DENISON — The Fort Dodge offense has scored enough points for football fans to sit up and take notice during the team’s recent four-game winning streak.

The young Dodger defense, though, is starting to establish itself as a real force as the season passes its midway point.

Head coach Nik Moser’s squad surrendered just 90 total yards in pitching a shutout and routing defending Class 4A, District 1 champion Denison-Schleswig by a final of 36-0 here Friday.

On another gorgeous evening in front of a packed Monarch Homecoming crowd at one of the state’s most picturesque gridiron venues, Fort Dodge (4-1 overall, 1-0 in 4A-1) left no stone unturned in pummeling D-S (1-4, 0-1) and exacting revenge of sorts from a narrow Homecoming loss to the Monarchs almost a year ago to the day.

“I just think our defense is gaining confidence, getting more and more physical and taking a lot of pride in setting the tone and attacking the ball,” Moser said. “We dominated in all three phases of the game, which is what we came here to do. We were locked in for this, knowing it was going to be a big crowd and an emotional night for them.

“(The Monarchs) are our district’s defending champs. They had our full attention.”

Senior tailback Jamarius Gibbs-Green rushed for a career-high 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns – all in the first half – as the Dodgers racked up nearly 300 yards of total offense and a 29-0 lead by the intermission. Sophomore Tru McBride tossed two more touchdown passes – to sophomore Cal Pederson and junior Tytrell Mosley – as Fort Dodge kept things balanced for the fourth consecutive week.

Defensively, the Dodgers were everywhere. Junior linebacker Caiden Fraher recovered two first-half fumbles, and sophomore defensive back Amarie Pettigrew intercepted a pass – returning it for a touchdown that was only negated by a block in the back penalty.

The Monarchs completed five passes for just eight total yards, and managed only 15 total yards from scrimmage in the second half – even against Fort Dodge reserves.

The Dodgers start five juniors and four sophomores on defense, and that’s not even counting injured all-state linebacker Dreshaun Ross – a four-star prospect with nine major Div. I offers.

Denison-Schleswig had only one play in FDSH territory, and it resulted in the Pettigrew pick. Fort Dodge has given up only 41 total points in the last four contests combined, and hasn’t allowed more than 300 yards of offense since a season-opening loss to Webster City.

“I thought we really imposed our will up front on both sides of the ball,” Moser said. “Jamarius had some big runs, and the offensive line was opening up huge holes for him. We were getting a lot of front-line pressure on (the D-S offense). They didn’t have time to do much.

“We were better this week than (in a 40-7 victory at Waterloo East last Friday). Sometimes you win big but don’t play particularly well. We took a step forward here.”

Sophomore tailback Ezrah Barkhaus had the lone second-half touchdown on a short jaunt for the Dodgers. The game was played with a continuous clock after the Barkhaus score, and finished in a crisp 2 hours and 14 minutes.

Fort Dodge will host Storm Lake (3-2, 1-0) for its Homecoming contest this Friday. The Tornadoes defeated Sioux City West last night, 52-15.

FD D-S

First Downs 20 7

Rushes-Yards 40-244 20-82

Passing 11-17-0 5-18-1

Passing Yards 157 8

Total Offense 401 90

Punts-Avg. 2-36.5 7-32.0

Fumbles-Lost 3-2 2-2

Penalties-Yards 13-85 6-45

Fort Dodge 14 15 7 0 – 36

D-S 0 0 0 0 – 0

Scoring Summary

Fort Dodge – Jamarius Gibbs-Green (32-yard run), 5:31 left first quarter. Albert Myrvold kick.

Fort Dodge – Cal Pederson (11-yard pass from Tru McBride), 5:09 left first. Myrvold kick.

Fort Dodge – Gibbs-Green (2-yard run), 7:47 left second. McBride run.

Fort Dodge – Tytrell Mosley (17-yard pass from McBride), 3:07 left second. Myrvold kick.

Fort Dodge – Ezrah Barkhaus (1-yard run), 6:08 left third. Myrvold kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Fort Dodge: Jamarius Gibbs-Green 21-177, Tru McBride 3-29, Ezrah Barkhaus 7-23, Quantaze Jordan 8-19, Team 1-(minus-4). Denison-Schleswig: Cole Kastner 12-48, Brailyn Desy 3-20, Jackson Graeve 3-9, Andy Pederson 1-3, Evan Zavitz 1-2.

Passing – Fort Dodge: Tru McBride 11-17-0-157. Denison-Schleswig: Blaine Grady 5-18-1-8.

Receiving – Fort Dodge: Tytrell Mosley 5-50, Noah Daniel 1-43, Kyree Rochon 2-25, Jamarius Gibbs-Green 1-21, Cal Pederson 2-18. Denison-Schleswig: Cole Castner 1-3, Ryan Slechta 1-3, Nash Langenfeld 3-2.