-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Cael Adams of Stags break a tackle against Des Moines Lincoln

The Fort Dodge Stags have had strong success in their eight years of existence, including qualifying for state in six consecutive seasons.

For the first time in program history this Friday, the Stags will be hosting the state tournament inside Dodger Stadium.

Gates open at 5 p.m. with a $5 admission. The Stags begin play against Ankeny at 6 p.m. in the eight team field.

“I’m really excited to be hosting for the first time,” said head coach Tom McClimon. “Fort Dodge does a great job of hosting events.

“We would love to see the community come out and support the event. This league is professionally run. Fans may not know all the rules, but its fast paced and fun to watch.”

The Dodgers faced Ankeny recently, dropping a match to them.

“We lost to them last week and we didn’t play our best,” McClimon said. “We haven’t put our best 14 minutes together all year.

“If we put together our best game, we can beat anyone.”

Bondurant is the one seed and will play Urbandale at 6 p.m. Waverly-Shell Rock will have Southeast Polk at 6:40 p.m. and Iowa City West squares off with Southeast Polk to round out the first round at 7 p.m.

The third-place match will be at 9 p.m., and the fifth-place match at 9:20 p.m. The championship will be decided at 9:40 p.m.

“We have built something here, and it’s something that has become a part of former players,” McClimon said. “We have players that come back all the time. Connor Carver comes back and the kids really look up to him.”

Senior Jesse Egli leads the Stags in tries with 10, followed by sophomore Cael Adams’ nine. Owen Stok has seven.

Brennen Stickrod has 13 conversions, while Drew Mason has eight.

Egli has 34 tackles and Hunter Kasperbauer has 28. Mason has 27 tackles and Matthew Crimmins has 19.

“We need to play good defense and play our aggressive style,” McClimon said. “We have to stay together and play hard on defense and not make mistakes.

“We can’t play on our back foot and let them run on us. Last week we spotted Waterloo 17 and then won 21-17. We need to play unselfishly on offense.”