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Dodger boys suffer home setback

The Fort Dodge boys basketball team had a strong start against Ankeny, but the defending state champions had too much down low for the Dodgers on Friday.

Fort Dodge only trailed by one after the first quarter, but it was all Ankeny (6-4 overall) after that as the Hawks picked up a 69-38 CIML Iowa Conference victory.

The Dodgers (1-9) had a spirited start and trailed by one point at 15-14 after the first quarter. Junior Bradley Vodraska couldn’t miss in the first half, going 5-for-6 with 15 of his team high 16 points. He finished 6-for-7 in the contest.

“That was by far the best we have played in the first quarter all year,” said Fort Dodge head coach Tom Daniel. “Bradley had a great start and had a good all-around game.

“Our defensive intensity was there and the kids just battled. We just have to be able to get our offense on the right track and extended it our for four quarters.”

After the first period, it was all Ankeny as the Hawks outscored the Dodgers by 11 in the second quarter, 11 in the third, and eight in the fourth.

As the game progressed, Fort Dodge just couldn’t deal with the Hawks down low or on the glass. Ankeny out rebounded the Dodgers 19-3 on the offensive boards.

Johnathan Kohl and Braden Simonsen was a force down low for the Hawks. Kohl, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, had 14 points, and Simonson added nine on the low blocks.

“We obviously struggle with rebounding,” Daniel said. “It’s more of a habit and a mindset, and we just don’t have it. We also struggle from the free throw line (5-for-12) and those are two things you can control.”

Offensively for the Dodgers, Averey Martin tallied eight points and was 2-for-3 from behind the arc. Carson Peterson finished with six.

FDSH graduates Kevin Wehde and Kim (Boyington) Wehde returned to Fort Dodge, as their two sons are on the Hawks roster. Kole Wehde, a senior, had six points. Sophomore Karson Wehde tallied three points.

The Wehdes’ grandparents, Brad and Val Wehde, are residents of Fort Dodge.

The Dodgers are back in action on Tuesday at Southeast Polk.

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