Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Fort Dodge's Joe Constable takes charge of his state tournament match at 285 pounds on Wednesday in Des Moines. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

DES MOINES — Joe Constable wasn’t nervous at all when he stepped inside Wells Fargo Arena for the first time.

It was pure excitement.

The Fort Dodge sophomore reached the quarterfinal round on Thursday with a second period fall.

“I was just excited to compete,” Constable said. “I need to keep taking it one match at a time.

“I love the atmosphere of the state wrestling tournament. There’s nothing like it.”

Constable will be joined by Dodger sophomore Trace Rial (106), defending state champion Koy Davidson (144) and two-time gold medalist Dreshaun Ross (215) in the quarterfinal round on Friday.

Freshman Damien Yeoman (113), senior Hunter Richardson (150), junior Rylee Brown (157), sophomore Jayce Skow (165) and junior Jesse Egli (175) are now on the consolation side.

“We wrestled hard and lost a few matches we shouldn’t have,” said FDSH head coach Bobby Thompson. “You just have to go out and keep going. Never be satisfied.

“The effort was there. Some of the losses hurt, but you have to show a short memory and get ready for the next one.”

The Dodgers (30 points) are currently tied for ninth place with Carlisle in the Class 3A team standings. Southeast Polk (72.5) is the leader, followed by Indianola (46) and Waukee Northwest (42).

In his maiden voyage, Constable (39-6) picked up a fall in 2:40 over Anthony Snoodey (23-10) of Cedar Rapids Jefferson. It was Constable’s 10th straight win.

On tap for the fifth-seed Constable is past opponent Henry Mohr (33-10) of Waukee Northwest. The fourth-seeded Mohr picked up a 4-1, SV-1 victory over Constable in the J-Hawk Invitational finals.

“Joe wrestled really well and is very confident,” Thompson said. “He just has to open a little bit against a familiar opponent.”

In his second state trip, Rial beat a familiar opponent in Waterloo East’s Mariyon Norton (27-12) at 106 pounds.

The first two meetings were close, with Rial (23-5) earning 2-0 and 6-3 decisions. This time, Rial was in control from the start in a 9-0 major decision.

“We faced him twice before,” Thompson said. “Trace wrestled a very strategic match. Norton likes to slow the match down.

“When Trace faced Watkinson, he put us on it. Trace just has to go out and control the tempo.”

Another past opponent lurks in the quarterfinals. Rial, the five seed, will face fourth-seeded Chase Watkinson (38-3) of Cedar Rapids Prairie on Thursday.

“I usually have first-match jitters,” Rial admitted. “But once I get going, I trust my ability to wrestle so I don’t get nervous.

“It’s nice knowing that I’ve made it this far, and that I’ve made it further than last year already. I’m always looking to keep moving forward in the bracket too, but I still need to worry about just one match at a time.”

The two met in a regional dual contest, with Watkinson picking up a 14-2 major decision.

Fort Dodge’s two Div. I wrestlers kept their streaks alive, reaching the quarters in under three minutes combined.

Davidson (35-2), an Oregon State commit, made quick work of Mandius Volentine (43-16) of Lewis Central. Davidson, who is now 143-18 in his career, dominated Volentine in 1:38 for an 18-1 technical fall. Davidson also beat Volentine for a district championship.

“I just take it one match at a time and don’t get ahead of myself,” Davidson said. “Never too high or too low. I just stay present and ready for whatever task is ahead.

“That’s where I wrestle best.”

Now the Dodger senior, who has won 10 straight matches, will face sixth-seeded Nolan Howell (43-8) of Clear Creek-Amana.

“Koy is focused on the state championship,” Thompson said. “He is a tournament guy, and when it turns to February, he’s ready to go.

“He sees the light at the end of the tunnel. He only has three matches left in his career.”

Ross (17-0), who is headed to Oklahoma State, won his 101st consecutive match, pinning Nick Milburn (31-16) of Newton in 1:01.

“I approach the early matches just as I would later ones,” Ross said. “I try to implement the same (gameplan) every time out, no matter what round it is or where it’s at.

“I just got to go do what I’ve trained to do. The (state title) will come as long as I control what I can.”

Ross is now 108-2 in his Dodger career. He will face No. 9 Joseph Monge (47-9) of Lewis Central for a spot in the semifinals.

Ross earned a 21-6 tech fall in 1:41 over Monge in the district final.

“Koy and Dreshaun are two of the elite wrestlers in the state,” Thompson said. “They are wrestling tough kids, but they make it look easy against some of the very best.

“They’re controlling solid opponents.”

No. 10 seed Jesse Egli (34-12) and 11th-seeded Rylee Brown (35-17), both making their third state trips, won their first matches before suffering defeats for FDSH.

Brown picked up his 90th career victory, pinning Ben Haughey (33-16) of Clear Creek-Amana in 1:41. In the second round, he lost a close 14-9 contest to Southeast Polk’s Dokken Biladeau (33-9).

One big move from Biladeau was too much for Brown to overcome.

The Dodger junior will now face 21st-seeded Andrew Rouh (22-19) of Ankeny. Brown pinned Rouh in 1:41 earlier this season.

“Rylee came out and wrestled aggressively,” Thompson said. “The second match, he made one mistake and couldn’t catch up. We were the offensive wrestler.”

Egli (34-12) dominated Clear Creek-Amana’s Clayton Isham (24-20), picking up a technical fall in 5:17 with a 17-1 victory.

He then lost to Southeast Polk’s Wyatt Gibson (29-10) by a 10-4 count in the second round.

Now Egli — who is at 87 career wins — will meet Dubuque Hempstead’s 24th-seed Peyce McCoy (23-20) in the consolation round.

“Jesse was dominant in his first match,” Thompson said. “The second match, I think he respected his opponent too much and didn’t go on the offensive.”

The undersized Yeoman (33-18) struck first against Elliott Gnewuch (25-8) of Cedar Rapids Xavier, before falling 14-7. Up next for the Dodger freshman 18th seed is No. 16 Asaiah Martinez-Ruiz (26-10) of Norwalk.

“I think Damien was a little nervous,” Thompson said. “He came out and got a takedown, but struggled a little after that.

“He’ll bounce back.”

Richardson (21-25) lost by fall to Brady Jennings (36-5) of Clinton in 1:32. To move on, the 24th-seeded senior will have to beat No. 10 Wyatt Heying (17-7) of Spencer. Richardson lost by fall to Heying at districts.

“Hunter came out against a district champion who was very dangerous,” Thompson said. “Now he’ll face an opponent he saw last Saturday.”

Fighting the flu, Skow (15-22) had to medically forfeit his opening round match to Wes Anderson (10-2) of Waukee — the son of FDSH graduates Courtney and Kristin (Erickson) Anderson.

“Jayce wasn’t feeling well (Tuesday) and we thought he had gotten a little better (Wednesday), but his best bet was to sit out unfortunately,” Thompson said. “It’s tough to have that happen, but it’s still a big deal to make it down here as a sophomore.”

Next up for Skow is seventh-seeded Jordan Rial (32-8) of Bondurant-Farrar. Rial is the son of former Fort Dodge medalist Pat Rial.

“The guys on the backside…that’s where you climb the ladder and score team points,” Thompson said. “You show your character and how bad you want to win. Some guys that get beat on the front side, who thought they weren’t going to, come out and pack it in.

“You have to be ready for that and pounce.”

Quarterfinal action and consolation matches begin at 9 a.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena.

UP NEXT FOR FORT DODGE

Quarterfinals

106 — No. 5 Trace Rial, so. (23-5) vs. No. 4 Chase Watkinson, so., Cedar Rapids Prairie, (38-3)

144 — No. 3 Koy Davidson, sr., (35-2) vs. No. 6 Nolan Howell, sr., Clear Creek-Amana, (43-8)

215 — No. 1 Dreshaun Ross, jr., (17-0) vs. No. 9 Joseph Monge, sr., Lewis Central, (47-9)

285 — No. 5 Joe Constable, so., (39-6) vs. No. 4 Henry Mohr, jr., Waukee Northwest, (33-10)

Consolations

113 — No. 18 Damien Yeoman, fr., (33-18) vs. No. 16 Asaiah Martinez-Ruiz, jr., Norwalk, (26-10)

150 — No. 24 Hunter Richardson, sr., (21-25) vs. No. 10 Wyatt Heying, sr., Spencer, (17-7)

157 — No. 11 Rylee Brown, jr., (35-17) vs. No. 21 Andrew Rouh, sr., Ankeny, (22-19)

165 — No. 24 Jayce Skow, so., (15-22) vs. No. 7 Jordan Rial, sr., Bondurant-Farrar, (32-8)

175 — No. 10 Jesse Egli, jr., (34-12) vs. No. 24 Peyce McCoy, jr., Dubuque Hempstead, (23-20)