Dodgers are district champs
Fort Dodge drops No. 8 Spencer to clinch playoff berth; shares crown with Tigers, Le Mars
SPENCER – The tears of sheer joy welling up in Gavin Pederson’s eyes started to flow the minute he saw his parents.
This one was personal for the Fort Dodge football program. And it made the outcome all the more emotional.
The precocious Dodgers officially punched their Class 4A playoff ticket the hard way, putting their sprouting maturity and mental toughness on full display in a 24-20 victory over eighth-ranked Spencer to clinch a share of the District 1 championship.
A fourth-down stop with a little over a minute remaining in regulation at the FDSH 36-yard line sealed the win and set off a wild celebration among Dodger players, coaches and the 200-plus fans who made the 95-mile trip northwest.
In the middle of it all was Pederson, a two-year lineman and co-captain. One of a small handful of seniors in the starting lineup, Pederson shared a whirlwind of hugs with teammates, friends and – last but not least – mom and dad.
“We worked so hard and wanted this one so much,” said Pederson, who was on his home field a year ago when the Tigers drubbed Fort Dodge by a score of 45-0 to end the 2023 season. “All glory to God. This is just so huge for our team, this program and our community.
“We set big goals, and to be able to do this in such a (pivotal) spot to (end the regular season) on their turf like this…I’m just speechless. We knew we had to win to get in (to the playoffs). And we did it.”
The Dodgers (7-2 overall, 4-1 in the district) ran half as many plays and didn’t have nearly as many yards as the Tigers (6-3, 4-1), but their defense stiffened as the game progressed and forced a pair of key turnovers. Spencer, which saw its dominant six-game winning streak snapped, reached the FDSH red zone twice in the first half in addition to its two touchdown drives.
Fumble recoveries by senior Jesus Gutierrez and sophomore Jayon Preston-Grady turned back head coach Jim Tighe’s squad in clutch moments, though.
“Bend but don’t break,” a hoarse Dodger head coach Nik Moser said. “I tell you what: almost every time we faced a gut-check moment, we rose to the occasion. Our guys got after it on both sides of the ball. We were tough. We were physical. And as the night wore on, I think our belief in what we were doing and each other just kept growing.
“This is a pretty incredible scene. I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. It’s a true program win.”
After playing to a 14-all deadlock in the first half, the Tigers knocked the opening kickoff of the third quarter out of bounds. Moser declined and forced Spencer to re-kick, and it made the critical mistake of booting the ball deep to Noah Daniel.
The Dodger junior speedster found a seam, hit the afterburners and sprinted 94 yards to the end zone. Fort Dodge was suddenly up 21-14, and would never trail again.
Daniel later made another critical special teams play after the Tigers scored and appeared ready to tie the score. He flew around the end of the line and blocked the extra-point attempt.
“We knew we had to be the tougher team and make plays that would swing momentum in our favor,” said Daniel, who now has three 90-plus yard kickoff returns for touchdowns this season. “This is huge. We had big moments (in all three facets): offense, defense and special teams.
“It took everyone.”
Spencer’s stout defense keyed on Jamarius Green, and for the most part, the Tigers kept him in check. Green did have a 50-yard touchdown burst to answer an early Spencer score, though, and the senior standout finished with 103 yards on 18 carries.
Because of the Tigers’ ball-control option offense and Daniel’s heroics, Fort Dodge had only 34 total plays from scrimmage compared to the home team’s 67. Sophomore quarterback Tru McBride had the other Dodger TD on a 15-yard scamper up the middle.
Junior Jesse Egli had three huge tackles for loss, and sophomore Jayce Skow came up with the strip sack that Preston-Grady recovered. Spencer had 176 rushing yards in the first half alone, but just 89 the rest of the way.
Ahead 21-20 late, the Dodgers tacked on three insurance points when seinor kicker Albert Myrvold drilled a 37-yard field goal with 3:46 remaining in regulation to cap a clock-chewing 13-play, 46-yard Fort Dodge possession.
Myrvold just missed a 51-yarder in the first half as well.
“I can’t emphasize enough how big that (field goal) was,” Moser said. “Being up by four points instead of one late and forcing them to think touchdown instead of field goal was so important. Albert deserves a ton of credit for being a valuable piece to our special teams and coming up clutch there.”
From Daniel’s kickoff return to the late defensive stand, the second half belonged to the Dodgers.
“We landed the first punch and the last one,” Moser said. “We knew we’d have to fight through adversity and believe in each other. I think that’s the most obvious difference as (the season has progressed)…we’ve gotten better every day, gained confidence in what we’re doing, and we’re trusting the guy standing next to us.”
Fort Dodge, Spencer and Le Mars (6-3, 4-1) tied for the district title. Because the Dodgers beat the Tigers, Spencer handled Le Mars and the Bulldogs topped FDSH, the official “champion” for playoff seeding purposes went to the RPI point system.
Postseason pairings will be officially announced on Saturday morning.
FD S
First Downs 10 18
Rushes-Yards 20-112 53-265
Passing 9-13-1 4-12-0
Passing Yards 80 54
Total Offense 192 319
Punts-Avg. 1-37.0 3-38.5
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards 4-30 5-35
Fort Dodge 7 7 7 3 – 24
Spencer 7 7 6 0 – 20
Scoring Summary
Spencer – Cael Bruning (17-yard run), 6:52 left first quarter. Brady Vreeman kick.
Fort Dodge – Jamarius Green (50-yard run), 3:33 left first. Albert Myrvold kick.
Spencer – Miles Robbins (44-yard run), 5:48 left second. Vreeman kick.
Fort Dodge – Tru McBride (15-yard run), 4:09 left second. Myrvold kick.
Fort Dodge – Noah Daniel (94-yard kickoff return), 11:47 left third. Myrvold kick.
Spencer – Ryan Matthiesen (19-yard pass from Vreeman), 4:36 left third. Kick blocked.
Fort Dodge – Myrvold (37-yard field goal), 3:46 left fourth.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Fort Dodge: Jamarius Green 18-103, Tru McBride 1-15, Team 1-(minus-6). Spencer: Miles Robbins 15-105, Kamden Young 19-89, Cael Bruning 13-50, Jack Berends 2-30, Tommy Lauck 2-12, Team 2-(minus-21).
Passing – Fort Dodge: Tru McBride 9-13-1-80. Spencer: Cael Bruning 3-11-0-35, Brady Vreeman 1-1-0-19.
Receiving – Fort Dodge: Dalton Eckley 3-36, Noah Daniel 3-20, Tytrell Mosley 2-19, Cal Pederson 1-5. Spencer: Ryan Matthiesen 1-19, Jack Berends 1-14, Kale Schueller 1-11, Brady Vreeman 1-10.