SPENCER — The attention and adulation from the outside world followed Fort Dodge throughout August and September.

Now that October football is here, the Dodgers have been left to find their own way back starting with Friday’s District 1 road trip to Spencer.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Dale Norton Field.

Head coach Nik Moser’s squad limped away from its Top-10 home showdown against No. 5 Sergeant Bluff-Luton last weekend with some soul searching to do. A 38-0 setback brought FDSH back down to earth, eliminating a lot of the bandwagon collateral it had built in a 4-0 start that pushed the Dodgers into the upper-tier of the early Class 4A playoff conversation.

Now, Fort Dodge is back on the hunt with something to prove.

“Honestly, this (two-game) road swing comes at probably a perfect time,” Moser said. “I think you start to puff your chest out a little and get a false sense of security when everyone is telling you how good you are. So we’re back to square one.

“We’ve had a good week of practice. (Last week’s setbcak) definitely got the kids’ attention. We got some stuff cleaned up and corrected that was overdue. And we moved on from it and forward by about 3:30 on Monday.”

The Tigers (1-4) are licking their own wounds. Spencer has played one of 4A’s tougher schedules to date, as Fort Dodge will be its sixth consecutive opponent rated in the Top-15 of the power rankings in their respective classes.

“They’ve been in every one of their games,” Moser said. “They were tied with Humboldt at half. They beat Carroll. They were only down two to Western Christian at half and lost by a point. They were up on Sioux Center (in the third quarter). They were tied with Le Mars last week (heading into the third period).

“For one reason or another, they just haven’t been able to finish (with victories). But they’ve been competitive. It’s a strong program built on a lot of tradition. No one respects that more than us.”

Head coach Jim Tighe’s team has seven winning seasons and five playoff berths since 2017 alone. Last year, the Dodgers and Tigers shared the District 1 crown and qualified for the postseason when Fort Dodge escaped with a thrilling 24-20 victory on this same field.

“We still have all of our goals in front of us,” Moser said. “There’s a lot of football left to be played. Things don’t always go your way in this sport. You have to fight through it, physically and mentally.

“There’s no need to overreact or panic after a loss, just like there’s no reason to think you’re better than you are after a win. It’s all about your reaction to these situations.”

Fort Dodge junior Will McElroy saw his streak of four consecutive 100-yard rushing efforts come to an end against SB-L last Friday, but McElroy has still accumulated 557 yards this year at over five yards per carry. Junior quarterback Tru McBride has thrown for 573 yards and four scores.

Senior Dreshaun Ross has been as-advertised so far, as he leads 4A in tackles for loss with 18. Juniors Jayce Skow and Sam Moser pace FDSH in tackles.

Spencer, with its vaunted triple-option ground attack, is powered by senior Kamden Young (616 yards rushing and nine touchdowns). Seniors Dylan Timmer and Drew Piercy have both scored twice on the ground.

Junior Ryan Berends has been the most productive defender for the Tigers.

The Dodgers are at Spencer and at Storm Lake before returning to Fort Dodge for Homecoming on Oct. 17 against Le Mars.

“We can focus on football and just football these next two weeks,” Moser said. “We have our routine and our gameplan down. We need to get back to setting the tone physically and being ready to execute consistently.

“Like with (SB-L last Friday), Spencer will be tough and obviously hungry for a win. We need to not just match their intensity level, but surpass it.”