Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Tytrell Mosley of Fort Dodge tries to make a catch against Spencer on Friday night inside Dodger Stadium. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Fittingly, the last two players to leave the Dodger Stadium field on Friday were Fort Dodge senior co-captains Ty Adams and Grant Williams.

The long-time teammates and friends lingered behind for one final moment on their home turf together. They shared a long embrace and exited to a tearful goodbye.

The 2023 finale didn’t go as anyone in the FDSH football camp had hoped. Spencer dominated from start to finish, scoring its third consecutive lopsided victory to end the season with an impressive 45-0 win over head coach Nik Moser’s squad on an otherwise-perfect evening.

The Dodgers were, of course, disappointed in the final result, which closed the books on a second straight 4-5 campaign. Moser didn’t want to spend much time dwelling on what happened in the here and now, though. He immediately shifted his focus to both the past and the future, while appreciating his senior class in the present.

“The outcome (against the Tigers) is the outcome. This is about a much bigger picture,” Moser said. “This isn’t what our seniors will be remembered for. They worked hard. They were consistent in their approach. They showed up and were selfless. They brought our culture back into a good place. I’m very proud of them for that.

“They put in the time and dedicated themselves to their teammates and this program. In the years to come, our (current) sophomores and juniors will carry that forward and (the 2023 seniors) will have a stake in what happens here both on and off the field. That’s going to mean a lot more than (Friday’s score). Nothing that happened (last night) changes my feelings about what they’ve meant to Dodger football.”

Returning first team all-district standout Adrian Carrillo rushed 25 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns to power the Tigers, who dominated at the point of attack. After starting the season 0-6 — with all six losses coming to playoff qualifiers — Spencer won its final three games by a combined point differential of 175-6.

Fort Dodge, meanwhile, couldn’t get out of its own way. The Dodgers turned the ball over a season-high six times after holding a plus-five aggregate turnover margin through the first eight weeks of the year.

Any semblance of a competitive second half was erased in a frantic final 15 seconds to close the second quarter. Spencer scored two backbreaking touchdowns; the first coming after a 4th-and-15 hook-and-ladder conversion, and the second on a “Statue of Liberty” run play as the clock hit zero following a Fort Dodge kickoff fumble. Suddenly, a 17-0 uphill climb for the Dodgers was insurmountable at 31-0.

The Tigers had 381 yards of total offense to FDSH’s 54.

Sophomore Noah Daniel intercepeted a pass for the Dodgers. Classmate Dreshaun Ross ran for 49 yards on nine carries.

Williams punted five times for a nearly 40-yard average. Sophomore Tytrell Mosley returned two kickoffs for 30 yards each.

Fort Dodge seniors Zeke Pineda and Isaiah Caldwell had tackles for loss.

“You have to hate losing,” Moser said. “I hope a feeling like this drives (the returning players) all offseason. For as much as I want our seniors to move on from this and think more about their overall body of work than the score of this game, I want everyone else who is coming back to remember it and use it as motivation — to not accept this feeling and continue to put in the necessary work, making sure the example the seniors set in how they went about their business becomes an (annual routine).

“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank them all.”

Adams, Williams, fellow captains Cal Hartman and Drew Moritz, Caldwell, Pineda, Malaki Pettigrew, Drayton Miller, Parker Schillerstrom, Carsen Smith and Justin Krog suited up for the final time as Dodgers on Friday. Senior Night festivities took place before kickoff for both the football team and FDSH band.

FD S

First Downs 4 16

Rushes-Yards 19-48 45-300

Passing Yards 6 81

Comp-Att-Int 3-11-3 5-10-1

Total Yards 54 381

Punts-Avg. 5-39.0 1-53.0

Fumbles-Lost 4-3 1-0

Penalties-Yards 12-120 10-95

Fort Dodge 0 0 0 0 — 0

Spencer 10 21 7 7 — 45

Scoring Summary

Spencer — Cael Bruning (4-yard run), 8:10 left first quarter. Eli Hookfin kick.

Spencer — Hookfin (29-yard field goal), 3:42 left first.

Spencer — Adrian Carrillo (20-yard run), 11:53 left second. Hookfin kick.

Spencer — Dalton Flikkema (10-yard pass from Bruning), 0:15 left second. Hookfin kick.

Spencer — Carrillo (4-yard run), 0:00 left second. Hookfin kick.

Spencer — Carrillo (33-yard run), 8:30 left third. Hookfin kick.

Spencer — Preston Pitts (3-yard run), 4:29 left fourth. Hookfin kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Fort Dodge: Dreshaun Ross 9-49, Jamarius Gibbs-Green 5-8, Noah Daniel 3-5, Royce Pederson 1-(minus-5), Team 1-(minus-5). Spencer: Adrian Carrillo 25-228, Jack Berends 1-33, Miles Robbins 3-20, Cael Bruning 6-10, Garret Wirtz 6-10, Preston Pitts 1-3, Brady Vreeman 1-3, Matthew Matthiesen 1-0, Team 1-(minus-7).

Passing — Fort Dodge: Royce Pederson 3-11-3-6. Spencer: Cael Bruning 5-10-1-81, Dylan Timmer 1-1-0-16.

Receiving — Fort Dodge: Cal Hartman 1-5, Dalton Eckley 1-5, Justin Krog 1-(minus-4). Spencer: Dalton Flikkema 3-45, Eli Hookfin 2-36.