The work done in the dark brought success to light for the Fort Dodge football program and its four all-state recipients on Tuesday.

Senior Dreshaun Ross was named a first team selection by the Iowa Football Coaches Association for the second time in three years – this time as a defensive end. Ross was joined by fellow FDSH defensive standouts Jesse Egli, Sam Moser and Jayon Preston-Grady.

The Dodgers were 8-2 this year, reaching the eight-win plateau in the regular season for just the fourth time in the last eight decades.

“Having four kids recognized was kind of a barometer for how (2025) went,” FDSH head coach Nik Moser said. “It doesn’t happen very often here (nine times in the last 80 years). But when you win 80 percent of your games, you tend to get that nod (of appreciation) when it comes to (honors).

“I think the biggest message is you see these kids putting in work when no one else is paying attention. It doesn’t come by accident, and there’s no shortcut to success.”

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Ross became the first sophomore in school history to attain first team all-state status in 2023. He was sidelined with a shoulder injury for all of last season, though, which gave the Oklahoma State University wrestling recruit a “renewed appreciation” for the sport, according to Moser.

“He came back hungry,” Moser said. “When something is taken away from you like that, it gives you a totally different perspective. You tend to play more with a sense of urgency and have fun doing it, knowing that nothing is guaranteed.

“Dreshaun the most highly-touted and heavily-recruited athlete in the history of our school (Ross held football offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, Kansas State, Purdue and Minnesota before going the wrestling route) for good reason. To be out for a full year and come back to play at the level he did…I just hope fans appreciated what they were seeing.”

Ross led the entire state in regular-season tackles for loss with 33 and sacks at 13 — both program records. He also rushed for nearly 800 yards and nine touchdowns at over eight yards per carry on offense as well.

“It’s exciting and I’m proud, but I’m even more proud of some of my teammates who were also on the list,” Ross said. “We worked hard and this accomplishment shows that. It’s incredible.

“With all of our all-state guys being on defense, it (is a reward for) the mentality we preached. It’s awesome to see Jesse, Sam and Jayon (recognized) as well. I feel like we had a lot of guys deserving of (honors).”

Egli, a senior, was a three-year starter and one of the team’s most active defenders. He racked up 54.5 tackles and five tackles from loss as a linebacker/safety hybrid.

“This honor is the culmination of a lot of hard work from Jesse,” Moser said. “He does everything right, and often behind the scenes. He just kept getting better and better.

“Jesse will be hard to replace. This was a nice final chapter for him, and he also now has bragging rights over his brothers as the first Egli all-stater (older brothers Duke, Jonah, Levi and Ben were Dodger football players, with Levi and Ben suiting up collegiately for football).”

Moser emerged as Fort Dodge’s most active tackler as a junior after gaining a few inches of height and nearly 30 pounds in the offseason. The coach’s son had a team-best 60 tackles overall, including 6.5 for loss.

“Like Jesse, Sam puts so much time into it away from (the field and the season),” said Coach Moser, who was a first team Dodger all-stater at defensive back under his father, Sam, in 2000. “He’s really committed himself to the game and forging his own path. He’s one of a lot of juniors who we’ll rely pretty heavily on to be the leaders of our program between now and next August.”

Preston-Grady, another junior and the bookend to Ross on the defensive front, had 10.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks while ranking among the Dodgers’ top tacklers.

“Jayon is so athletic and has a ton of potential. He’s just scratching the surface,” Moser said. “With another steady offseason of work, he could really be a dominant player.

“We need as many (returnees) as possible to be fully invested and hold each other accountable these next eight months. The more we do that, the better (2026) will be.”

Moser also noted a 2024 first team all-stater and University of Iowa commit, Fort Dodge senior Noah Daniel, suffered a handful of injuries and had an incomplete season relative to the standard he’d previously set.

“Like Jesse, Sam and Jayon, Noah’s best football is still ahead of him,” Moser said. “I know he was disappointed in how this year went, given he wasn’t 100 percent or anywhere near it. But he gutted it out and can really have a bright future (at the next level) with a full investment.”

Ross is the Dodgers’ 67th first team all-state football selection dating back to 1915. Only four FDSH athletes ever have attained first team all-state status in football multiple times: Sam Cook, Tysen Kershaw, Javion Jondle and Ross.