Trending
Nik Moser is hoping the frustrations from the last two weeks and distractions from the Homecoming festivities will all dissipate once the Fort Dodge football team kicks off on Friday against Storm Lake.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. inside Dodger Stadium.
No one is more ready to take the field this week than FDSH, which has dropped consecutive games to second-ranked (IHSAA RPI) Sergeant Bluff-Luton and No. 5 Spencer to slip to the back of the line in the Class 4A playoff conversation. The Dodgers (4-2 overall, 0-2 in District 1) have to start chipping away at the deficit, and it all starts with the Tornadoes (1-5, 0-2) in a matchup Moser's squad now must have.
"We kind of have to re-prove ourselves now," Moser said. "Last week especially left a pretty bitter taste in our mouth. We didn't play our best football and didn't have our best week of preparation as coaches. I'm not going to shy away from that or spin it otherwise.
"Like (former Fort Dodge football coach) Matt Miller always reminded the kids, now it's time to keep the main thing the main thing. Once we lock in for the game, we have to be really focused. There's a lot going on during Homecoming week, so we have to be physically and mentally ready and mature enough to prioritize that main thing."
The Tornadoes have struggled this season and dropped four straight overall. Moser still sees plenty of talent on the field for head coach Jeff DeHaan's squad, though.
"They have some really good athletes," Moser said. "David William is one of the best receivers around. He's signed with Wayne State (College in Nebraska) and will be teammates there with (current Dodger seniors) Sam (Moser) and Tru (McBride).
"They have some good pieces on defense, too. We can't just show up and expect them to hand us a win. We'll have to earn it. We had a really good week of getting refocused."
Fort Dodge, which had the top scoring offense in 4A heading into last week, was blanked by the Tigers. The Dodgers had been averaging over 400 yards of offense per contest, but were held to less than 200 against Spencer. They also gave up 266 rushing yards at 4.7 yards per carry.
"We weren't very good on first or third down on either side of the ball," Moser said. "Offensively, we need to be better about sustaining drives and showing consistency. And on defense, we need to win on first down and get off the field on third down."
FDSH's Will McElroy had 81 rushing yards on 18 carries last week, moving him into 11th all-time on the program's career charts. McBride is a little over 150 yards from becoming the Dodgers' fourth 4,000-yard passer.
Fort Dodge currently has 1,111 passing and 1,113 rushing yards this year.
The Dodgers, who are currently ranked 14th in the RPI system, head to No. 17 Le Mars (3-3) next Friday before hosting No. 11 Sioux City West (4-2) to close the regular season. They will almost assuredly need to go 3-0 and finish 7-2 to reach the playoffs for a third consecutive campaign.