CEDAR FALLS — Fort Dodge is hoping Friday won’t be the only time the football team makes a trip to the UNI-Dome this season.

In order for the fifth-ranked (Class 4A) Dodgers to reach their ultimate dream on the same turf two months from now, head coach Nik Moser’s squad knows it must continue to grow incrementally.

The first big opportunity of the season comes this evening, as unbeaten Fort Dodge faces a projected 5A playoff qualifier in Waterloo West. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

This will be the Wahawks’ Homecoming game.

The Dodgers are 3-0 for the first time since 2021 after last week’s home shutout of Waterloo East. Now FDSH faces another old rival in West, which sports a prolific offense ranked among the best in the state’s largest class to date.

“They’re dynamic,” Moser said of the Wahawks, who have scored 116 points in just three games. “They’ve thrown for over 600 yards. They’ve passed for over 600 yards. They have a left tackle in Carson Nielsen who is 6-7 and 290 (pounds) and going to Iowa. Their left guard, (Kimberly) St. Jean, is 6-5 and 338.

“This is as good of an offense top to bottom as we’ll see all year. They were 6-3 and a (5A) playoff team (in 2024) and have a lot of pieces back. It’s a great challenge for our defense.”

The Dodgers have been anchored by that defensive unit to date, which has given up only 20 points and 414 yards thus far in wins over Mason City, Webster City and East. Senior Dreshaun Ross (9 tackles for loss, 4 sacks), junior Jayce Skow (18.5 tackles, 6 TFLs) and junior Sam Moser (17.5 tackles, 3.5 TFLs) have led a balanced, unwavering group.

The FDSH offense continues to progress. Junior Will McElroy rushed for 123 yards in the first half alone last week, and ranks in the Top-10 of 4A in carries and yards on the ground. Junior quarterback Tru McBride threw for 139 yards before the intermission, and found senior receiver Dalton Eckley twice for touchdown strikes.

“We’ve still got to be better about our consistency in execution and cleaning up the pre-snap penalties,” Moser said. “Both sides of the ball. The false starts and offside penalties catch up to you against quality opponents.

“Our discipline is going to be an important aspect of how we handle this upcoming stretch.”

After West, Fort Dodge welcomes ninth-ranked (4A) Sergeant Bluff-Luton to Dodger Stadium for the District 1 opener next Friday. A trip to Spencer follows in a matchup of defending league co-champions.

“The focus from day one has been to keep improving every time we’re on the field — both in practices and games,” Moser said. “Controlling what we can and handle everything — success or adversity — in stride.

“We talked during practice about having the opportunity to play in the Dome. Not many teams and kids can say they do. I had the ‘Hoosiers’ talk with them about the field still being 100 feet long and 53 feet wide (despite the size of the venue). We’ll have to handle the environment and deal with (the emotions of) their Homecoming. Again, it’s a great test for us.”

The all-time series between the Dodgers and Wahawks is actually one of the oldest in state history. Fort Dodge and West first squared off on the football field in 1912.

This is the 76th meeting overall, with the Wahawks holding a 37-34-4 advantage. The former Big 6 and Big 8 members have played only three times since 1991, though, with FDSH winning in 2014 and ’15 and West prevailing 24-17 in the 2020 playoffs.

The Wahawks opened their season with a lopsided win over Waterloo East (50-7) and a victory versus Dubuque Senior (34-27). They fell last week to Dubuque Hempstead, 42-32.

Last Friday, West senior quarterback Brett McGovern threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Teammate Felix Annan rushed 26 times for 217 yards, and Deztin McMurrin caught nine passes for 114 yards.