SPENCER — True to form and completely consistent with his personality, Dreshaun Ross had very little to say about himself after one of the greatest single-half performances in Fort Dodge football history here on Friday.

Ross was exhausted. He had just rushed for 207 yards and three long touchdowns — covering 59, 51 and 71 yards — in the final 15-plus minutes of the Dodgers’ 47-28 victory over Spencer at Dale Norton Field. It was the kind of otherworldly effort that will be talked about by those in attendance for years to come.

Yet the three-time state wrestling champion and Oklahoma State University mat recruit immediately turned the attention afterward to his FDSH teammates — many of whom stepped up when their number was called to far less attention – and made sure the credit hit all the right buttons from the shadows of his own unforgettable night.

“I’m so proud of the way we played. All of us,” said Ross, who had Div. I football offers from 10 different major programs before committing to the Cowboys and wrestling. “Even on my long runs, look at how the O (offensive) line and receivers were blocking to set it up. I thought the offense did a great job. We gave up some plays and some yardage defensively (where Ross is a star linebacker/defensive end hybrid), but we got some big stops, too.

“I didn’t have any doubt in my mind that we’d bounce back from (last week’s home loss to No. 5 Sergeant Bluff-Luton). I know the character of the guys in our locker room. We believed in each other and believed we could get a win as long as we were doing it together.”

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Ross stole the show with a combination of strength, speed and sheer toughness that at times seemed to will Fort Dodge (5-1 overall, 1-1 in Class 4A, District 2) to the finish line and past the Tigers (1-5, 0-2). Spencer, which has faced one of the toughest schedules in the class to date, didn’t go away quietly and pulled back within 33-28 with 6:10 left in regulation before Ross exploded for his longest touchdown jaunt of the contest on 3rd and 10 from the Dodgers’ own 29-yard line.

“We knew they’d keep coming,” FDSH head coach Nik Moser said. “They’re a good ballclub who has just been backed into a corner by playing six straight playoff-level (opponents).

“I think we saw why 1 (Ross’s number) had offers from Michigan, Iowa State, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and a bunch of others for football. That’s a high Division I athlete doing Division I athlete things. He’s a special one.”

Junior quarterback Tru McBride had his best performance of the season, completing 15 of 18 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown while also scoring three times on quarterback runs. Of McBride’s three incompletions, two were drops.

The Tigers led 14-7 midway through the second quarter when McBride sprinted 44 yards to the end zone. That kickstarted a burst that saw the Dodgers eventually turn a seven-point deficit into a 26-14 advantage on Ross’s first TD scamper with 4:40 remaining in the third period.

Plenty of other Fort Dodge players came up clutch. Senior linebacker John Hughes recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass. Senior Dalton Eckley caught a screen pass from McBride in the final minute of the second period and turned it into a 50-yard reception to set up a McBride TD.

Junior Zak Jorgensen put the cherry on top of the win with a 46-yard touchdown reception on a pop pass from McBride late after faking a 4th-and-1 keeper.

“Tru played great. Our defense forced some turnovers and got some nice stops,” Moser said. “Dalton made a huge play, but got hurt (shoulder injury) and had to leave, so (junior) Cal Pederson comes in as our punt returner and makes two huge catches, too. (Senior first team all-stater) Noah Daniel goes down (with a knee injury) and (junior) Sam (Moser) steps in at free safety and does really well. That’s not an easy ask, given everything Noah does.

“Dreshaun will get a lot of the attention, and deservedly so. But we needed everyone to step up. You don’t beat a good team on the road without contributions from a lot of different kids at a lot of different points in the game that could ultimately change (the final outcome) if you aren’t ready.”

Fort Dodge had 476 yards from scrimmage, with nearly 300 coming in the second half. The Dodgers scored 19 points in the second quarter and 21 more in the fourth.

Tiger senior quarterback Dylan Timmer had 127 rushing yards from Spencer’s triple-option look. Timmer was sharp throwing the ball early, completing his first three passes for 61 yards, but went just 3 of 13 for 11 yards the rest of the way as Fort Dodge clamped down defensively.

Ross, who was a first team all-state football player as a sophomore before missing 2024 with a shoulder injury, has been in a lot of different situations and scenarios over the course of his decorated high school career. Where Friday rank between the two sports on an exhaustion level?

“This might be as tired as I’ve ever been,” smiled Ross, still catching his breath after the game had ended. “But it’s a good tired, obviously. To get this win with my teammates – my friends, my brothers – and be able to celebrate it knowing what we went through to get here…there aren’t many better feelings than this. It makes it all worth it.”

Fort Dodge, which has now prevailed at Spencer in back-to-back seasons after losing to the Tigers the previous three years, stays on the road this Friday. The Dodgers visit Storm Lake (2-4, 1-1) for a 7 p.m. kickoff ahead of their Oct. 17 Homecoming date with Le Mars (4-2, 2-0).

FD S

First Downs 16 14

Rushes-Yards 32-286 41-205

Passing 15-18-0 8-17-1

Passing Yards 190 98

Total Offense 476 303

Punts-Avg. 3-36.0 3-37.0

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 4-1

Penalties-Yards 6-65 7-55

Fort Dodge 0 19 7 21 – 47

Spencer 7 7 7 7 – 28

Scoring Summary

Spencer – Dylan Timmer (2-yard run), 4:01 left first quarter. Jace McCormick kick.

Fort Dodge – Tru McBride (2-yard run), 11:56 left second. Bo Marsh kick.

Spencer – Timmer (43-yard run), 8:18 left second. McCormick kick.

Fort Dodge – McBride (44-yard run), 6:08 left second. Kick blocked.

Fort Dodge – McBride (1-yard run), 0:33 left second. Pass failed.

Fort Dodge – Dreshaun Ross (59-yard run), 4:40 left third. Marsh kick.

Spencer – Timmer (3-yard run), 0:08 left third. McCormick kick.

Fort Dodge – Ross (51-yard run), 7:32 left fourth. Marsh kick.

Spencer – Kamden Young (16-yard run), 6:10 left fourth. McCormick kick.

Fort Dodge – Ross (71-yard run), 3:36 left fourth. Marsh kick.

Fort Dodge – Zak Jorgensen (46-yard pass from McBride), 1:15 left fourth. Marsh kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Fort Dodge: Dreshaun Ross 11-212, Tru McBride 5-46, Will McElroy 14-34, Tytrell Mosley 1-(minus-1), Team 1-(minus-5). Spencer: Dylan Timmer 17-127, Kamden Young 14-63, Drew Piercy 4-14, Blaine Erdman 5-5, Logan Wurm 1-(minus-4).

Passing – Fort Dodge: Tru McBride 15-18-0-190. Spencer: Dylan Timmer 6-16-1-72, Shelton Bendin 1-1-0-26.

Receiving – Fort Dodge: Zak Jorgensen 3-57, Dalton Eckley 1-50, Cal Pederson 2-27, Tytrell Mosley 2-23, Noah Daniel 2-18, Kyree Rochon 3-16, Will McElroy 2-(minus-2). Spencer: Shelton Bendin 1-34, Hunter Pearson 2-32, Blaine Erdman 2-18, Aaden Techen 1-15, Kamden Young 1-(minus-1).