STORM LAKE — With just three games remaining in the regular season, the seventh-ranked (Class 4A) Fort Dodge football team knows it needs to ramp up the sense of urgency beginning with Friday’s District 1 contest at Storm Lake.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

If a loss to No. 2 Sergeant Bluff-Luton two weeks ago served as a wake-up call, the Dodgers (5-1 overall, 1-1 in the district) didn’t hit the snooze button in last Friday’s 47-28 victory at Spencer in response. Now, head coach Nik Moser’s squad hopes to continue its push for back-to-back playoff berths with another road assignment in the Tornadoes (2-4, 1-1).

“The goal is to just keep building from last week,” said Moser, who has now directed his program to 12 wins in its last 15 games dating back to over a year ago. “We can’t take anything for granted or let up now. We need to take care of business and get better (collectively) the way we did (at Spencer).”

Fort Dodge will see another completely different offensive look from Storm Lake, which features the most prolific passing attack in 4A. Senior Cameron Boyd has thrown for 1,465 yards — the most in the entire class by a wide margin — and leads all quarterbacks in completions (99), attempts (184) and total offense (1,733 yards from scrimmage).

“They have some terrific athletes,” Moser said. “Boyd was a standout receiver for them last season, but has made a smooth transition and has been very effective as their quarterback. (Junior David) William is outstanding (leading 4A with 813 receiving yards and nine touchdowns). So is (senior Rylan) Richardson (411 yards and four TDs). All three of those guys have been starting since they were freshmen.

“It’s an entirely different challenge for our defense than what we’ve seen so far this year. They’ll throw it 30 to 40 times on average. We’ll have to get some pressure up front, be fundamentally sound in space, and cover a lot of ground sideline to sideline. You have to give them a lot of different looks defensively and try to keep Boyd in the pocket, because he can create some things on his own when he scrambles, too.”

The Dodgers will likely be without first team all-stater Noah Daniel, who injured his knee against the Tigers last Friday in the first half and was unable to return. The team’s top receiver, Dalton Eckley, had surgery on his shoulder this week and is out for the season. Eckley also left in the first half at Spencer.

“We’re not exactly 100 percent,” Moser said, also referring to the prior injuries to starting offensive linemen Brandt Lawler and Korben Davis – both juniors. “We have to keep pressing on, though. Next man up mentality. It’s tough and we’ll miss having them out there, but it’s also unfortunately a part of the game sometimes.”

Senior all-stater Dreshaun Ross put on a show last week, rushing for 207 yards and three touchdowns in the second half alone while also recording two more tackles for loss. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Ross now has 20 TFLs – nearly double the total of the next-best defender in 4A.

“We got explosive plays from Dreshaun obviously, who had an incredible game, but we also got them from Dalton, Zak (Jorgensen), Tru (McBride) and Tytrell (Mosley),” Moser said. “Drew (Mason) had a big tackle for loss and will get the start at safety this week. (Sophomore defensive back) Reggie (Pederson) is playing more and more and doing a really nice job. And then we have all of our veterans stepping up and getting better and better.

“That was a true team win (at Spencer). But like before, we can’t rest on our laurels and have to keep pushing forward in order to reach some of the goals we’ve set for ourselves.”

McBride has thrown for 763 yards and five scores, with eight more TDs rushing. Junior Will McElroy (591 yards) and Ross (476 yards at 10.3 per carry and six touchdowns) lead the ground game.

Junior Sam Moser, junior Jayce Skow and senior Jesse Egli are the top tacklers for FDSH.

The Dodgers defeated the Tornadoes in 2024 by a final of 55-26.

“It was a dogfight, though,” Moser said of last year’s contest. “The final score was deceiving. Our defense had its hands full all night long.”

Perfect weather conditions are expected on Friday at Storm Lake High School, with temperatures at around 60, clear skies and very little wind.