Senior defender Kwaku Kwarteng was expected to play a major role this season for the Ankeny boys’ soccer team.
Now, he’s doing just that for the Hawks’ crosstown rival.
Kwarteng transferred to Ankeny Centennial earlier this month and has played in the fourth-ranked Jaguars’ last three games, including Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at No. 6 Valley. He cited an off-the-field situation as the reason for his departure from Ankeny.
“There was kind of an incident at the school that I wasn’t really comfortable with how the administration handled it,” Kwarteng said after Tuesday’s game. “I think they could’ve done a better job. I really didn’t feel comfortable representing a school that would not handle something like that to the best of their abilities.”
Kwarteng was a two-year starter at Ankeny, helping the Hawks to a 30-8 record over the 2021-22 seasons. He was a unanimous pick to the CIML Iowa Conference first team as a junior.
“I want to say thanks to coach Marcus (Varnum) and all my former teammates,” Kwarteng said. “They helped me a lot. There’s nothing bad between us.”
Kwarteng was ruled immediately eligible to play by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. He made his debut for Centennial in the Jaguars’ 2-1 loss at Omaha (Neb.) Skutt Catholic on Thursday.
“Kwaku would be a good addition to any team,” said Centennial coach Brian Duax. “He’s going to help us, no question about that.”
Kwarteng said his transition to a new team has gone smoothly.
“They have very quality players here, so that’s not been an issue,” he said. “It’s just the relationships and the chemistry. It’s clicking now. If we put it all together, we’ll be dangerous.”