MASON CITY — The Fort Dodge football team accomplished its main goal here on Friday night.

Yes, the Dodgers defeated Mason City by a final of 35-17 to retain the Decker Sporting Goods Trophy for the 19th time in 20 seasons.

This wasn’t just about taking down an arch rival, though. Head coach Nik Moser’s squad was bound and determined to get its edge back, playing with the kind of purpose that proved last week’s performance wasn’t at all indicative of the way the season would go.

“We wanted to be the more physical football team from the start,” Moser said. “That was the point all week, and what we needed to prove to ourselves and each other. We showed great intensity and focus, and didn’t let up until the game was well in hand.”

The Dodgers were focused, confident and relentless in building a 28-3 halftime lead on the Riverhawks, who had edged Marshalltown a week ago in their season opener as Fort Dodge was losing to Webster City. Sophomore quarterback Tru McBride tossed three first-half touchdowns, the Dodgers racked up 273 yards of total offense, and the FDSH defense completely shut Mason City down to the tune of 61 total yards and zero completed passes.

“This game had our undivided attention,” Moser said. “We’re still a young group that’s learning about ourselves and figuring things out together. But I couldn’t be prouder of our effort. We didn’t give (the Riverhawks) any opportunity to slow us down. That all gets back to being more physical and setting the tone.”

Senior tailback Jamarius Gibbs-Green had 111 rushing yards, breaking free for a 39-yard touchdown scamper to open the third period and put the Dodgers up 35-3. The Riverhawks abandoned the ground game at that point and were relatively effective the rest of the way in their passing attack, but it took 27 second-half throws to cover 158 yards of territory. Mason City tacked on a score in the final 15 seconds to narrow the final gap.

Junior linebacker John Hughes had two fumble recoveries for Fort Dodge. One was on a play where Hughes had stripped the ball first. Classmate Noah Daniel did the same from his safety position.

The Riverhawks had only 86 net rushing yards on 32 attempts.

“I thought our defense really flew to the ball,” Moser said. “We’ll need to tighten things up a little and we have a lot to still improve on, of course, but this was much better. A good step forward. We thought we had to be the most improved team in the state from Week 1 to Week 2. I don’t know if you can say that, but it’s great to see the kids respond in a big way against a rival in their home opener coming in with a lot of confidence.”

Sophomore Will McElroy, junior Tytrell Mosley and Daniel had TD receptions from McBride, who had 160 of his 166 yards in the first half. Mosley had 76 yards on five receptions.

McElroy added 67 rushing yards.

“Our line play was much better,” Moser said. “Both sides of the ball. That’s where it had to start, and they did a great job of creating momentum.

“We had a lot of different guys step up. That was a true team win.”

Fort Dodge has now scored 28 or more points against Mason City in seven consecutive matchups. The Dodgers had their incredible 17-game win streak in the series snapped here in 2022 when they lost, 35-30, but they’ve responded with two resounding victories in as many seasons.

FDSH holds a 59-42-8 edge on the Riverhawks in an annual rivalry that dates back to 1912.

The Dodgers meet Dallas Center-Grimes at home this Friday for another travel trophy in the “Beisser Lumber Bowl.” The Mustangs fell last night at Newton, 28-7.

FD MC

First Downs 13 17

Rushes-Yards 30-166 32-86

Passing 13-19-0 17-34-0

Passing Yards 166 158

Total Offense 332 244

Punts-Avg. 5-31.0 4-31.0

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 4-3

Penalties-Yards 11-80 5-25

Fort Dodge 14 14 7 0 – 35

Mason City 3 0 7 7 – 17

Scoring Summary

Fort Dodge – Will McElroy (6-yard pass from Tru McBride), 9:20 left first quarter. Albert Myrvold kick.

Fort Dodge – Noah Daniel (37-yard pass from McBride), 6:05 left first. Myrvold kick.

Mason City – Carter Long (27-yard field goal), 0:20 left first.

Fort Dodge – Jamarius Gibbs-Green (8-yard run), 3:06 left second. Myrvold kick.

Fort Dodge – Tytrell Mosley (10-yard pass from McBride), 0:32 left second. Myrvold kick.

Fort Dodge – Gibbs-Green (39-yard run), 10:18 left third. Myrvold kick.

Mason City – Dane Hanson (1-yard run), 1:17 left third. Long kick.

Mason City – Drew Hobart (11-yard pass from Jameer Falls), 0:13 left fourth. Long kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Fort Dodge: Jamarius Gibbs-Green 13-111, Will McElroy 10-67, Ezrah Barkhaus 4-12, Team 3-(minus-24). Mason City: Dane Hanson 16-99, Jameer Falls 2-11, Lincoln Berding 8-8, Drew Hobart 2-6, Jayden Williams 2-(minus-1), Team 2-(minus-37).

Passing – Fort Dodge: Tru McBride 13-19-0-166. Mason City: Jameer Falls 9-12-0-101, Dane Hanson 8-22-0-57.

Receiving – Fort Dodge: Tytrell Mosley 6-81, Dalton Eckley 3-39, Noah Daniel 2-39, Will McElroy 2-7. Mason City: Drayden Witt 7-78, Drew Hobart 7-57, Andrew Novak 1-12, Lincoln Berding 1-8, Carter Klemesrud 1-3.