—Photo by Noah Rohlfing/Marshalltown Times Republican Fort Dodge’s Jon Presswood runs the ball against Marshalltown on Friday in Marshalltown.

MARSHALLTOWN — Fort Dodge took winning ugly to a whole new level here on Friday.

At the end of a long night, though, the seventh-ranked (Class 4A) Dodgers were still standing — and still undefeated at 4-0.

A wild fourth quarter with plenty of dramatic twists and turns masked just how ragged Fort Dodge’s 22-21 victory over Marshalltown was at Leonard Cole Field. This one was nothing short of a backyard brawl, with 259 yards in penalties — many of the 15-yard variety — and enough mistakes to gray the hairs of entire coaching staff.

After three full hours, the Dodgers had emerged from this knockdown, drag-out rivalry a single point better than the Bobcats (1-3 overall) after the third consecutive tense tussle between the programs in as many seasons.

“We found a way,” a hoarse head coach Nik Moser exhaled afterward. “Nothing pretty about it, and a lot of stuff we still need to clean up. But you’ve got to be able to win when you’re not at your best. Show some resilience and toughness. We did that.”

Senior tailback Jon Presswood had a grinding 37-carry, 189-yard performance for Fort Dodge, which had very little trouble moving the ball but had three turnovers and came up empty on two different goal-to-go possessions. The Dodger defense, meanwhile, held Marshalltown to 174 yards of total production.

“Jon was a workhorse,” Moser said. “He hit the holes hard and our (offensive) line did a terrific job of paving the way. I thought that was really the difference.”

Penalties and the kicking game played a huge role in the story for both squads as well. The Bobcats were flagged 15 times for 139 yards, and no infraction was more important than jumping offside on 4th-and-4 with under two minutes left in regulation to seal the FDSH victory.

Trailing 15-8 going into the final period, the Dodgers — who are still without injured senior kicker Gavin Schillerstrom — pulled within a point on a short Presswood touchdown run early in the fourth. Fort Dodge then took the lead for good on a 10-play, 94-yard drive that ended with Presswood hitting paydirt at the 3:35 mark in regulation.

While the Dodgers’ passing game never did find a rhythm, junior quarterback Connor Carver found the outstretched arms of Javion Jondle for a 36-yard completion up the middle of the field on 4th-and-10 to keep the drive alive and set up the Presswood TD. Senior Carson Peterson then barreled over a Marshalltown defender for the two-point conversion and a 22-15 FDSH advantage.

The Bobcats responded and scored a minute later. Instead of kicking the extra point, though, they went for a conversion and the lead. It failed after a false start and an incomplete pass.

Senior Amaris Harris had his first varsity touchdown on a 9-yard reverse run to finally get the Dodgers on the board late in the second quarter.

Fort Dodge had 22 first downs to the Bobcats’ 8, and nearly doubled them up in total yardage. Still, the Dodgers weren’t able to shake Marshalltown until the very end on its Homecoming night.

“They (the Bobcats) played incredibly hard,” Moser said. “It’s never easy down here, and I give them a lot of credit. They’ve schemed very well for us the last two years especially. That’s on me.

“We have some things we need to fix. Just have to keep getting better and moving forward. But it’s good to do that and still be 4-0.”

Jondle finished with 68 receiving yards. He also picked up 25 yards and a first down on a fake-punt pitch from Carver, and punted twice for a nearly 40-yard average. Jondle pinned the Bobcats deep with a boot during the waning stages of the third quarter, which ultimately led to a critical safety on a broken Marshalltown play.

Junior Kaleb Lynch recorded his third fumble recovery of the season. Pry’Shay Mosley registered a sack.

Fort Dodge opens district play on Friday at Webster City (2-2). The Lynx flattened Mason City last night, 36-3.

The Dodgers are 4-0 for just the fourth time since 1984, joining the 2005, 2015 and 2019 squads. Fort Dodge is now 320-6 against rivals Mason City, Ames and Marshalltown since 2009.

FD MT

First Downs 22 8

Rushes-Yards 50-247 27-90

Passing 13-20-2 8-14-0

Passing Yards 106 84

Total Offense 353 174

Punts-Avg. 2-39.0 4-26.5

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 3-1

Penalties-Yards 9-120 15-139

Fort Dodge 0 6 2 14 — 22

Marshalltown 7 0 8 6 — 21

Scoring Summary

Marshalltown — Mannie Kparyea (9-yard run), 5:35 left first quarter. Richard Toe kick.

Fort Dodge — Amaris Harris (9-yard run), 1:54 left second. Pass failed.

Fort Dodge — Safety (Nick Rebik tackled in end zone), 4:08 left third.

Marshalltown — Dominick Garth (2-yard run), 0:54 left third. Rebik pass to Gannon Williams).

Fort Dodge — Jon Presswood (5-yard run), 11:01 left fourth. Run failed.

Fort Dodge — Presswood (3-yard run), 3:35 left fourth. Carson Peterson run.

Marshalltown — Garth (5-yard run), 2:36 left fourth. Pass failed.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Fort Dodge: Jon Presswood 37-189, Javion Jondle 1-25, Connor Carver 8-18, Amaris Harris 1-9, Jake Erickson 3-6. Marshalltown: Mannie Kparyea 3-52, Dominick Garth 10-24, Nick Rebik 9-22, Malachi Holmes 2-0, Gannon Williams 1-0, Dalen Huston 2-(minus-8).

Passing — Fort Dodge: Connor Carver 13-20-2-106. Marshalltown: Dalen Huston 8-14-0-84.

Receiving — Fort Dodge: Javion Jondle 6-68, Carson Peterson 3-15, Jake Erickson 3-14, Amaris Harris 1-9. Marshalltown: Keaghan Gorsuch 1-39, Mannie Kparyea 4-29, Nile Christensen 1-11, Gannon Williams 2-5.