Although the Ankeny football team lacks experience, the Hawks still boast plenty of talent.
Ankeny returns just five starters from last year’s squad that posted a 9-2 record, but first-year coach Jeff Bauer isn’t concerned about the number of newcomers who will be forced to play.
“Nobody is going to talk about Ankeny when you have just five returning starters–and justifiably so,” said Bauer. “But it’s hard to start at an Ankeny or a Southeast Polk if you’re an underclassman. Sometimes you just have to wait your turn, and the guys we have stepping in are no slouches. I thought we competed very well at Valley in a scrimmage on Friday.”
Ankeny’s top returning players are senior linebacker Connor Kayser and junior wide receiver Evan Irlmeier. Kayser was a first-team all-district pick a year ago, while Irlmeier earned second-team honors.
Kayser made 42.5 tackles, including 11 for losses. The Northern Iowa recruit will play in the middle of the Hawks’ 3-3-5 defensive alignment.
“Connor is really good,” Bauer said.
Kayser will be counted upon heavily to make up for the loss of fellow linebackers Nolan Morrison and Trent Jacobs, who combined for 69.5 tackles last season. Jacobs moved to Florida at the end of last year, while Morrison suffered a knee injury while playing basketball this summer and is out for the season.
“That was really unfortunate,” Bauer said. “Nolan is a great kid, and I think he had a chance to be all-state this year.”
Senior safety Dylan Dougherty is back after making 19.5 tackles and recovering two fumbles last year. He’ll be joined in the lineup by fellow safeties Nolan Dalton and Sam Sandvig.
“Dalton was a 6-foot-2 receiver, and he can dunk a basketball,” Bauer said. “But we put him at safety this summer, and he just took off.”
Senior nose tackle Braegyn Carter will anchor the defensive line. He has been named one of the team captains along with Kayser, Dougherty, Devon Akers and Lukis Beroth.
Beroth, a junior offensive lineman, is a nationally-ranked deep snapper.
“Beroth is very good,” Bauer said. “He’s a hard worker, and he was voted one of our captains as a junior. That’s the type of kid he is. He’s a great leader.”
Junior Jack Dorfler is another returning starter on the offensive line. He will help protect junior Luke Anderson, who won a three-way battle against junior Jett Each and sophomore Kael Roush to become the team’s No. 1 quarterback.
Anderson completed all four of his passes for 50 yards and a touchdown as a sophomore while backing up all-stater JJ Kohl, who is now competing for the starting job at Iowa State.
“Luke has really made some strides,” Bauer said. “All three of our quarterbacks are doing a nice job, but he just performed a little better so that’s where we decided to go.”
Junior Caden Henkes is the top returning running back. He ran 32 times for 252 yards and two touchdowns in 2022.
Irlmeier enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore, when he caught 30 passes for 412 yards and six scores.
“He’s quick, he’s got great hands, and he’s a great route runner,” Bauer said.
Akers is expected to provide a nice complement to Irlmeier. He caught six passes for 75 yards as a junior, when he missed most of the season after breaking his collarbone in Week Two.
“I got a feeling there will be some heads turning with (Akers),” Bauer said. “He’s a legit 6-6 1/2. He’s taller than (former Ankeny star) Brody (Brecht), and he ran in the state track meet and had sub-22 splits in the 200. I’m hoping it will be a little d éjà vu. Everyone knew about Brody as a freshman, but we’ve had a Division I receiver for the last four years. It’s been hard to break into the lineup if you’re younger, and last year Devon got hurt against Ankeny Centennial so he lost most of the year. I think he’s got a little chip on his shoulder.”
The Hawks will open their season on Friday against Centennial. Kickoff at Ankeny Stadium is at 7 p.m.
“We’re excited to get going,” Bauer said. “Obviously, we don’t have much experience, but we’ve got a lot of young kids and they’ve showed up every day. They’re working hard.”
The first half of Ankeny’s schedule might be the most difficult stretch for any team in the state. After Friday’s game, the Hawks will host two-time defending Class 5A champion Southeast Polk on Sept. 1 before playing Dowling Catholic on Sept. 8 at Valley Stadium and then hosting Johnston on Sept. 15.
“The good news is that we don’t have to play all four of them at the same time,” Bauer said. “We’re focused on Centennial right now, and then after Friday we can move on to the next challenge.”