—Photo by Troy Hyde/Newton Daily News Fort Dodge senior Noah Daniel runs the ball for the Dodgers in a 4A Playoff game against Newton on Friday.

NEWTON — Nik Moser didn’t see any point in addressing the obvious during his postgame speech following Fort Dodge’s disappointing 51-7 playoff loss to Newton here on Friday.

The large scoreboard flashing a final the Dodgers would rather not see was enough of a reminder. Moser, his staff and his players all looked a bit shell shocked as they received their Class 4A postseason trophy afterward.

Moser immediately went big picture with his message. Nothing could dull the pain of one forgettable snapshot following what was otherwise a memorable Dodger season on the gridiron.

Moser tried.

“I don’t want anything to take away from what they accomplished this year,” Moser said moments after addressing the team. “It isn’t easy standing up in front of them, because I know how they feel. I’ve been there as a player and I’ve been there as a coach. It’s tough to lose like this, and it hurts to know it’s over.

“They can be disappointed about that, and they should be. But they also shouldn’t get down on themselves, because this is a group that won eight games (in 2025) and 15 the last two seasons (combined). That’s only happened once here (since World War II). Should they be upset that it ended this way? Absolutely. Losing sucks. But there is also a lot to be proud of here, both on and off the field.”

The 7th-seeded Cardinals (9-1 overall) used a dizzying array of touchdowns to wipe out any hopes of a Fort Dodge victory in a first-quarter avalanche of points. Led by senior quarterback and state track champion Caden Klein, Newton led 27-0 before the horn mercifully sounded at the end of the opening period.

The slippery Klein tossed a 51-yard scoring pass to Qhjuan Coley less than two minutes into the game, then used his breakneck speed to dart 42 yards into the end zone on the Cardinals’ next possession. An interception and a fumble led to Newton’s next two scores – both Klein runs.

An array of missed tackles and dropped passes haunted the 10th-seeded Dodgers as they slipped into a four-touchdown hole – especially given Fort Dodge had reached Newton territory twice before the turnovers in the nightmarish first quarter. Moser didn’t make excuses afterward, though.

“We obviously weren’t at our best on either side of the ball and got in our own way at (inopportune) times, but credit (the Cardinals). That’s a really good football team,” Moser said. “Their speed and play-making ability is something we thought we could prepare for, but they made a lot of things happen and we just weren’t able to stop them or respond.”

The Dodgers, who had already lost starters Dalton Eckley and Brandt Lawler to season-ending injuries during the regular season, got even more banged up last night. In addition to junior feature back Will McElroy, who hurt his ankle at Sioux City West in the finale last week and was in street clothes for this contest, starting offensive linemen Carter Short and Coy Nichols got hurt and did not return. Linebacker Jayce Skow and defensive back Taevon Feeley had to leave at different moments as well.

Senior all-stater Noah Daniel, who has also been playing through a knee injury for weeks, provided some spark with kickoff returns of 44 and 49 yards. Daniel has been limited for most of the year in all three phases of the game, where he shined a year ago.

Senior Dreshaun Ross ran a kickoff back 99 yards to paydirt late in the third quarter for the lone Dodger touchdown. The state wrestling champion and Oklahoma State University mat recruit was neutralized on offense, with the Newton defense stacking the box and holding him to 43 yards rushing.

Klein rushed eight times for 114 yards and five TDs, while completing 5 of 7 pass attempts for 118 yards and two more scores.

The district champion Cardinals, who have qualified for the postseason in four consecutive years, won their first playoff game in over a decade. Newton will now face second-seeded Gilbert – the Tigers escaped Council Bluffs Lewis Central late to prevail 27-24 on Friday – in a 4A quarterfinal for a UNI-Dome berth.

The Dodgers, taking the field in front of hundreds of their fans who made the two-hour trip to support the squad against their old conference rivals, bow out at 8-2.

Moser made sure to single out his 11 seniors – a small but productive group led by Ross, Daniel, Eckley Feeley, Short, Jesse Egli, Luke Fierke, Tytrell Mosley, John Hughes, Caiden Fraher and Drew Mason.

“I’m indebted to them,” Moser said. “It wasn’t a big class, but they were all starters and effective players. They’re good players and good kids, and it’s going to be hard to see them go.

“I love every last one of these guys. They did things the right way and were fun to be around every week. This all goes by so fast. There are a ton of teams out there who would’ve traded anything to be in our shoes for one more Friday night. This hurts like hell, but you also have to keep it in perspective for the kids. They give their all in a very hard and demanding sport, day after day, week after week. We appreciate that, and I know the parents and our fans and our community do, too.”

FD N

First Downs 10 18

Rushes-Yards 28-68 36-244

Passing 13-26-1 5-7-0

Passing Yards 102 118

Total Offense 170 362

Punts-Avg. 2-28.5 1-40.0

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0

Penalties-Yards 2-20 0-0

Fort Dodge 0 0 7 0 – 7

Newton 27 14 10 0 – 51

Scoring Summary

Newton – Qhjuan Coley (51-yard pass from Caden Klein), 10:44 left first quarter. Kick failed.

Newton – Klein (42-yard run), 7:36 left first. Jackson Price kick.

Newton – Klein (1-yard run), 3:26 left first. Price kick.

Newton – Klein (11-yard run), 0:09 left first. Price kick.

Newton – Klein (5-yard run), 2:18 left second. Price kick.

Newton – Finn Martin (17-yard pass from Klein), 0:36 left second. Price kick.

Newton – Klein (15-yard run), 7:10 left third. Price kick.

Newton – Price (42-yard field goal), 1:33 left third.

Fort Dodge – Dreshaun Ross (99-yard kickoff return), 1:27 left third. Bo Marsh kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Fort Dodge: Dreshaun Ross 14-45, Ezrah Barkhaus 5-31, Tytrell Mosley 1-5, Cael Adams 1-2, Noah Daniel 1-1, Tru McBride 6-(minus-15). Newton: Caden Klein 8-114, Isaiah Hansen 14-81, Nick Thomason 3-21, Aaden Grimm 4-13, Qhjuan Coley 3-8, Wyatt Sterling 3-4, Micah Mattes 1-3.

Passing – Fort Dodge: Tru McBride 13-26-1-102. Newton: Caden Klein 5-7-0-118.

Receiving – Fort Dodge: Tytrell Mosley 6-41, Kyree Rochon 3-26, Cal Pederson 2-17, Noah Daniel 1-13, Cael Adams 1-5. Newton: Qhjuan Coley 1-51, Finn Martin 3-50, Isaiah Hansen 1-17.