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ROAD WARRIORS

Exploring the Fort Dodge football team’s biggest and best wins away from home over the last 30 years

Messenger file photo: Former Fort Dodge quarterback Drake Miller spearheaded many spirited road victories for Fort Dodge during his three-year varsity career.

There’s just something about a road win in sports.

Maybe it’s the “us against the world” mentality. Maybe it’s the real-time memories alongside loyal friends and family who made the trip and braved the elements. Maybe it’s the fact that no one goes their separate ways after the game; you ride together, play together, then enjoy a bus ride home together.

The 2024 Fort Dodge football team got to experience it last Friday night, defeating No. 8 Spencer on the Tigers’ home turf by a final of 24-20 to clinch a share of the Class 4A, District 1 championship. The Dodgers were undoubtedly underdogs against a streaking opponent that had reeled off five consecutive wins by over 160 combined points. They fought hard early, hung around long enough, then eventually took Spencer down to secure a playoff berth with a regular-season record of 7-2.

A number of readers have asked me where this victory sits among Fort Dodge football road games I’ve either covered or seen in person. I’ve gone to the vast majority of them since 1994, and consistently made trips each of the last 25 seasons spanning over 20,000 miles of professional travel.

I won’t rank them, but this would likely be my Top-5 in chronological order:

1994: Fort Dodge 39, Ames 34. The Dodgers found themselves in a must-win situation, needing a victory over the Little Cyclones to clinch a playoff berth. Ames had taken the lead late in a back-and-forth classic, when FDSH quarterback Randy Reiners iconically did his best Babe Ruth called-shot impersonation and warned the Little Cyclone sidelines, “you left us too much time.”

A little over a minute later, Reiners found fellow all-stater Mark Wills in the end zone to give head coach Sam Moser’s squad a dramatic triumph for a postseason berth. Ames, also needing a win to get in, was done.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers had gone from a 2-3 team most people had written off to a postseason contender. The program’s lone playoff win in the modern format — a rout at home over Des Moines Hoover — followed, before FDSH bowed out in a quarterfinal nail-biter at West Des Moines Dowling.

2010: Fort Dodge 15, West Des Moines Valley 12. A number of old stereotypes and demons were defeated as the Dodgers captured the CIML Iowa Conference title with the program’s first-ever win in West Des Moines. Fort Dodge put the finishing touches on an 8-1 regular season — its best in 29 years — and a 4A playoff spot with just its fourth victory ever against the Tigers dating back over 30 seasons.

The defense stole the show that night, with Reid Riessen intercepting a pass, Mark Wilson recovering a fumble, and Connor Morain recording 14 tackles in holding Valley to a single touchdown. Levi Peters found Darreus Caston and Willie Williams for scores on offense.

Well over a thousand Dodger fans were in attendance, virtually filling the visiting side of the Tigers’ massive stadium.

2016: Fort Dodge 28, Ames 21. Back-up Dodger defensive back Brayden Bell, who had played in the junior varsity game the night before, was thrust into the spotlight late as Fort Dodge turned the tide on a lopsided series between rivals and ruined the Little Cyclones’ Homecoming.

Bell batted away what could have been a game-tying touchdown pass right at the goal line as time expired, giving the Dodgers just their fourth win over Ames in the last 20 meetings.

Quarterback Drake Miller, just a sophomore, threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns on his 16th birthday. Junior Trey Mosley had 13 catches for 191 yards and three scores before having to leave the contest late in the third quarter with an injury.

Bell’s heroics sealed the unlikely victory, which ended up kickstarting a six-game streak for the program over the Little Cyclones after two full decades of struggles.

2018: Fort Dodge 22, Southeast Polk 21. Definitely the most improbable of the whole lot. The Dodgers trailed 21-3 and had the ball on their own 6-yard line with 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Drake Miller caught fire in a furious rally that ended with a walk-off touchdown pass to Dayson Clayton as time expired, setting off a wild celebration.

Fort Dodge had been 0-5 in its five previous trips to Pleasant Hill, and none of the games were particularly close. Shane Halligan blocked a field goal attempt, Anthony Wagner recovered an on-side kick, and Miller threw for 193 yards in the fourth quarter as the Dodgers outscored the Rams in the final period, 19-0, after being dominated for three full quarters.

Southeast Polk’s Homecoming had been ruined by Fort Dodge. The Rams would reach the state semifinal round later that season, then go on to earn consecutive championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023. From 2020-23, they had a combined record of 47-3.

2024: Fort Dodge 24, Spencer 20. No recency bias here. Thirty years after the Ames win, the Dodgers found themselves in a similar position, with everything on the line in the regular season’s finale.

The Tigers had routed FDSH last fall, 45-0, and dominated the series through the first three years of district play. They were also one of the hottest teams in 4A, with a vaunted rushing attack and a bone-crushing defense.

The Dodgers caught a few breaks, made a few more of their own, and were able to clinch the program’s first district championship — shared or outright — under the current format. Head coach Nik Moser’s ballclub went from a group that had endured a 28-point home loss to Webster City at the start of the season to one that reeled off seven wins in eight tries to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2021.

Eric Pratt is Sports Editor at The Messenger. Contact him via email at sports@messengernews.net, or on Twitter @ByEricPratt

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