With the game on the line, the Ankeny football team didn’t run the play that was called in the huddle.
It worked out for the Hawks anyway.
Devon Akers caught a two-point pass from Luke Anderson to give the Hawks a thrilling 39-38 victory over rival Ankeny Centennial in double overtime on Friday at Ankeny Stadium.
“We actually messed up the play,” said Akers. “I was supposed to go in motion, but Luke forgot or he didn’t hear–I don’t know what happened. But it ended up working out.”
Ankeny pulled to within 38-37 when Anderson connected with Evan Irlmeier for a 3-yard scoring pass on fourth-and-goal. The Hawks then elected to go for the win after eighth-ranked Centennial was called for encroachment on the PAT attempt, which moved the ball closer to the goal line.
On the ensuing snap, Akers was flanked out wide to the left. The 6-foot-6 senior then cut across the middle before leaping above a crowd of defenders to catch the ball, setting off a wild celebration by the Hawks.
“I looked and saw three dudes in front of me, so I knew I had to go up and get this one,” Akers said.
In the season opener for both teams, Ankeny overcame a pair of 17-point deficits to beat the Jaguars for the fourth time in 12 meetings overall. The Hawks gave Jeff Bauer an unforgettable win in his coaching debut.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Bauer said. “From how we started that first quarter, we had a lot of guys who hadn’t played and we shot ourselves in the foot numerous times. I think we had three or four turnovers, and you never win games like that–but we did. We were resilient. We kept battling. But it doesn’t surprise me. The boys’ character is unmatched, and our coaching staff is unbelievable. They put in a lot of time this summer, and it showed.”
It was a disappointing loss for the Jaguars, who outgained Ankeny by a 163-16 margin in the first 8 minutes of the game before the Hawks outgained Centennial, 393-217, the rest of the way.
“We got tired–no question about it,” said Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti. “I’ve never seen so many kids have cramps throughout the game–on both teams. It takes a little fire out of the game. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to make plays when it’s time and we didn’t, and they did.”
Centennial took a 3-0 lead on a 38-yard field goal by Ryan Bendezu with 8 minutes 13 seconds left in the first quarter. After the Jaguars recovered the ensuing kickoff, Trenton Smith then fired a 33-yard pass to Max Snyder to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Elijah Porter, who rushed for 210 yards on 24 carries.
Anderson was later intercepted by Chase Kluver, who also led Centennial with 13 tackles. Smith then threw a 47-yard scoring strike to Snyder on the next play to give the Jaguars a 17-0 advantage with 3:50 to go in the first quarter.
“We were a little shellshocked right out of the gate, clearly,” said Ankeny linebacker Connor Kayser. “I don’t think any of us expected that. We were pretty hyped going into the game–we had a lot of emotion, and sometimes bad stuff happens when your emotions are running really high.”
Ankeny responded with a 10-play, 60-yard drive to get on the scoreboard. There was only one pass on the drive–a 27-yard completion to Akers.
“We were just beating ourselves at the beginning,” Akers said. “We had some mental errors, but we got it all figured out and that’s all that matters.”
Kayser capped the drive with a pair of runs out of the Wildcat formation. He gained 2 yards on 4th-and-1 to pick up a first down, then bulled his way into the end zone from a yard out with 11:47 left in the second quarter.
Centennial extended its lead to 24-7 on an 8-yard pass from Smith to Snyder with 1:34 remaining in the half. It capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive that included a 35-yard run by Porter.
“Obviously, they have a good team,” Bauer said of the Jaguars. “They’ve got a lot of skill guys, and they’ve got speed. But we kept battling.”
Ankeny closed the gap to 24-14 at halftime with a nine-play, 78-yard drive. Anderson completed passes of 24 and 12 yards to Irlmeier and a 33-yarder to Akers to set up another 1-yard scoring run by Kayser with 10 seconds left in the half.
“I thought (the Wildcat) was something we were going to put in,” said Kayser, whose father, Mike, was a standout quarterback at Ankeny. “I didn’t know if it would be this week, but I’m blessed that we did because we got two (touchdowns) out of it. I’ll take what I can get.”
The Hawks opened the third quarter with another long drive, but this time Kayser was stopped for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the Centennial 1. However, the Jaguars then turned the ball over on downs at their own 32, and that eventually led to a 20-yard field goal by Ryan Harrington that pulled Ankeny within 24-17 with 2:38 left in the period.
Bendezu missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt on the next possession, and the Jaguars then managed to gain just 22 yards in the fourth quarter.
“We tried to slow it down and keep the ball away from them, and we couldn’t,” Pezzetti said. “We probably should have tried to outscore them. They just made more plays than us, and that’s just the way it goes.”
The Hawks eventually tied the game with a 69-yard drive. Daniel Larmie, who ran for 122 yards on 26 carries, scored on a 2-yard run with 1:59 left in regulation.
Larmie, a sophomore, then caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Anderson on the first play of overtime. But the Jaguars matched the score when Smith plunged into the end zone from a yard out on third-and-goal.
Centennial took a 38-31 lead in the second overtime when Smith fired a 16-yard touchdown pass to Chase Schutty on second down. But the Hawks responded once again.
“I was confident we’d score,” said Ankeny linebacker Angelo Wernau. “We love our boys. They’re real good at punching it in.”
Afterwards, Kayser insisted that Wernau was the Hawks’ player of the game.
“That was one of the greatest games I think I’ve ever seen out of a linebacker,” Kayser said. “This kid was everywhere. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The 5-foot-8, 167-pound Wernau is helping to offset the loss of projected starter Nolan Morrison to a season-ending knee injury.
“This feels phenomenal,” Wernau said. “I think I’m about going to cry right now. It was a real dogfight. The first half was a little scary, but I had 100 percent trust in everybody on this team.”
Snyder had six catches for 101 yards, but he did most of his damage in the first half, when he had four receptions for 95 yards and the two touchdowns.
“I just think we felt more comfortable with what we were doing (on defense), and we tackled better,” Bauer said. “We missed some tackles that first quarter that we shouldn’t have missed.”
Anderson completed 13-of-29 passes for 212 yards in his first varsity start. Irlmeier had eight catches for 104 yards, and Akers added three receptions for 89 yards.
Caden Henkes rushed for 74 yards on 16 carries, teaming up with Larmie to give the Hawks a punishing ground attack.
“It’s a great way to start the season,” Akers said. “I give it up to my o-line. They were out there fighting, running the ball down their throats. So it was great.”
The Hawks will host No. 1 Southeast Polk (1-0), the two-time defending Class 5A state champion, on Friday. The Rams opened the season with a 24-18 victory at No. 3 Valley.
Centennial, meanwhile, will play at Ames (0-1). The Little Cyclones dropped a 35-7 decision at Waukee on Friday.
“(Ankeny) beat us, and you know what, we’re ready to move on,” Pezzetti said.
