A year ago, the Ankeny football team made a surprising postseason run to the UNI-Dome.
This year, the Hawks won’t be able to sneak up on any of their opponents.
Ankeny returns several standouts from a team that posted a 9-4 record and earned a runner-up finish in Class 5A in its first season under coach Jeff Bauer, who was named the Class 5A coach of the year by the Iowa Football Coaches Association. The Hawks are second in the preseason rankings by The Des Moines Register.
“It’s been awesome,” Bauer said of the preseason practices. “It’s a lot different feeling than last year at this time. We only had five returning starters a year ago, and we also had new coordinators. So we feel a lot more relaxed.”
Ankeny boasts 11 returning all-district players, including a pair of all-staters in senior offensive lineman Lukis Beroth and senior running back Caden Henkes. Beroth was named to the Class 5A first team by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association, while Henkes was a second-team selection.
Beroth is the anchor of Ankeny’s offensive line and also serves as a long snapper. He was selected the District 6 lineman of the year as a junior.
Beroth was ranked the No. 38 player in The Register’s list of the top 100 players in Iowa. Bauer was surprised that Henkes didn’t make the list as well.
“Henkes is so underrated,” Bauer said. “He can run and he’s a big-time receiver, too. I can’t wait to watch him play this year. He can fly and take it to the house anytime.”
Henkes rushed for 1,126 yards and 13 touchdowns on 208 carries last season. He also caught 29 passes for 258 yards and two more scores.
Henkes and Beroth were both named to the all-district first team. They have been selected team captains along with senior quarterback Luke Anderson, senior defensive end Andrew Haase, and senior defensive backs Samuel Sandvig and Kinnick Vos.
“As long as we stay healthy, the offense should be good,” Bauer said. “We might have some growing pains on defense, but I think we have the potential to be pretty good on that side of the ball.”
Anderson ranked fifth in Class 5A with 2,243 passing yards in 2023, when he completed 172-of-269 passes and threw for 19 touchdowns. He was a first-team all-district pick.
Anderson was 73rd on The Register’s list of the top 100 players in Iowa.
“Luke has matured so much since last year,” Bauer said. “It’s fun to watch.”
Junior running back Daniel Larmie and senior place-kicker Ryan Harrington are among the team’s other returnees. They were also named to the all-district first team.
Larmie teamed up with Henkes in the backfield to form a potent 1-2 punch. He rushed for 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns on 202 carries while also catching eight passes for 40 yards and another score.
“Daniel can hurt people,” Bauer said.
Harrington connected on 7-of-11 field goals and 38-of-41 PAT attempts. He made a 44-yard field goal in the third quarter to provide the go-ahead points in the Hawks’ 10-7 victory over Ankeny Centennial in the Class 5A semifinals.
“He’ll be our punter, too,” Bauer said.
Senior receiver Evan Irlmeier and senior offensive lineman Jack Dorfler are also back on offense. Irlmeier was a repeat pick to the all-district second team, and he was joined on the squad by Dorfler.
Irlmeier caught 53 passes for 722 yards and four touchdowns. In the Hawks’ 49-21 loss to Southeast Polk in the Class 5A title game, he returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a score.
Junior Andrew Brandhorst will provide another passing target for Anderson. He caught 10 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns last year.
Haase, Sandvig and Vos are among the returnees on the defensive side. They were all second-team all-district picks a year ago.
Vos had 38.5 tackles and also intercepted three passes, returning them for 28 yards. Haase, who has committed to play for Wayne State (Neb.), contributed 24 tackles.
Sandvig, a Sioux Falls recruit, made 55 tackles as a junior. He is expected to undergo surgery after the season for a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.
“He might be the best safety to ever come out of here,” Bauer said. “Nobody can run like Sammy. I can’t imagine there’s a faster safety in the state of Iowa.”
Senior defensive tackle Manning Allen is also back along with senior linebacker Ez Pinks and senior defensive end Kingston Ukpabi.
Allen earned all-district honorable mention after making 24.5 tackles, including three sacks. Pinks and Ukpabi each recorded 16.5 tackles.
“We have four defensive ends who could all be starters, and that’s a nice luxury to have,” Bauer said. “Karsten Bernholtz is one of them. He is playing football for the first time, and he’s a stud.”
Senior Mason Randolph, a former receiver, has moved to defense. He will play in the secondary.
Sophomore linebacker Dawson Whitinger is also expected to make a big impact.
“He is going to be unbelievable,” Bauer said. “He’s strong and fast.”
The Hawks will open the season on Friday against No. 3 Ankeny Centennial. They will play at No. 4 Southeast Polk the following week before hosting No. 5 Dowling Catholic.
“We have a tough schedule, but we just have to play them one at a time,” Bauer said.
