Trending
LE MARS - Fort Dodge's postseason on the gridiron ostensibly began last week.
In order for the Dodgers to stay in contention for a berth in the official Class 4A playoff field later this month, head coach Nik Moser's squad knows the margin for error remains almost zero as they head to Le Mars here on Friday night.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
With its back against the wall, Fort Dodge responded and snapped a two-game losing skid in a resounding Homecoming victory over Storm Lake. Now, the degree of difficulty increases as the Dodgers (5-2 overall, 1-2 in District 1) square off with the Bulldogs (3-4, 1-2).
"We've talked with the kids about the fact that our playoffs have already started, for all intents and purposes," Moser said. "We know that if we're 7-2, we'll be in. At 6-3, there's an outside chance, but we don't want to leave it up to that.
"It's definitely increased our sense of urgency, and our guys had another great week of practice. They've been focused, and we know we're going to have to be physically and mentally ready again in this spot for four full quarters."
Le Mars is coming off a 38-14 loss to No. 2 (IHSAA) Sergeant Bluff-Luton. The Dodgers are currently 13th in the 4A RPI rankings, with the Bulldogs in the 20th spot. The Top-16 teams comprise the postseason field.
"They're solid in a lot of areas. Just a good team all-around," Moser said of Le Mars. "They've played one of the tougher schedules in 4A (currently the third-hardest statistically). I'm impressed by what I've seen up front on both sides of the ball, and they have talented skill-position kids, too."
The Bulldogs have been a state qualifier in each of the last three seasons. Senior Joaquin Hernandez has rushed for 469 yards and four touchdowns in 2026, with sophomore quarterback Jordan Kopperud throwing for 735 yards and six scores. Senior Colin Murphy has 239 receiving yards and a pair of TDs to his credit.
Junior Ben Regennitter is the leading tackler for Le Mars, followed by senior Ephraim Kabongo.
Fort Dodge senior Will McElroy continued to sprint his way up the program's all-time rushing charts with a 15-carry, 189-yard performance in one half versus Storm Lake. McElroy is now 8th on the program’s all-time rushing charts with 1,926 yards - 74 from becoming just the 8th Dodger back ever to reach 2,000 for his career.
McElroy (984 yards, third) and classmate Tru McBride (1,156 yards, fifth) rank in the Top-5 for individual rushing and passing, respectively, in 4A.
Fort Dodge quietly secured its third straight winning campaign last Friday - a level of sustained success the program hasn't experienced in 74 years. The celebration was subdued, however, knowing what's at stake and still to come.
"They quickly regrouped after the Spencer loss, which was great to see," Moser said. "I think they learned a valuable lesson: a lot of the people who pat you on the back when things are going well will also be the first to question or criticize when adversity hits. So we have to just keep focusing on each other and the task at hand. Everything else, good or bad, is just outside noise. None of that comes into play once you take the field on a Friday night, so that's where our focus needs to be.
"The stats and the records and all of the other extra talking points will just take care of themselves. We have a job to do this week and next week, and that's simply to win a football game. Go 1-0 and 1-0."
Fort Dodge closes the regular season at home next Friday against Sioux City West (4-3).