Nik Moser’s name will be on the award, but the Fort Dodge football coach considers his 2025 Class 4A, Region 2 honor to be a true program achievement.

Moser has been tabbed the 4A-2 coach of the year by the Iowa Football Coaches Association. The presentation is Saturday, Feb. 28, at the annual IFCA banquet in Altoona.

“To me, it’s kind of a barometer for where our program stands as of today,” said Moser, who completed his sixth season at the helm this past fall. “This isn’t going to one individual. Each and every assistant coach and player has a hand in it.

“I’m very proud, because I’m representing Dodger football and the Fort Dodge community. This is way bigger than me. This is about us.”

Moser is one of only two 4A coaches to garner the award for 2025, joining Decorah’s Mike Tangen. The honor essentially splits the state into east and west, with two coaches tabbed in each class.

Fort Dodge put together an 8-2 campaign with a 4A playoff berth last fall. The Dodgers won eight regular-season games for just the fourth time since 1950.

Moser is now 33-23 overall at the helm.

“We had a strong season, with a lot of all-district kids and four all-staters (senior Dreshaun Ross, senior Jesse Egli, junior Sam Moser and junior Jayon Preston-Grady),” Moser said. “There’s a lot of work being done in the dark both to get to this point and make sure we’re sustaining success on and away from the field.”

The Dodgers, who are 15-5 in the last two seasons combined, are slated to return 17 starters in 2026 – including 13 with all-district recognition already under their belt.

“This is an important offseason, obviously, if we want to take the next step as a program,” Moser said. “The last thing you want to do now is rest on your laurels. We need to have a successful spring in track first; I’m a big believer in how much that helps in the fall. It’s hard to beat speed, and it’s no coincidence that successful football teams are almost always good in track, too.

“We have to keep getting stronger, tougher and more physical. We’re making gains every day. And the kids are holding each other accountable. As coaches, we establish the expectations and have to communicate that with them, but they also need to be on the same page with each other and reinforce the standard, year in and year out.”

Moser knows wins and losses fluctuate from year to year, but added, “regardless of what happens, we never want to lose a game because we were unprepared.”

“I think that’s the main message, and it’s the responsibility of myself and the entire coaching staff,” Moser said. “In order to be in a position to have success, you have to be physically and mentally ready. That’s our number one job as coaches.

“I want every opposing coach, regardless of the outcome of (the game), to say, ‘when we play Fort Dodge, we know we’re going to get their best effort and they’ll be really well-prepared.’ Again, that’s why the ownership of this program stretches far beyond me; it’s a credit to everyone involved.”

Moser’s staff in 2025 included Blake Utley, Dan Adams, Jon Koenig, Jerry Ellendson, Tyler Winter, Ben Schnurr and Mike Minikwu. Volunteer assistants were Keaton Martin, Kadyn Preston and Aidan Simonson. Freshman coaches were Tom McClimon, Connor McLeod and Noah Stanley.