Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Dreshaun Ross of Fort Dodge leaps over a Mason City defender on Friday inside Dodger Stadium. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Weeks of preseason praise and expectations put Fort Dodge in a relatively distorted frame of mind heading into the 2025 opener against Mason City on Friday.

Head coach Nik Moser’s team learned a valuable lesson in their hard-fought 20-14 victory over the Riverhawks on a night of celebration and spectacle inside the freshly-modernized Dodger Stadium. In order for FDSH to eventually live up to the hype that surrounded the program all summer long, the Dodgers must first prove they don’t buy too much into it themselves.

“A win is a win, and you never have to apologize for that,” Moser said. “We did some good things. The defense was lights-out. And as I said before the game, I think this is Mason City’s best group in a long time. But we need to get better. A lot better.

“You spend weeks hearing over and over again you’re a Top-5 team (in Class 4A). The attention and respect is nice, but once the season starts, you have to earn it and handle the expectations that go with that. We haven’t ‘arrived’ yet. Far from it.”

It took Fort Dodge over 29 minutes of game time to put a dent in the scoreboard, as the Decker Sporting Goods travel trophy rivals traded defensive stops throughout a first-half stalemate. The Riverhawks capitalized on the contest’s first big mistake, recording a safety off of an errant Dodger snap and then driving for a touchdown on the ensuing possession. It was 8-0 Mason City at that point, and the capacity crowd started feeling a little restless.

The deficit only seemed to awaken the Dodgers, who reeled off 20 consecutive points to take control. A 4-yard touchdown run by Dreshaun Ross — the first team all-state senior superstar who missed all of last year with a shoulder injury — quickly pulled FDSH within 8-7, and a strip sack by Ross was recovered by junior teammate Jayon Preston-Grady as the Riverhawks were driving late in the third period.

Noah Daniel — another returning first team all-stater for the Dodgers — then showed off his elite playmaking ability on a 3rd-and-2 wildcat run that looked innocuous but turned into a 70-yard scamper by the future Iowa Hawkeye that set up a goal-to-go. Junior Tru McBride scored on a quarterback keeper, and Fort Dodge had its first lead less than a minute into the fourth period.

Junior Bo Marsh then recovered his own on-side kickoff, and the Dodgers marched in for another McBride sneak to go up 20-8 with 7:04 remaining.

Mason City didn’t go away quietly, though. Junior quarterback Jameer Falls scrambled out of trouble and sprinted 59 yards to paydirt a minute later, pulling the visitors back within a single score. With Fort Dodge’s ground attack finally finding its rhythm, the Dodgers went right back to work and reached another goal-to-go before a fumble gave the Riverhawks one last chance.

Having to drive 86 yards in the final 2:45, Mason City did get near midfield. On 4th-and-inches, however, the interior of the FDSH defense stuffed Falls on a sneak attempt to slam the door shut and seal the victory.

The Dodgers dominated the final yardage tally, rushing for 189 of their 255 yards in the second half. Junior bruiser Will McElroy finished with 24 carries for 125 yards, with 86 coming after intermission.

Daniel (76 yards) and Ross (59) also contributed to the run dominance in a limited yet effective capacity.

With the exception of the Falls TD sprint, Fort Dodge’s defense was relentless against a Riverhawk squad returning a number of offensive weapons. Mason City had only 188 yards from scrimmage, and the Dodgers tallied nine tackles for loss.

“It was a surreal feeling, being back out there with my teammates and friends and having fun again,” beamed Ross, the blue-chip Oklahoma State University wrestling recruit who was everywhere on defense with three sacks and a number of quarterback hurries from his end/linebacker hybrid position. “Coach Moser talked at halftime about us playing like a team that had bought too much into the preseason hype, and he was right. I think we settled in and did some good things in the second half once we got into a better rhythm on both sides of the ball.

“Mason City has a good (squad). They were tough. We just have to keep moving in the right direction. This is a start, but we definitely have a ton of work to do.”

Senior safety Jesse Egli intercepted a pass for FDSH, which allowed Falls only 66 yards through the air — 160 less than his per-game average a season ago.

Senior defensive back Drew Mason carried the Decker Sporting Goods trophy off the field as the Dodgers filed into their new locker-room area afterward. Fort Dodge has now defeated the Riverhawks 20 times in the last 21 meetings of a rivalry that dates back to 1912.

“We had to really earn it, and a lot of that was what Mason City did,” Moser pointed out, stopping on the field to congratulate both Falls and Drew Hobart for the way they performed. “But we have to concentrate on ourselves now, and we better be ready to go at practice on Monday. Because this isn’t nearly good enough relative to where we want to go.

“We got a win and a reality check at the same time.”

The Dodgers head to Webster City on Friday. The Lynx dismantled Iowa Falls-Alden last night, 42-8.

FD MC

First Downs 16 9

Rushes-Yards 46-255 24-122

Passing Yards 64 66

Comp-Att-Int 6-15-1 9-16-1

Total Yards 319 188

Punts-Avg. 4-30.5 5-39.0

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 2-0

Penalties-Yards 11-77 9-57

Fort Dodge 0 0 7 13 — 20

Mason City 0 0 8 6 — 14

Scoring Summary

Mason City — Safety (ball snapped into and recovered in end zone), 10:02 left third quarter.

Mason City — Drew Hobart (14-yard pass from Jameer Falls), 7:44 left third. Kick blocked.

Fort Dodge — Dreshaun Ross (4-yard run), 5:31 left third. Bo Marsh kick.

Fort Dodge — Tru McBride (1-yard run), 11:33 left fourth. Pass failed.

Fort Dodge — McBride (1-yard run), 7:04 left fourth. Marsh kick.

Mason City — Falls (59-yard run), 6:06 left fourth. Pass failed.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Fort Dodge: Will McElroy 24-125, Noah Daniel 3-76, Dreshaun Ross 9-59, Tru McBride 11-12, Ezrah Barkhaus 1-2, Team 1-(minus-19). Mason City: Jameer Falls 9-55, Ty Sanchez-Evans 2-30, Dane Hanson 9-17, Chase Lacour 2-7, Jayden Williams 1-2.

Passing — Fort Dodge: Tru McBride 6-14-0-64. Mason City: Jameer Falls 9-16-1-66, Dane Hanson 0-1-0-0.

Receiving — Fort Dodge: Zak Jorgensen 1-26, Cael Adams 2-20, Dalton Eckley 1-10, Kyree Rochon 1-10, Will McElroy 1-(minus-2). Mason City: Drew Hobart 4-39, Drayden Witt 2-19, Ty Sanchez-Evans 2-8.