankle and did not return, and junior all-district lineman Triston Licht is now sidelined indefinitely with a torn meniscus.

“We’re hurting,” Miller said. “We don’t have much margin for error on the injury front, and these were all big losses. We’ll have to figure something out and move forward.”

The Dodgers face Ames (2-1) at home on Friday. The Little Cyclones trounced Iowa City High last night, 56-33.

FD MC

First Downs 19 16

Rushes-Yards 38-353 37-196

Passing 13-25-0 11-25-1

Passing Yards 136 116

Total Offense 469 312

Punts-Avg. 1-14.0 5-28.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1

Penalties-Yards 5-40 3-15

Fort Dodge 20 14 7 6 — 47

Mason City 6 0 0 0 — 6

Scoring Summary

Fort Dodge — Dayson Clayton (7-yard run), 4:56 left first quarter. Ben Nebel kick.

Mason City –Danny Kamm (5-yard run), 3:10 left first. Kick blocked.

Fort Dodge –Clayton (6-yard run), 1:17 left first. Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge –Drake Miller (1-yard run), 0:44 left first. Pass failed.

Fort Dodge –Miller (2-yard run), 8:39 left second. Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge –Clayton (15-yard run), 1:41 left second. Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge –Clayton (54-yard run), 0;48 left third. Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge –Dartayvious Diekman (3-yard pass from Asle Thorson), 5:16 left fourth. Pass failed.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Fort Dodge: Dayson Clayton 20-200, Savion Poe 7-66, Kaleb Jondle 2-55, Drake Miller 6-28, Dartayvious Diekman 2-2, Nick Corey 1-2. Mason City: Danny Kamm 13-57, Cale Johnson 7-48, Jake Kaune 5-42, Joseph Quintero 3-30, Marcos Cervantes 5-12, Noah Demaris 3-7, Azik Barragan 1-0.

PASSING — Fort Dodge: Drake Miller 12-24-0-133, Asle Thorson 1-1-0-3. Mason City: Danny Kamm 10-20-0-116, Jake Kaune 1-5-0-0.

RECEIVING — Fort Dodge: Tyrnan Lara 3-53, Trey Mosley 5-39, Tysen Kershaw 3-23, Jace Peterson 1-18, Dartayvious Diekman 1-3.