Dodgers impressive in opener at Mason City
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MASON CITY - Much like the theme in this series for over two decades now, the Fort Dodge football team continues to prove they aren't going away anytime soon.
The Dodgers played with an aggressive edge on Friday night in the season opener against arch rival Mason City, dominating in all aspects to score a 36-6 victory.
Quarterback Tru McBride got his senior campaign started on the right foot with nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns from scrimmage, and classmate Will McElroy had 116 rushing yards in the first half alone as Fort Dodge defeated the Riverhawks for the 21st time in the last 22 matchups to keep the Decker Sporting Goods Trophy securely in the program's locker room and school's trophy case.
"The kids played hard," FDSH head coach Nik Moser said. "The effort and intensity was definitely there. We have a lot of guys who won't shy away from contact on both sides of the ball, which can win you a lot of football games.
"We weren't always smart with our decision making, but the stuff we need to clean up is fixable. It was a good start. This group feels like they have something to prove, and we're not going to shy away from (that narrative), because it will keep us hungry."
McBride and his classmates defeated Mason City for a third consecutive time - and the second in resounding fashion on the Riverhawks' home turf. Two years ago, as sophomores, the Dodgers posted a 35-17 victory here with McBride, McElroy and a handful of others on the field as sophomores.
"It felt great to get off to a start like this," said McBride, a Wayne State (Neb.) College recruit who became the fourth FDSH quarterback all-time to reach the 3,000-yard career passing mark on Friday. "That's just a glimpse of how explosive our offense can be.
"Going to Fort Dodge and playing Mason City every year, I feel like it's the expectation to keep the Decker Trophy. It was important (for the senior class and this squad) to keep that up."
McBride was able to share the wealth in his 243-yard passing performance, which included touchdown tosses to junior Spencer Smith (45 yards) and McElroy (14). Smith's TD got the ball rolling less than two minutes into the contest; he sprinted wide-open up the right-hand side of the field, and McBride hit him perfectly in stride.
Seven different Dodgers caught passes, and nine were targeted. Senior co-captain Zak Jorgensen had three receptions for 44 yards, with sophomore Mason Hughes (2 for 76), Smith (2 for 49), McElroy (2 for 18), junior Dexter Johnson (2 for 17), junior Reggie Pederson (2 for 17) and senior Cal Pederson (1 for 18) also making grabs. Senior Sam Moser had his first career catch called back by a penalty, and senior veteran Kyree Rochon was also an option.
Fort Dodge had 425 yards of total offense.
"We have a lot of different guys who can do a lot of different things in our (receiver corps)," Moser said. "We have versatility (in the passing game), which can make us tough to defend - especially when Tru has time, which he did thanks to our offensive line.
"When you hear 'balance' in football, you may think of run vs. pass. That's true, but it's also about how you can utilize the skillset of as many of your kids as possible and get the ball in their hands to make plays. We did that. They did that."
The Dodgers also held returning all-district senior quarterback Jameer Falls in relative check. The three-year Mason City standout, who came into this season with over 3,100 yards from scrimmage to his credit, did throw for 137 yards and ran for 108 on Friday - but it took him 45 combined snaps to get there.
"He's probably one of the more talented overall athletes we'll see all year," Moser said of Falls. "I tell you what: he took some hits, and just kept coming back. He's a really tough football player. Holding him to under six yards (per play) was a big win for us. We only gave up one that went for more than 20 yards.
"Our defense has heard a lot about how without (first team all-stater) Dreshaun (Ross), (current Iowa Hawkeye) Noah (Daniel), (Northwestern College defensive back) Jesse (Egli) and (four) other starters (who graduated from last year), they won't be the same. They got really tired of the talk and they are ready to answer (the critics)."
FDSH seniors Jayon Preston-Grady and Javion Soppeland recovered fumbles, and junior Luke Beckley recorded a pair of sacks.
Moser, of course, saw plenty of areas for improvement. The Dodgers were penalized 10 times in the first half alone, and the overall execution was far from perfect - typical struggles in the opener.
"We'll have plenty to work on and point out in the (film session)," Moser said. "We had a lot of kids step up on both sides of the ball - even the newcomers (to the lineup). The penalties were frustrating and the tackling needs to be more consistent, but we took a positive step overall."
Fort Dodge is now 16-3 in its last 19 regular-season games.
The Dodgers host Webster City for their home opener on Friday at 7 p.m.
FD MC
First Downs 20 18
Rushes-Yards 28-182 38-167
Passing 14-22-0 13-22-0
Passing Yards 243 137
Total Offense 425 291
Punts-Avg. 0-0 3-33.3
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 4-2
Penalties-Yards 12-76 11-78
Fort Dodge 8 12 8 8 - 36
Mason City 0 0 6 0 - 6
Scoring Summary
Fort Dodge - Spencer Smith (45-yard pass from Tru McBride), 10:28 left first quarter. McBride pass to Zak Jorgensen.
Fort Dodge - Will McElroy (14-yard pass from McBride), 11:55 left second. Run failed.
Fort Dodge - McElroy (2-yard run), 2:25 left second. Pass failed.
Mason City - Chase Lacour (2-yard run), 4:54 left third. Kick failed.
Fort Dodge - McBride (9-yard run), 0:42 left third. McBride pass to Reggie Pederson.
Fort Dodge - McBride (3-yard run), 7:34 left fourth. McBride pass to Smith.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Fort Dodge: Will McElroy 19-127, Tru McBride 5-37, Reggie Pederson 1-11, Ezrah Barkhaus 2-5, Sam Moser 1-2. Mason City: Jameer Falls 23-109, Chase Lacour 9-45, Immanuel Gregoire 4-28, Ulrich Richors 1-(minus-2), Team 1-(minus-13).
Passing - Fort Dodge: Tru McBride 14-22-0-243. Mason City: Jameer Falls 13-22-0-137.
Receiving - Fort Dodge: Mason Hughes 2-76, Spencer Smith 2-49, Zak Jorgensen 3-44, Dexter Johnson 2-21, Will McElroy 2-18, Cal Pederson 1-18, Reggie Pederson 2-17. Mason City: Isaac Buhr 8-92, DeSavian Portis 4-34, Chase Lacour 1-11.
Dodger frosh rout Riverhawks
The Fort Dodge freshman football team coasted to a 47-14 road victory over Mason City on Friday.
Quarterback Jerry Crockett had five rushing touchdowns and hit Devontrae Dungy for a sixth score. Krewe Seltz returned an interception for a TD, and Ethan Tjalsma picked off a pass as well.