With less than 2 minutes left to play, the Ankeny Centennial football team was in position to pull out a huge victory on Friday at Ankeny Stadium.
The 10th-ranked Jaguars had just taken an 18-12 lead over No. 8 Urbandale and needed one defensive stop to seal the outcome.
But they couldn’t close the deal.
The J-Hawks drove 80 yards down the field and tied the game when Peyton Rottinghaus tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Cole Garwood as time expired. Hayden Marks then added the extra point to give Urbandale a 19-18 win.
“It was very disappointing,” said Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti. “We played well enough to win, but we didn’t play well enough to win. At the end of the day, (Urbandale) deserved to win.”
Despite leading for much of the game, Centennial saw its record fall to 3-3. The J-Hawks improved to 5-1.
“There’s a lot of things in the game that if we would have done better, we would have gotten the ‘W’,” Pezzetti said. “It’s a learning experience being 3-3 and with Waukee Northwest and Southeast Polk in front of us, our backs are against the wall and we know that.”
Centennial held a 10-3 lead at halftime. Quarterback Peyton Goode ran for a touchdown in the first half, and Brooks Wee kicked a 30-yard field goal for the Jaguars.
Urbandale then rallied in the second half, forcing a pair of turnovers. Rottinghaus threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kai Black to pull the J-Hawks within 10-9, then Marks later booted a 41-yard field goal to put his team ahead.
Centennial answered with a long drive to regain the lead. Goode completed a huge pass to Isaiah Sterns to take the ball inside Urbandale’s 10-yard line, then ran for his second score of the night to give the Jaguars a 16-12 advantage.
Ty Morgan added a two-point conversion, setting the stage for the J-Hawks’ game-winning drive.
“We put a nice drive together at the end,” Pezzetti said. “But then Urbandale completed a lot of passes on us. They have some really nice receivers and a nice quarterback, and they made some plays. We just couldn’t stop them.”
Zach English made nine tackles to lead Centennial’s defensive effort, including two for losses. Easton Miller had 8.5 tackles–seven of them were solo stops.
Beau Gerke and Cole Grider each recovered a fumble.
“Our defense played phenomenal,” Pezzetti said. “They’re not identified by one drive, that’s for sure.”
Goode ran for 46 yards on 18 carries against one of the state’s top defenses. He completed 3-of-5 passes for 70 yards–all to Sterns.
Trey Porter rushed for 60 yards on 11 carries. Morgan ran nine times for 59 yards.
“We feel we’re as good as anybody, but right now we have to get better,” Pezzetti said.
The next three weeks will determine Centennial’s playoff fate. It’s possible that the Jaguars could advance to the postseason in the new Class 5A with a 4-5 record, because of the team’s strength of schedule.
“If there was a 4-5 team to make it, it would be us. Just because our opponents’ records are phenomenal,” Pezzetti said. “This is one of those years where there’s a lot of parity, no doubt about it. If you can make the playoffs and you can compete, there’s a chance you can win it.”
