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It's been over 320 days since Fort Dodge last played a home football game.
The 2026 Dodgers are chomping at the bit to take the field on their own turf, which will now happen five times in the next eight weeks. It's a vision that first comes back to reality on Friday against Webster City.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Head coach Nik Moser's program enters this contest having prevailed in 16 of their last 19 regular-season decisions. These Dodgers are still relatively untested, though, having only a 36-6 victory at Mason City on the ledger to date.
"I think the best thing I saw on film (from last week) was the effort," Moser said. "The mistakes (with penalties) and anything execution-wise can and will get cleaned up. Everyone was hustling and being aggressive. That's the type of (collective mentality) you want from your team, top to bottom.
"They're really looking forward to (tonight). We're hoping to see a great crowd with our fans filling the stands. There's nothing like a Friday night at Dodger Stadium."
Senior quarterback Tru McBride threw for 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the rout of the Riverhawks - FDSH's 21st victory in the last 22 series meetings. The Wayne State (Neb.) College commit cleared the 3,000-yard career passing mark in the process, becoming just the fifth Dodger signal caller ever to do so.
Classmate Will McElroy - like McBride, a three-year starter - had 116 of his 127 rushing yards in the first half. McElroy had both a rushing and receiving touchdown.
Junior Spencer Smith had the other TD catch - a 45-yarder less than two minutes into the game. McBride hit paydirt twice on the ground.
Seniors Jayon Preston-Grady and Javion Soppeland recovered fumbles. Senior Sam Moser was the squad's leading tackler, and junior Luke Beckley registered a pair of sacks.
Junior Reggie Pederson forced a fumble and had a sack as well.
"Defensively, we did some nice things. And our offense was balanced," Moser said. "We're a team that can run at about every position, and we want to keep using that athleticism to our advantage.
"This is a veteran group overall. They've played in a lot of big games, so they're not going to get too high or too low (emotionally)."
Going by recent memory, the Lynx - who dropped their opener at Iowa Falls-Alden - have been a thorn in FDSH's side. Webster City defeated the Dodgers in 2021, '22, '23 and '24, and narrowly missed an upset a year ago in a 7-6 final.
"They're so different from every other (opponent) we'll see on both sides of the ball," Moser said. "It's a tough team to prepare for. They're always well-coached and fundamentally sound.
"I'll be the first to admit that as a coach, I haven't always had our guys completely prepared (for the Lynx) at the standard we expect here. But a lot of that is also a credit to them for the way they've played us, too."
Webster City had a cumulative record of 108-39 from 2010-23.
Senior Coyce Bertran rushed for 82 yards against the Cadets last week. Classmate Kaleb Hansen added 62 on the ground and recovered a fumble forced by standout linebacker Grant Arends - also a senior.
Moser added it was "fun to see so many of our students make the trip to Mason City."
"They make a big difference, and we hope that both their section and our crowds in general will only keep growing as the season goes on," Moser said. "It's both a privilege and a lot of fun to play high school football in front of your family and friends. We don't take that for granted."
The Dodgers defeated Le Mars for Homecoming on Oct. 17 in 2025 for their final home tilt. They closed the regular season at Sioux City West, then went to Newton for a Class 4A playoff opener.
Fort Dodge will also welcome Waterloo West (Sept. 18), Spencer (Oct. 2), Storm Lake (Homecoming Oct. 9) and Sioux City West (Oct. 23) to Dodger Stadium this fall.