As he always does after Fort Dodge football games, head coach Nik Moser spent last weekend meticulously dissecting film from last Friday’s season opener at Webster City.

First, the good: the Dodgers were every bit as intense and consistent with their effort as Moser remembered in retrospect.

The execution, on the other hand, still left plenty to be desired.

“I think there were a lot of positives to take away from how hard we played and how much we played for each other as a team,” Moser said. “But I’m also not going to sugarcoat it: if we want to put ourselves in position to win (in the weeks to come), we have to keep improving and be a lot better than we were (against the Lynx) at taking advantage of our opportunities as they come.”

Fort Dodge’s 2023 home opener is on Friday against arch rival Mason City, with the Decker Sporting Goods traveling trophy on the line. Kickoff for the 108th meeting between the two programs is set for 7 p.m.

The Riverhawks come to town following an impressive 32-3 rout of Marshalltown. Mason City is also, to a certain extent, still riding the momentum of its first victory over the Dodgers since 2003 last year.

“They have good athletes all over the field,” Moser said of the Riverhawks. They’re big up front, have solid team speed, and are talented at the skill positions.

“Coach (John) Lee (who stepped down this past offseason but is still on the staff) really did a nice job of getting the program back on track, and (first-year head) Coach (Josh) Reuter has a lot to work with. They were impressive on film (against the Bobcats).”

Senior quarterback Brayden Miller threw for 169 yards and a touchdown. Senior Justyn Rivera ran for 82 yards and a pair of scores at nearly eight yards per carry.

Sophomore Drew Hobart racked up 130 receiving yards on just three catches. The Riverhawks held Marshalltown to under 200 yards of total offense, and tallied 21 unanswered second-half points.

The Dodgers were balanced against the ninth-ranked (Class 3A) Lynx last Friday, with 141 rushing yards and 141 passing. In his offensive debut, sophomore state wrestling champion Dreshaun Ross rushed for 108 yards on 21 carries. Junior Jase Nekvinda threw for 90 yards in his first varsity start.

Senior Ty Adams had an 86-yard kickoff return for a TD, and caught a pair of passes for 84 yards. Sophomore Noah Daniel rushed for a score, and junior Royce Pederson hit senior Grant Williams for another touchdown strike.

Senior Drew Moritz had three tackles for loss. Senior Isaiah Caldwell, Ross and Moritz were the team’s leading tacklers against Webster City.

Caldwell, Moritz, senior Cal Hartman, senior Zeke Pineda and sophomore Caiden Fraher recovered fumbles.

“It’s a start,” Moser said. “Gave us plenty of positives, but a lot of reminders of things we need to work on. Every coach will say you have to make a lot of improvements from Week 1 to Week 2, and I’m no different. If we want to beat a team of Mason City’s caliber, we can’t just play hard – we have to be smart and efficient, too. If we’re not, they could take it to us.

“This is big for obvious reasons. It’s not a district game, but it’s our home opener and our main rival. The kids will be ready to go. We’ve been working hard in practice and preparing to try and get a win. Winning is hard. You have to earn it…I don’t care who you are or where you’re playing. We’re definitely excited to be back at Dodger Stadium.”

Fort Dodge, which has five home contests in the last eight weeks of the regular season, leads the all-time series versus Mason City, 57-42-8.