BONDURANT — It will be a family atmosphere in the Fort Dodge wrestling squad’s season opener against Bondurant-Farrar on Thursday night.

The seventh-ranked (IAwrestle) Dodgers will face the Bluejays, who share deep family ties with the FDSH family.

Head coach Bobby Thompson’s squad and Bondurant-Farrar will start the dual at 5:30 p.m. alongside the junior varsity. The Bluejays will then compete against North Polk.

The Dodgers enter the season with five ranked wrestlers according to IAwrestle, including a pair of No. 1 Div. I recruits in Koy Davidson (144) and Dreshaun Ross (215).

Fort Dodge will be without Ross for at least the next several weeks as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

Ross is a two-time defending state champion and a nationally-ranked wrestling and football prospect as a junior.

Sophomore Trace Rial (No. 7 at 106), junior Jesse Egli (No. 7 at 175) and sophomore Joe Constable (No. 8 at 285) are also ranked for the Dodgers.

Rial, the son of Fort Dodge two-time state champion Mark Rial, will be competing in the same gym with two of his cousins. Bondurant-Farrar senior Jordan Rial (165) and sophomore Chase Rial (175) are the sons of FDSH graduate Pat Rial, the brother of Mark.

Meanwhile, Bluejay junior Nolan Fellers (157) and freshman Evan Fellers (106) are the sons of multi-time Dodger state medalist Adam Fellers.

“They’re like us — young in spots, proven in others,” Thompson said of B-F. “They are strong in some areas, with the Rial and Fellers kids. They have five ranked individuals.

“There will be some solid matchups.”

Thompson’s group enters with a relatively inexperienced cast, with four sophomores and three freshmen mixed into the lineup with two seniors and five juniors.

“We can’t worry as much about the end result right now. Guys have to buy into the program and each other,” Thompson said. “This schedule is difficult for a reason. Fifteen years ago, we designed it to help with the bonding and camaraderie of the team. This is where we become a family. The first tournament out, we are in a hotel together for three nights. This is who we are with for the next three months.

“It’s what builds the family atmosphere.”

The Dodgers have four other state qualifiers from a year ago back. Sophomore Rial joins juniors Sam Davidson (126), Rylee Brown (157) and Jesse Egli (175) as Des Moines participants in 2024.

After Thursday, the Dodgers will head to the ultra-competitive Dan Gable Donnybrook in Coralville. Matches run on Friday and Saturday.

“It starts going pretty quick,” Thompson said. “We’re ready to roll. Koy and I were talking…once we hit the road for the Donnybrook and then do the same thing next weekend, we’re almost done with December already.

“We are ready to go out there and find our measuring stick. When you are as young as we are, like I was talking to Coach (Mark) Rial, there is never enough time to get ready. You just have to go.”

Coralville is where wrestlers will test their mettle against schools from around the midwest.

“We will be taking some young guys to the Donnybrook,” Thompson said. “Arguably this is tougher than the state tournament. You have top opponents from Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska.

“It’s a bearcat. Then we do it again at Council Bluffs in a week. It’s an eye opener, but it prepares you for February.”

Last year at the Donnybrook, Davidson and Ross were champions. Egli took 14th, Rial 15th, Brown 18th and Hunter Richardson 24th.

Davidson has climbed the ladder at the Donnybrook, and the proof of his growth was later on full display at state.

“Koy finished third as a freshman and as a sophomore at the Donnybrook,” Thompson said. “He has been second, fourth, and won the state title last year. The tougher competition helped him get there.

“This tournament helps greatly for seeding in February.”

The Donnybrook will run from 11:30 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, matches start at 9 a.m. The finals will be at roughly 5:30 p.m.

DODGER LINEUP

106 — Trace Rial, so., (0-0); 113 — Damien Yeoman, fr., (0-0); 120 — Hunter Kasperbauer, jr., (0-0); 126 — Sam Davidson, jr., (0-0); 132 — Bo Marsh, so., (0-0); 138 — Amari McCaleb, fr., (0-0); 144 — Koy Davidson, sr., (0-0); 150 — Hunter Richardson, sr., (0-0); 157 — Rylee Brown, jr., (0-0); 165 — Jayce Skow, so., (0-0); 175 — Jesse Egli, jr., (0-0); 190 — Kason Echevarria, jr., (0-0); 215 — Kaden Nichols, fr., (0-0); 285 — Joe Constable, so., (0-0).