Fort Dodge senior Dreshaun Ross celebrates after rushing for a touchdown against Waterloo West on Friday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

CEDAR FALLS — Facing a real bout of adversity for the first time all season, the fifth-ranked (Class 4A) Fort Dodge football team had a choice to make at halftime of their game on Friday against Waterloo West.

The Dodgers answered head coach Nik Moser’s question with authority coming out of the locker room, reeling off 28 consecutive points to catch, pass and finally rain on the Wahawks’ hopeful Homecoming parade at the UNI-Dome for a 35-14 victory.

Moser wasn’t particularly worried when Fort Dodge (4-0 overall) trailed West (2-2) by a 14-7 count heading into the break. He was a little surprised, though, when the Dodgers not only took over down the stretch, but imposed their will to the point of complete domination before all was said and done.

“We just physically took over,” Moser proudly pointed out. “On both offense and defense. That’s a talented (West) squad that had scored over 100 (116) points the first three weeks and put up more than 1,200 yards. They have talented athletes at a lot of different positions. But we really set the tone early (in the third quarter) and just kept going from there.

“You could see the confidence building, and we put together our best half of the season so far. And I know we have a lot more in us.”

After a first-half deadlock in yards and a seven-point West advantage, Fort Dodge left no doubt by piecing together four touchdown drives and blanking the Wahawks the rest of the way. The Dodgers rushed for 318 yards and finished a shade shy of the 500-yard mark overall, with junior quarterback Tru McBride adding 176 yards through the air.

In the second half alone, FDSH racked up 175 rushing yards, 128 passing, 28 points and 13 first downs. West, meanwhile, had less than 100 total yards, four first downs and two turnovers in the final 24 minutes.

The 14 points for the Wahawks was more than 24 under their season average to date, which was the second-best total in 5A through the first three weeks.

Junior Ezrah Barkhaus got the ball rolling quickly in the third period, catching a pass out of the backfield from McBride on the second snap and darting 59 yards to the end zone to tie it up at 14. Senior Dreshaun Ross then drilled West back Felix Annan for a 5-yard loss on 3rd-and-1 to shift momentum even further on the next possession, forcing a punt.

Fort Dodge drove from its own 34 to a goal-to-go, but fumbled the ball back to the Wahawks. On the next play, however, juniors Jayon Preston-Grady and Sam Moser forced a fumble that was recovered by senior linebacker Caiden Fraher.

McBride scored on a keeper moments later, and the Dodgers took the lead for good at 21-14.

The FDSH defense forced another punt, and the offense drove 69 yards in 10 plays for another McBride keeper score and a 14-point advantage. The offensive line – led by seniors Luke Fierke and Carter Short, junior Joe Constable and sophomores Brody Maehl and Coy Nichols as well as 10th-grade fullback Cael Adams – began to bully West up front, with feature back Will McElroy (25 carries, 161 yards) and Ross (9 for 121) completely gashing the Wahawk defense.

“They just took over (in the trenches),” Moser said. “There’s not much you can do (as an opponent) when that starts to happen, both physically and mentally.

“It was great to see the offense starting to click. We can be dangerous when we’re as balanced as we are and winning up front the way we did (in the second half).”

The last TD was the exclamation point, with Ross – one of the nation’s top prep wrestlers and an Oklahoma State University recruit – sprinting 30 yards to paydirt with 4:08 left in regulation. An interception by senior Dalton Eckley – who also had six catches for 56 yards as a receiver – put the victory on ice.

Ross scored twice and added three more tackles for loss to his 4A-leading ledger.

The only downside to the win came on the injury front. Junior Korben Davis rolled his ankle and did not return, joining classmate and fellow offensive lineman Brandt Lawler (torn ACL and MCL from Week 2) on the sideline with crutches. Senior all-stater Noah Daniel blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt to end the first half and keep it a one-score game, but Daniel injured his hip on the play and did not return.

“We’re banged up,” Moser admitted. “Over the course of a football season, you’re going to face injuries and adversity. You’re going to be physically and mentally challenged. But you have to find a way to rise to the occasion.

“I’m really proud of these guys for the way they responded. Ezrah had some huge plays for us. Tru and Dalton found a rhythm. Kyree (Rochon) had two big catches. Will and Dreshaun had some tough runs. And our offensive line deserves a ton of credit…they really wore that team down.”

Keeping West more than 100 yards under their season average and pitching a second-half shutout was “the icing on the cake,” according to Moser.

“Again, we had a lot of guys step up defensively when their number was called,” Moser said. “That’s what can get us to the next level. We have to do it together. To a man. All of us.”

The Dodgers return to action on Friday for a ranked showdown with Sergeant Bluff-Luton (3-1). The No. 9 Falcons edged eighth-rated Glenwood last night, 14-10.

FD W

First Downs 20 14

Rushes-Yards 43-318 28-115

Passing 11-18-0 17-26-1

Passing Yards 176 167

Total Offense 494 282

Punts-Avg. 2-30.0 4-37.0

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties-Yards 8-62 7-50

Fort Dodge 7 0 14 14 – 35

Waterloo West 7 7 0 0 – 14

Scoring Summary

Fort Dodge – Dreshaun Ross (2-yard run), 8:00 left first quarter. Bo Marsh kick.

West – Brett McGovern (3-yard run), 3:03 left first. Ajdin Rizvic kick.

West – McGovern (4-yard run), 11:09 left second. Rizvic kick.

Fort Dodge – Ezrah Barkhaus (59-yard pass from Tru McBride), 11:01 left third. Marsh kick.

Fort Dodge – McBride (5-yard run), 3:43 left third. Marsh kick.

Fort Dodge – McBride (6-yard run), 8:28 left fourth. Marsh kick.

Fort Dodge – Ross (30-yard run), 4:08 left fourth. Marsh kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Fort Dodge: Wil McElroy 25-161, Dreshaun Ross 9-121, Noah Daniel 2-19, Tru McBride 5-18, Ezrah Barkhaus 1-3. West: Felix Annan 16-48, Brett McGovern 4-29, Perignon Holmes 4-23, Luke Lindaman 3-8.

Passing – Fort Dodge: Tru McBride 11-18-0-176. West: Brett McGovern 17-26-1-167.

Receiving – Fort Dodge: Ezrah Barkhaus 3-74, Dalton Eckley 6-56, Kyree Rochon 2-46. West: Deztin McMurrin 7-63, Torian Doss 3-39, Isaiah Corwin 3-37, Kavan Bennett 1-16, Tucker Satterlee 2-8, Jack Van Erem 1-4.