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Dodgers score early, often in grounding Tornadoes
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A Homecoming date with Storm Lake proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the Fort Dodge football team.
The Dodgers got some of their swagger back on a crisp fall evening Friday, dominating the first half en route to a 50-17 victory over the Tornadoes.
The emotional triumph stopped the recent bleeding after consecutive losses to Webster City and Spencer. It sets the stage for an important final two weeks and the possibility of a winning campaign for Fort Dodge (3-4 overall, 1-2 in Class 4A, District 1). The Dodgers weren't perfect by any means physically, but they rediscovered their confidence -- and had fun doing so along the way.
"It's great to see our guys excited again and being able to enjoy it," FDSH head coach Nik Moser said. "They're ringing the victory bell. They're dancing and yelling in the locker room. Winning a Homecoming game at Dodger Stadium is something you'll always remember, and we haven't been able to experience that here since 2019. So this is a positive first step back, with two big ones coming up now and some opportunities ahead."
Senior quarterback Connor Carver squeezed a full night's worth of statistics into the first half, completing 12 of 14 passes for 276 yards and five touchdowns as Fort Dodge racked up 43 points by the intermission. Carver found his usual target -- fellow all-stater Javion Jondle -- five times for 149 yards and a pair of scores.
The emergence of junior receiver Ty Adams was a main storyline that developed as the night progressed. Adams, who hadn't reached the end zone through the first six weeks of his varsity career, hit paydirt on all three of his receptions -- spanning 21, 70 and 18 yards.
"The first one was a play designed to get Ty (a touchdown)," Moser said. "The second, he did a lot of the work himself. The third was a huge credit to Javion and Grant (Williams) with their blocking. Our receivers did a great job (collectively), and Connor was very sharp. It was good to see the offense find its rhythm again."
Carver -- a Bemidji State University recruit -- bowed out after an impressive 35-yard TD scramble midway through the third quarter. It was his final snap of the evening, along with most of the Dodger starters, who were able to rest for the final 18 minutes.
Fort Dodge accumulated 233 yards on the ground as well. Orion Larson-Trott finished with 89 yards on just seven carries, taking a 51-yard rush up the middle to the house in the first quarter. Carver (67 yards) and senior Tucker Pederson (55) helped add to the team total.
Senior defensive end Kaleb Lynch returned from injury and had three tackles for loss. Junior linebacker Cal Hartman had a strip and a fumble recovery in the same sequence, and sophomore Royce Pederson also pounced on a loose ball.
A wounded Dodger defense, which surrendered over 100 combined points to the ground-heavy Lynx and Tigers, allowed only 77 yards on 30 carries. Storm Lake (0-7, 0-3) did score on two long 58-yard touchdown passes from Joshua Steffen to Brody Boeckman.
"We were out of position a few times and there were some busted plays, but for the most part, the defense played well," Moser said. "We still have a lot to clean up, of course. But we wanted to start fast. We did that. We were looking for explosive plays. We had that. We wanted to be aggressive defensively and force some turnovers. That happened, too.
"This was better. It's a step in the right direction. We're not where we need to be yet by any means, but these kids still have a lot to play for if they keep working hard, believing in and supporting each other."
Carver moved within a single touchdown of Randy Reiners for second on the Dodgers' career passing charts. He is also now just 263 yards away from becoming the third quarterback in school history to reach 4,000 yards through the air.
Jondle is now tied with Trey Mosley at 21 receiving touchdowns, which trails only Tysen Kershaw (24) on the program's all-time list. Jondle is 94 yards from reaching 2,000 in his career -- something only Kershaw (2,145) has done.
Fort Dodge heads to Denison-Schleswig for the first time ever on Friday. The Monarchs (4-3, 2-1), coached by former Iowa State standout Kamari Cotton-Moya, held off Le Mars last night, 13-7.
FD SL
First Downs 18 11
Rushes-Yards 29-233 30-77
Passing Yards 282 169
Comp-Att-Int 16-24-0 6-15-0
Total Offense 515 246
Punts-Avg. 0-0 4-32.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-2
Penalties-Yards 15-145 6-40
Storm Lake 7 3 0 7 -- 17
Fort Dodge 29 14 7 0 -- 50
Scoring Summary
Fort Dodge -- Javion Jondle (64-yard pass from Connor Carver), 11:32 left first quarter. Jondle run.
Fort Dodge -- Orion Larson-Trott (51-yard run), 8:30 left first. Parker Schillerstrom kick.
Storm Lake -- Brody Boeckman (58-yard pass from Joshua Steffen), 6:19 left first. Deryk Hernandez kick.
Fort Dodge -- Ty Adams (21-yard pass from Carver), 3:43 left first. Schillerstrom kick.
Fort Dodge -- Adams (70-yard pass from Carver), 1:43 left first. Schillerstrom kick.
Fort Dodge -- Adams (18-yard pass from Carver), 10:53 left second. Schillerstrom kick.
Fort Dodge -- Jondle (44-yard pass from Carver), 5:01 left second. Schillerstrom kick.
Storm Lake -- Hernandez (37-yard field goal), 0:00 left second.
Fort Dodge -- Carver (35-yard run), 6:07 left third. Schillerstrom kick.
Storm Lake -- Boeckman (58-yard pass from Steffen), 4:45 left fourth. Hernandez kick.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Fort Dodge: Orion Larson-Trott 7-89, Connor Carver 5-67, Tucker Pederson 8-55, Kyron Wilson 1-7, Jase Nekvinda 4-6, Kolton Tiernan 3-4. Storm Lake: Julian Cortes Oropeza 17-53, Joshua Steffen 12-22, angel Carranza 1-2.
PASSING -- Fort Dodge: Connor Carver 13-17-0-280, Jase Nekvinda 3-7-0-2. Storm Lake: Joshua Steffen 6-15-0-169.
RECEIVING -- Fort Dodge: Javion Jondle 5-149, Ty Adams 3-109, Kyron Wilson 3-15, Nate Opande 1-4, Orion Larson-Trott 1-3, Malaki Pettigrew 3-2. Storm Lake: Brody Boeckman 2-116, Luke Richardson 2-36, Bachi Keyanye 2-17.