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SERGEANT BLUFF - Fort Dodge had its chances in a showdown at No. 2 (Class 4A) Sergeant Bluff-Luton.
The players know it. Head coach Nik Moser knows it.
Instead of dwelling on what might have been, the Dodgers (4-1 overall) quickly turn their attention to Spencer this week for what is now another pivotal opportunity to advance their playoff chances.
A 21-point fourth quarter surge pushed the unbeaten Warriors (5-0) past FDSH on a wet homecoming evening here last Friday night. The Dodgers fell behind 13-0 in the first quarter, but responded with a vengeance and pulled even by halftime.
A brilliant 57-yard pass from senior Tru McBride to junior Reggie Pederson even had Moser's squad in the red zone and threatening to pull ahead in the third period after the Fort Dodge defense came up with its fourth consecutive stop. The drive stalled, though, and SB-L regained control by churning out a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive for what proved to be the winning score to start the fateful final quarter.
The Warriors never looked back from there.
"It stings, and it should," Moser said. "You get down two touchdowns on the road and fight your way back against an opponent of this caliber, and you go into the fourth tied up...we stayed the course and did what we had to do on both sides of the ball for a really long stretch.
"You hate losing, but there were positives to take away. We have to focus on that and clean up the stuff we did wrong. The kids responded (to the early deficit) and showed a lot of resilience, but it got away from us toward the end."
Trailing 20-13, the Dodgers drove back into SB-L territory, but the Warriors forced a punt. Quarterback Justin Ehlers then delivered the pivotal run, racing 63 yards on the next snap to immediately put SB-L in the red zone.
The Warriors would hit paydirt five plays later.
Fort Dodge was stopped on a questionable 4th-and-1 spot, and SB-L tacked on its final touchdown to make the final margin of victory look much more deceiving than the reality of what had transpired.
"There just weren't many possessions in this game," Moser said. "We only had one in the entire third quarter, and you have to get points out of that (after the McBride pass to Pederson). We had it tied up and all the momentum deep into their territory, but we lost it by not getting a score there. Then they take back over and you don't get the ball back until (early in the fourth)."
McBride completed only eight passes but had 184 yards through the air and added 63 more on the ground. Senior Will McElroy rushed for 91 yards on 22 carries.
The Warriors out-gained the Dodgers from scrimmage by a slim 339-335 margin. SB-L did rush for 274 yards on 43 attempts, but 117 came on the Ehlers burst and a 54-yarder by Carson Jager to set up SB-L's second touchdown.
McBride hit Sam Moser for a 66-yard TD strike on the opening snap of the second period, and McBride later tightroped the right sideline to score on a 47-yard quarterback keeper. Defensively, Moser had 9.5 tackles and senior Jayce Skow added eight. Junior Cael Adams recorded two tackles for loss.
Carter Hayes had three short TD runs for the Warriors, who now have a 26-3 record since the start of 2024. SB-L has reached the UNI-Dome and the 4A state semifinals in each of the last two seasons.
Fort Dodge, which lost for just the third time in its last 22 regular-season contests, now faces the Tigers (3-2, 1-0) on Friday at home. Spencer defeated Le Mars in its District 1 opener last week, 29-20.
"We have to move on and not let this one linger," Moser said. "I'm confident our guys will. Spencer is a really good ballclub and we've had some battles with them in (recent years).
"We have to turn the page quickly, because this will be a big one (to avoid an 0-2 district start)."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Dodger Stadium.