-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Noah Daniel of Fort Dodge catches a pass from Tru McBride for a first down against North Polk on Friday

It may still be several months away, but fans can start making their Friday night plans for the fall after the release of prep football schedules from the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

The IHSAA determines schedules for all regular season football games through district and group pairings. These schedules will be used for both the 2025 and ’26 seasons.

Fort Dodge will host four games this season starting on Aug. 29 with rival Mason City in Week 1. The Decker Sporting Goods traveling trophy will once again be on the line from Dodger Stadium.

Following that contest, Fort Dodge will play four of the next six on the road with trips to Webster City, Waterloo West, Spencer and Storm Lake set. They host Waterloo East and Sergeant Bluff-Luton.

The Dodgers conclude the season vs. Le Mars and at Sioux City West.

Fort Dodge played seven of those opponents last season, going 5-2 in those games. They fell to eventual Class 4A state champion North Polk in the opening round of the playoffs, finishing the year 7-3 overall under head coach and former FDSH standout Nik Moser.

Sergeant Bluff-Luton made the 3A state semifinals while Spencer was also a qualifier.

Starting quarterback Tru McBride is set to return after throwing for 1,518 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 112 yards and two more scores. Ezrah Barkhaus ran for 239 yards while Tytrell Mosley, Noah Daniel and Dalton Eckley combined for 73 receptions, 1,025 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The defense will feature key players Daniel, Jesse Egli, Jayce Skow, Taevon Feeley, Caiden Fraher, John Hughes, Jayon Preston-Grady, Amarie Pettigrew and Sam Moser back.

Daniel, who made all-state last season, returned three kickoffs for touchdowns while Egli had one and Eckley returned a punt for another score.

The seven wins were the most for the Dodgers since 2021, when they also went 7-3. Fort Dodge is 22-16 the past four years overall, as Moser is now 25-21.

FORT DODGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

2025

Aug. 29 Mason City

Sept. 5 at Webster City

Sept. 12 Waterloo East

Sept. 19 at Waterloo West

Sept. 26 Sergeant Bluff-Luton

Oct. 3 at Spencer

Oct. 10 at Storm Lake

Oct. 17 Le Mars

Oct. 24 at Sioux City West

2026

Aug. 28 at Mason City

Sept. 4 Webster City

Sept. 11 at Waterloo East

Sept. 18 Waterloo West

Sept. 25 at Sergeant Bluff-Luton

Oct. 2 Spencer

Oct. 9 Storm Lake

Oct. 16 at Le Mars

Oct. 23 Sioux City West