-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 is playing its final home football game of the regular season this week, but as far as head coach Matt Miller’s squad is concerned, Friday is the Dodgers against the world.

Highly-regarded Ankeny Centennial brings its flawless record and No. 3 ranking to town in a showdown that will all but decide Class 4A, District 2 supremacy. Kickoff, weather permitting, is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Both the Jaguars (6-0 overall) and FDSH (5-1) are off to 2-0 starts in the district, and each team already owns a victory over Southeast Polk. Nothing will be guaranteed after this showdown, but it’s certainly a matchup that will give the winner the inside track to a championship and automatic playoff berth.

“We’re just looking forward to the challenge,” Miller said. “Why not have fun with it? As I said after (a 51-13 destruction of Des Moines Roosevelt last week), the kids have earned this opportunity.

“We’re the underdog on paper. Centennial is incredibly talented; their track record so far this year proves just how dangerous they are. It’s up to us to play up to our potential and see what happens.”

The Jags have won all but one of their games by at least 20 points this season, with the lone exception being a 14-7 victory over five-time defending state champion West Des Moines Dowling. Centennial boasts the top-ranked defense in 4A, flanked by one of the state’s best rushing offenses.

Junior Avery Gates has 668 yards and 10 touchdowns at over 12 yards per carry, with senior Gabe Godwin (423) and senior Tyler Cahill (292) also breaking off large chunks of yardage on the ground. The Jaguars have only attempted 40 total passes in grinding their other six opponents down and out. They’ve accumulated 23 rushing touchdowns, and are averaging seven yards per carry as a unit.

Centennial’s defense has been even better, surrendering over seven points in a contest only once — in a 31-10 rout of Southeast Polk last week – and just 31 total points all season.

“They’re very similar to a traditional (West Des Moines) Valley defense: not necessarily big, but they’re athletic and they all fly to the ball,” Miller said. “(The Rams) held up for a half (10-10 at the intermission last Friday) and played to their strengths, but eventually, (the Jaguars) just took over on both sides of the ball.”

Fort Dodge, meanwhile, continues to boast the No. 1 passing offense in all of Iowa. Senior quarterback Drake Miller has already thrown for 1,928 yards and 18 touchdowns while completing nearly 62 percent of his attempts. Juniors Tysen Kershaw (46 receptions, 725 yards), Brycen Bell (17-381) and Russell Potratz (21-301) lead the balanced corps of options for Miller, which also includes sophomore tailback Dayson Clayton (645 rushing yards, 238 receiving).

The Dodger defense has been a steady and underrated aspect during the program’s fifth start of at least 5-1 in the last 10 seasons. Fort Dodge has allowed 15.3 points per contest, which is the ninth-best 4A average to flank its No. 2 scoring offense.

The Dodgers, Centennial, West Des Moines Valley, Cedar Falls and Indianola are the only programs with both offenses and defenses in the Top-10 statistically.

“I’m really proud of the progress our defense has made (compared to 2017),” Miller said. “We’re going to have to play a solid, complete game in all aspects (on Friday). Our offense is going to have to execute and finish drives. Our defense is going to have to push them into longer (possessions) without giving up big chunks of yardage on the ground, which has been (a hallmark of) Centennial’s game so far. And our special teams will have to execute without any glitches.

“We’re excited to have a big game like this on our field. It’s an early (last regular-season home date), so we hope we play well in front of our crowd and let the chips fall where they may. This isn’t going to make or break our season, obviously; we’ll have a lot ahead of us regardless.”

After this week, Fort Dodge closes its regular season with road assignments at Sioux City West and Marshalltown. The Dodgers are currently fifth (4A) in the RPI rankings, which will determine the 16 playoff teams from each class at the end of the year. Centennial is No. 1.

Many games are being moved up across central Iowa due to pending storms in the forecast for Friday. There is a 50 percent chance of rain almost all night long in Fort Dodge, with temperatures in the upper-50s and little to no wind.