WATERLOO — The Fort Dodge football team is feeling much better about itself after last week’s thrilling home victory over Dallas Center-Grimes.

In order to keep the good times rolling, though, the Dodgers must bring the same focus and intensity to the table on Friday at long-time rival Waterloo East.

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside Memorial Stadium.

Head coach Nik Moser’s squad completes the pre-district portion of their schedule against the Trojans (1-2 overall) on their Hall of Fame celebration night. This is the 66th meeting all-time between the old Big 8 foes in a series that dates back to 1932.

“I think one of the great things about having East on the schedule is getting into these impromptu history lessons,” Moser said. “Traditionally speaking, Waterloo East is a powerhouse. They are high school football royalty in this state. Their run (six state championships in as many seasons from 1966-71 and 56 consecutive victories at one point) is still one of the most amazing accomplishments ever in Iowa high school sports.

“As for (this year’s Trojan team), they have athletes all over the field and have lost to two pretty solid opponents (Waterloo West and Charles City are both unbeaten). I’ve said over and over again that (head coach) DeCarlos (Anderson) has this program headed in the right direction. They are a very prideful school, and we respect that a ton.”

While East has played strong defense to date, the offense has struggled to get on track after suffering heavy graduation losses from last fall’s backfield. The Trojans have rushed for only 105 net yards at less than two yards per carry, and junior quarterback Chris Pierce is completing under 50 percent of his passes.

“Again, I think that’s more about who they’ve faced so far,” Moser said. “They have some playmakers we have to try and keep contained and away from open space.”

Seniors Keeron Harris-Veasley, Isaac Lomas, Tariq Moore and Ke’Andre Owens have anchored a defense that has surrendered just 63 total points. Owens has both of East’s touchdown receptions on offense.

Fort Dodge (2-1) scored the final two touchdowns to erase a double-digit deficit and take down DC-G last week, 20-17. Sophomore quarterback Tru McBride threw for 191 yards and a pair of long scores, hitting junior Noah Daniel from 56 and 84 yards out. Junior Taevon Feeley returned an interception 26 yards to paydirt for the winning TD with 4:05 left in regulation.

“We did some nice things, and the mistakes we made — for the most part — are still fixable,” Moser said. “It’s always great to win and know there are plenty of areas you can focus on getting better.

“We have a laundry list of correctable mistakes, which is relatively normal with a pretty young team less than a month into the season. But we have to keep improving each week, so this is important heading into district play.”

Fort Dodge surrendered less than 300 yards of total offense for the second consecutive week last Friday.

“We’re showing signs of being pretty solid defensively before all is said and done,” Moser observed. “We’re flying to the ball and showing physicality. I think the offensive line and the defense have really set the tone the last two weeks.”

McBride has thrown for 487 yards and five scores so far, completing 55 percent of his passes. Senior Jamarius Gibbs-Green has 280 rushing yards at six yards per carry.

Daniel and fellow junior Tytrell Mosley are the top receivers for FDSH. The leading tacklers are junior Jesse Egli, sophomore Jayce Skow and Feeley.

Senior Jonathan Brown, Egli and junior Caiden Fraher have been the Dodgers’ biggest tackle-for-loss threats, and junior John Hughes has recovered a pair of fumbles.

East leads the all-time series, 35-30. Fort Dodge has prevailed in the last five meetings, including a year ago by a final of 45-27.