The Ankeny Centennial football team brought the energy in the second half.
The Bettendorf players didn’t know what hit them.
Thirteenth-ranked Centennial scored 41 unanswered points in the final two quarters and rolled to a 41-14 victory at No. 5 Bettendorf in the Class 5A quarterfinals on Friday. Elijah Porter ran for three touchdowns and also caught a scoring pass as the Jaguars (7-4) punched their ticket to the semifinals.
“It feels amazing,” said Porter. “We know we’re going to the (UNI)-Dome, and that’s something we haven’t done in years–since I was in middle school. I’m just so proud of my teammates for the adversity we went through for this game. We came out the second half with energy, and we know whenever we’re clicking no team can hang with us. And that’s what showed in the second half. We’ve just got to do that again.”
Bettendorf (8-3) held a 14-0 lead at halftime despite being outgained by Centennial, 155-114. The Jaguars lost a fumble, threw two interceptions and also missed a field goal in the first half.
“We moved the ball a little bit, but we had three turnovers,” said Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti. “We knew coming in here it was going to be a tough out for them. They’re a tough team, and they play hard. They’re physical, and they matched us and then some in the first half. But no doubt about it, the second half we played great. We got some breaks with some turnovers, and I couldn’t be happier for our kids to be in the final four.”
Centennial’s defense forced a quick three-and-out to open the second half, and the Jaguars then drove 70 yards in six plays to get on the board. Quarterback Trenton Smith fired a 25-yard scoring strike to Porter down the middle of the field with 7 minute 1 second left in the third quarter.
“We were frustrated at the half,” Porter said. “We weren’t playing the best ball that we could play, and it’s as simple as that. When we have the energy and the flow, it’s amazing to watch.”
Three plays later, Nate Christiansen picked off a pass from Bettendorf quarterback Charlie Zimmerman at the Bulldogs’ 45-yard line. Zimmerman had thrown a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jake Schulz on a similar play late in the second quarter.
“They ran that play a couple of times in the first half, and I didn’t get on top of it,” said Christiansen. “I knew it was coming, and I grabbed it. We knew we could turn it up and win this game. We just had confidence in our guys. We knew our offense would get going, and that’s just what happened.”
A 16-yard run by Porter and a 22-yard pass from Smith to tight end Chase Schutty, who managed to stay inbounds along the sideline, set up the tying score. Porter bulled his way into the end zone from 8 yards out to make it 14-14 with 4:20 remaining in the period.
Another interception–this one by Chase Kluver–set up the Jaguars’ go-ahead touchdown. Smith threw a 15-yard pass into the end zone to Schutty, who again made a nifty catch along the sideline with 20.3 seconds to go in the quarter.
“I’m always going to say I got in(bounds),” said Schutty. “I think I dragged my toe on both of (those catches). It could have went either way, I felt like. But props to (assistant) coach (Greg) Meyer–he has helped me a lot with dragging my toe.”
The fourth quarter proved to be an even bigger disaster for Bettendorf. After the Bulldogs fumbled the ball away on the ensuing kickoff, Porter scored again on a 4-yard run to give Centennial a 28-14 lead with 10:49 left.
On its next possession, Bettendorf botched a punt attempt and the ball ended up in the end zone, where Centennial’s Drake Dittmar fell on it for another touchdown.
The Bulldogs, who managed just 80 yards in the second half, fumbled the ball away again shortly thereafter. Porter then scored on a 6-yard run with 7:17 to go to produce the final margin.
“We weren’t playing aggressive the first half,” Schutty said. “Myself, I was getting beat on blocks and we were missing assignments. We just weren’t playing like we had been. We came in at half and realized that it’s not (up to) the coaches. We weren’t playing with our hearts, and we fixed it all up and it showed on the field.”
The Jaguars will face No. 7 Ankeny (8-3) in a crosstown showdown on Friday at 7 p.m. This will be the first time ever that the two schools have met at the UNI-Dome and just the second playoff meeting in the history of the rivalry.
“We knew if we were fortunate enough to win we’ll be playing somebody that we played before,” Pezzetti said. “Ankeny had a great win tonight against Dowling, and why not? Let’s send the whole town to Cedar Falls on Friday.”
The Hawks posted a 39-38 victory over Centennial in double overtime in the season opener on Aug. 25. The Jaguars jumped out to an early 17-0 lead before Ankeny rallied and won the game on a walk-off, two-point conversion pass from Anderson to Devon Akers.
“I’m very excited,” Porter said. “That’s (a game) I’ve been wanting back for a long time. We’re peaking at the right time, and we know getting another shot at (Ankeny)…it’s going to be a great game.”
