-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Jace Peterson of Fort Dodge makes a catch for a touchdown against Roosevelt Nick Bundy on Friday inside Dodgers Stadium

Fort Dodge head coach Matt Miller had been patiently waiting for his team to put together a complete performance on the football field.

With their starters clicking on all cylinders, the Dodgers were nearly perfect in all facets of the game during a 51-13 dissection of Des Moines Roosevelt here on Friday.

Senior quarterback Drake Miller threw for 267 yards and five touchdowns in the first two quarters alone, as Fort Dodge (5-1 overall, 2-0 in Class 4A, District 2) exploded to a 51-0 halftime advantage with a barrage of scoring strikes. The Dodgers accumulated 397 yards from scrimmage and 20 first downs before intermission, passing the theoretical trap-game test with flying colors while officially securing their fifth winning season in the last 10 years by routing the Roughriders (2-4, 1-1).

“We hadn’t quite been on the same page yet offensively and defensively, even though we’d been very good during stretches (earlier in the year),” Miller said. “But during that first half, we had everything in rhythm and started to really play up to our potential. It was great to see us not show any emotional letdown (from the historic 18-point fourth quarter rally at Southeast Polk the week before) or get caught looking ahead to Centennial.”

Drake Miller found both senior Jace Peterson and junior Russell Potratz twice for TDs. Talented sophomore tailback Dayson Clayton did the rest, rushing for 123 yards and finding the end zone twice while catching four passes for 59 yards and another score.

Peterson’s touchdowns — covering 44 and nine yards — were the first two of his career.

“It feels good, but I really don’t care if I score or not. Whatever it takes to help the team win,” said Peterson, a two-year regular who tallied four receptions for 68 yards last night. “Whether it’s blocking (on the outside) or whatever.

“It was important to come out and play well after last week and prove we could handle the success (after stunning the Rams). It was just fun to do this with my brother (Drake) and teammates — especially for Homecoming. He’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember. “

Miller spread the wealth to six different receivers in moving into the state’s all-time Top-25 for completions, yards and touchdowns in a career. The 200-pound left-hander only played one series in the second half, handing the ball off three times before he and the rest of the starters called it a day.

In the first quarter alone, FDSH put up 30 points, 224 yards and 11 first downs. Roosevelt, meanwhile, had more than twice as many penalty yards — 70 on nine infractions — than yards from scrimmage (32) in the opening period.

The Dodgers hit paydirt on their first six offensive possessions.

“We’d been a little slow out of the gates in some of these games, so it was a huge step to see us put up those four (first-quarter TDs),” Coach Miller said. “And our defense was lights-out. I’m really proud of our guys taking care of business and not letting any of the extra stuff that could be a distraction during Homecoming week compromise what they did once they took the field.”

Senior Jayzon Potratz and junior Asle Thorson intercepted passes, while senior nose guard Carson Spiker recovered a fumble. The Roughriders managed a paltry 70 yards against the Dodgers’ first-string defense, which made eight tackles for loss in the opening half alone in addition to creating the three turnovers.

“Our defense was flying to the ball,” Drake Miller said. “When they’re fired up, it gets us all going. And we can be tough to stop when Dayson runs like that, our line is as aggressive as they were (Friday), and the (opponent) can’t key on one specific receiver.”

The attention now shifts to the mighty Jaguars, who are a perfect 6-0 after pulling away from Southeast Polk last night, 31-10. Third-ranked Centennial has the No. 1 scoring defense in all of 4A, and a Top-10 offense as well.

“This is what you play for — especially at home,” Coach Miller said, referring to Fort Dodge’s final regular-season contest at Dodger Stadium this Friday against the Jags. “Let’s have some fun with it. The kids have put themselves in this position and earned a big game against what has been probably the most impressive team in the state so far.

“We’ve kept a level head and everything in perspective, through both the highs and lows to this point. I expect that to continue with this group no matter what.”

Drake Miller added, “we proved something to ourselves (at Southeast Polk), and this is an even bigger test now.”

“(The current players have) never had an opportunity like this, so we’re going to try and make the most of it — especially in front of our home crowd. We’re looking forward to it, but we’ll still take it one game at a time no matter what.”

Miller has thrown for at least five touchdowns four different times in his 24-game career, and has four or more scoring strikes on nine different occasions. He passed the 6,000-yard mark in the victory, and upped his career passing TD total to 63.

The Dodgers are at least 5-1 for the fifth time since 2009, matching the starts of the ’09, ’10 and ’14 squads. Fort Dodge was 6-0 after six weeks in 2015.

The program, which is now 50-43 in the last 10 years, had only six previous winning seasons from 1985 through 2008.

FDSH has now recorded six consecutive Homecoming triumphs, and has a 14-5 record on the school’s special date since 2000.

FD DMR

First downs 21 12

Rushes-yards 28-172 35-107

Passing 17-28-1 6-18-2

Passing yards 267 82

Total offense 439 189

Punts-Avg. 2-42.0 4-35.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-1

Penalties-Yards 14-155 15-110

Fort Dodge 30 21 0 0–51

Roosevelt 0 0 0 13–13

First Quarter

Fort Dodge — Dayson Clayton (6-yard run), 8:47 left first quarter. Ben Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge — Clayton (2-yard run), 4:46 left first. Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge — Russell Potratz (30-yard pass from Drake Miller), 2:06 left first. Brycen Bell reception.

Fort Dodge — Jace Peterson (44-yard pass from Miller), 0:00 left first. Bell reception.

Fort Dodge — Peterson (9-yard pass from Miller), 9:22 left second. Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge — Potratz (13-yard pass from Miller), 6:17 left second. Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge — Clayton (25-yard pass from Miller), 0:15 left second. Nebel kick.

DM Roosevelt — Jalen Crowell (2-yard pass from Ethan Lovan, 11:18 left fourth. Pass failed.

DM Roosevelt — Desmond Alexander (19-yard run), 8:14 left fourth. Arvin Garcia kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Fort Dodge: Dayson Clayton 14-123, Asle Thorson 4-23, Nick Corey 5-17, Brycen Bell 1-5, Drake Miller 2-2, Hunter Alexander 2-2. Roosevelt: Desmond Alexander 24-103, George Runkel 2-16, Trey Guerrero 3-13, Jalen Crowell 1-2, Jayden Singleton 1-(minus-1), Antonio Alzheimer 1-(minus-4), Garrett Hutchison 1-(minus-4), Team 2-(minus-18).

PASSING — Fort Dodge: Drake Miller 17-26-0-267, Asle Thorson 0-2-1-0. Roosevelt: Ethan Lovan 4-11-0-64, Jayden Singleton 2-3-0-18, Garrett Hutcheson 0-4-2-0.

RECEIVING — Fort Dodge: Tysen Kershaw 4-70, Jace Peterson 4-68, Dayson Clayton 4-59, Russell Potratz 3-47, Tyler Schreier 1-18, Nick Bice 1-5. Roosevelt: Jalen Crowell 2-33, Trey Guerrero 2-29, DeAveon Oliver 1-12, Desmond Alexander 1-8.