WATERLOO — The Fort Dodge football team took a significant step forward last week despite coming up just short on the scoreboard against a Top-10 Class 5A opponent.

Now the Dodgers want a win.

Head coach Nik Moser’s squad heads to Waterloo East for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium against the Trojans — an old conference rival for FDSH.

The Dodgers haven’t started a season 0-3 since 2012. They’ve been close to breaking through in both of their losses — at Mason City and against No. 8 (5A) Ames — but fell short both times by a combined total of nine points.

“There are times where we look like a really good football team,” Moser said. “And there are times and areas where we still have a long way to go. The key is to work on bridging that gap every day, so that we’re more consistently closer to being (the former than the latter).

“The same goes for our effort. We’re either really working hard and in sync, or we’ll have a breakdown here or there. Just too many ups and downs so far to expect (to sustain success). But it’s a process, and we’re not panicking.”

Fort Dodge took the Little Cyclones down to the wire before being stopped in a goal-to-go situation on the final drive of the game while trailing 36-32. Senior quarterback Connor Carver threw for 233 yards and added 141 on the ground, tossing three touchdown passes a week after accounting for four against the Riverhawks.

It’s early, but the Bemidji State University recruit currently leads all of 4A in TD strikes, total offensive yards, and ranks second in completions.

Carver is now fifth all-time in passing yardage at FDSH.

“Connor’s been playing really good football, but I know he’d trade in all of the stats for two wins,” Moser said. “His decision making keeps getting better, as does his confidence. He’s grown a lot, but I know he also feels like none of it matters until we start winning games.”

His all-state classmate, Javion Jondle, has a 4A-best 21 receptions. Jondle caught 11 passes for 119 yards and two scores last week, moving into third on the school’s career list for receiving yards.

“We were a much more balanced football team (against Ames),” Moser said. “I thought our offensive line and running backs really took a step forward. I have a lot of confidence in them, and I know we’ll be a solid (ground attack) moving forward, but there are a lot of new pieces and it takes time.”

Carver, Orion Larson-Trott (18 carries, 92 yards) and Tucker Pederson (3-46) combined to accumulate 279 rushing yards on just 32 attempts. The Little Cyclones’ vaunted offensive attack racked up 521 yards to neutralize the Dodgers, though, as former Dodger tailback Jamison Poe had 312 total yards from scrimmage.

East suffered a 31-6 setback at Marshalltown last week. The Trojans dropped a close opener to arch-rival Waterloo West, 21-14.

“They do a lot of similar stuff (personnel-wise) in comparison to us,” Moser said. “Their quarterback has the ability to run and throw. They have some nice athletes in different spots on the field. Their free safety, (Jameel) Montgomery, is a really good ballplayer.”

The Dodgers and East first met on the football field as members of the original Big 6 Conference in 1932. They were then Big 8 rivals into the early-1990s.

The Trojans lead the all-time series, 35-28. Fort Dodge prevailed last year inside Dodger Stadium, 36-6.

“I thought it was the first time (versus East in 2021) that we started to show signs of being a little sloppy,” Moser said. “And it kind of snowballed from there. We weren’t getting better every week, even though we started (last season) 4-0. Now we have a chance to reverse that (trend) even though our record is the opposite. That’s the goal and that’s what our kids are striving for: to build some momentum heading into (district play in two weeks).”