Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Fort Dodge’s Tyler Schreier catches a touchdown pass against Ankeny on Friday. For more photos, visit CU.messengernews.net

For the first two weeks of the season, the Fort Dodge offense performed like a well-oiled machine thanks in large part to the dominance of its offensive line.

On a misty night at Dodger Stadium Friday, head coach Nik Moser’s squad met its match and then some in the trenches.

Eighth-ranked (Class 4A) Ankeny flipped the script on No. 10 FDSH up front, controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and giving the Dodgers a taste of their own medicine in a 52-18 victory.

The Hawks (2-1 overall) bounced back from a stunning loss at No. 6 Waukee the week before in systematic fashion. Fort Dodge (2-1) hung around for as long as it could — leaning heavily on a defense that showed plenty of grit and fight despite adverse circumstances — but the dambroke in the fourth quarter, when Ankeny delivered a three-touchdown knockout punch to pull away.

“That’s a really, really good football team,” Moser said of the Hawks. “They were ranked in the Top-3 early on for a reason, and they’ll be right in the mix when all is said and done. I couldn’t be more proud of our defense for keeping us in it. We just couldn’t get out of our own way with some mental mistakes, and our offense wasn’t where it needed to be. That’s a credit to a stout Ankeny defense, but it’s also on me for not putting us in better position and calling a better game.”

The Hawks ran 57 plays from scrimmage in the first half alone, building a 21-6 lead heading into the intermission. Ankeny didn’t do anything fancy in the sub-par weather, leaning heavily on the legs of sophomore tailback Reid Johnson and senior quarterback Jase Bauer. The duo combined for 39 carries, 189 yards and all three scores before the break.

Even so, the Dodgers hung tough. They didn’t allow a single play over 19 yards during that stretch, stopped the Hawks twice on downs in FDSH territory, and senior cornerback Jerry Chada intercepted a pass in the end zone to thwart another scoring attempt.

Fort Dodge had a few flashes of brilliance offensively, but for the most part, struggled to find any consistency in a ground game that previously bowled over Ames and Sioux City East to start the year. As expected, Ankeny crowded the line and ostensibly went all-in on stopping star Dodger tailback Dayson Clayton. The strategy worked, as Clayton rushed for a quiet 74 yards on 22 carries.

Clayton did throw the first touchdown pass of his career out of the wildcat formation — a 76-yarder to classmate Tyler Schreier to immediately answer the Hawks’ methodical opening drive in the first quarter — but Fort Dodge went silent on its next eight possessions before junior quarterack Carson Peterson found Schreier on a 61-yard scoring strike in the final minute of the third period.

Schreier finished with five catches for a career-high 169 yards.

Field position played a pivotal role in the cadence of the contest as well. Ankeny started in Dodger territory five different times, and all 11 drives began no deeper than its own 30-yard line. Fort Dodge, meanwhile, had eight of its 13 possessions begin from its own 20-yard line on back.

Five Hawk kickoffs were touchbacks, neutralizing talented FDSH returners Schreier and Sam Daniel. The Dodgers also struggled in the punting game, with six attempts going for only a 23.5-yard average.

“They really dominated us on special teams and with field position,” Moser said. “We have a lot of improving still to do overall. We knew that coming in. Ankeny is obviously better than us at this point, and we caught them at a bad time (coming off a loss). But I’m not going to fault our effort at all.

“We have some things to clean up, but we fought and did some positive things. They’re as good up front as maybe anyone we’ll see the rest of the way (the Dodgers still have No. 1 Dowling and fourth-ranked Urbandale to come), and their defense just absolutely flies to the ball.”

Senior Dylan Zimmermann and junior Ben Egli had the first two sacks of the year for the Fort Dodge defense. Sophomore quarterback Connor Carver connected with his classmate, receiver Javion Jondle, on a 15-yard touchdown pass for the first scoring strike of the duo’s career.

Junior Jon Presswood rushed for 42 yards on only nine carries.

Fort Dodge will now head to Marshalltown this Friday and take on the Bobcats (1-2). The Dodgers were originally scheduled to face Des Moines North at home, but the Polar Bears are currently sidelined by online schooling.

Because Marshalltown also lost an opponent — another DMPS member in Des Moines East — FDSH and the Bobcats will resume their rivalry, which had been off the table for this year.

FD A

First Downs 12 24

Rushes-Yards 39-126 56-350

Passing Yards 192 79

Comp-Att-Int 7-17-0 8-24-1

Total Offense 318 429

Punts-Avg. 6-23.5 1-58.0

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-0

Penalties-Yards 9-70 3-35

Ankeny 14 7 10 21 — 52

Fort Dodge 6 0 6 6 — 18

Scoring Summary

Ankeny — Jase Bauer (5-yard run), 8:43 left first quarter. Max Pelham kick.

Fort Dodge — Tyler Schreier (74-yard pass from Dayson Clayton), 7:20 left first. Run failed.

Ankeny — Bauer (10-yard run), 5:39 left first. Pelham kick.

Ankeny — Reid Johnson (6-yard run), 5:18 left second. Pelham kick.

Ankeny — Pelham (21-yard field goal), 5:10 left third.

Ankeny — Bauer (30-yard run), 2:52 left third. Pelham kick.

Fort Dodge — Schreier (61-yard pass from Carson Peterson), 0:51 left third. Run failed.

Ankeny — Brody Brecht (8-yard pass from Bauer), 10:02 left fourth. Pelham kick.

Ankeny — Nate Nessa (8-yard run), 7:33 left fourth. Pelham kick.

Fort Dodge — Javion Jondle (15-yard pass from Connor Carver), 3:25 left fourth. Run failed.

Ankeny — Nessa (77-yard run), 1:44 left fourth. Pelham kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Fort Dodge: Dayson Clayton 22-74, Jon Presswood 9-42, Carson Peterson 3-16, Tyler Schreier 1-1, Connor Carver 3-(minus-2), Sam Daniel 1-(minus-5). Ankeny: Reid Johnson 31-135, Jase Bauer 19-117, Nate Nessa 5-107.

Passing — Fort Dodge: Dayson Clayton 1-1-0-74, Carson Peterson 3-9-0-66, Connor Carver 3-6-0-50, Tyler Schreier 0-1-0-0. Ankeny: Jase Bauer 8-23-1-79, Colin Riggs 0-1-0-0.

Receiving — Fort Dodge: Tyler Schreier 5-169, Javion Jondle 2-23. Ankeny: Brody Brecht 5-40, Kade Summers 2-24, Weston Fulk 1-15.INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Fort Dodge: Dayson Clayton 22-74, Jon Presswood 9-42, Carson Peterson 3-16, Tyler Schreier 1-1, Connor Carver 3-(minus-2), Sam Daniel 1-(minus-5). Ankeny: Reid Johnson 31-135, Jase Bauer 19-117, Nate Nessa 5-107.

Passing — Fort Dodge: Dayson Clayton 1-1-0-74, Carson Peterson 3-9-0-66, Connor Carver 3-6-0-50, Tyler Schreier 0-1-0-0. Ankeny: Jase Bauer 8-23-1-79, Colin Riggs 0-1-0-0.

Receiving — Fort Dodge: Tyler Schreier 5-169, Javion Jondle 2-23. Ankeny: Brody Brecht 5-40, Kade Summers 2-24, Weston Fulk 1-15.