Wrestle, practice and repeat.

Seventh-ranked (IAwrestle) Fort Dodge will duplicate the first week of the season starting on Thursday night, when the Dodgers finally make their home debut for 2024-25.

FDSH meets Des Moines East. Both varsity and junior varsity action will begin at 5:30 p.m. to accommodate the Fort Dodge Senior High choir concert.

In their first dual of the season, the Dodgers lost at Bondurant-Farrar, 47-25.

Last weekend, they competed at the Dan Gable Donnybrook. Top-ranked and defending state champion Koy Davidson (144) finished second, while returning state qualifier and seventh-ranked Trace Rial (106) was fourth for the Dodgers.

Two-time state qualifier Jesse Egli placed sixth in Coralville at 175.

“We had a good three days of practice (earlier this week),” said FDSH head coach Bobby Thompson.” We took a lot of the younger kids over to Waverly on Tuesday for the junior varsity tournament to get them some more matches, too.”

Des Moines East enters with Michael Lewis ranked ninth at 106 pounds.

The Scarlets own lopsided victories over Mason City (60-15) and Des Moines North-Hoover (69-11) so far.

Last weekend at the Andy Davidson Dallas Center-Grimes Invitational, Lewis was second at 106 pounds. Camron Bennett of East was a runner-up at 138. Jason Rivas (150) took third.

“They will have a full lineup, and this should be a tight dual,” said Thompson, who has 292 career dual victories. “We definitely need to get some bing wins and as many bonus points as possible.”

The Dodgers will then head to the Council Bluffs Classic on Friday and Saturday. Last season, Fort Dodge was a runner-up there to Waukee Northwest, losing by 10.5 points.

Davidson, an Oregon State recruit, and Div. I football and wrestling prospect Dreshaun Ross — who is currently out with a shoulder injury — won titles.

According to IAwrestle, there will be 170 ranked wrestlers in the 40-team field in Council Bluffs.

“There will be schools from all over the midwest,” Thompson said. “Squads from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Minnesota will be there.

“The good thing about this tournament is there will be pool wrestling on Friday to set up Saturday’s matches. Depending on the record, wrestlers will either go to the gold or silver bracket. Depending on the day you have Friday, you will be with your caliber of wrestler on Saturday. It’s a grind.”

PROBABLE DODGER LINEUP

106 — Trace Rial, so., (4-2); 113 — Damien Yeoman, fr., (5-2); 120 — Hunter Kasperbauer, jr., (1-5); 126 — Drake Hayes, fr., (0-0); 132 — Bo Marsh, so., (0-3); 138 — Amari McCaleb, fr., (3-3); 144 — Koy Davidson, sr., (5-1); 150 — Hunter Richardson, sr., (0-3); 157 — Rylee Brown, jr., (2-4); 165 — Jayce Skow, so., (2-5); 175 — Jesse Egli, jr., (4-2); 190 — Keaton Echevarria, jr., (0-1); 215 — Kaden Nichols, fr., (0-5); 285 — Joe Constable, so., (4-2).