It’s usually important for a football team to win the battle of field position.
It certainly was for Ankeny Centennial on Friday night.
The Jaguars played almost the entire first half against visiting Ames in the Little Cyclones’ territory, allowing them to build a 35-7 lead en route to a 55-14 victory.
“Field position is a key, no question about it,” said Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti, whose team improved to 2-0 on the season. “Their quarterback (Cameron Cantonwine) played well, but our defense had the opportunities to hold them and they did.”
Centennial took advantage of some short fields to score on drives of 4, 1, 2, 1 and 2 plays in the first half. Quarterback Chase Kluver passed for two touchdowns, Braeden Jackson ran for two more, and JJ Morgan added another scoring run.
The Jaguars opened the scoring when Kluver fired a 28-yard pass to Kane Brooks less than 4 minutes into the game. After a nice punt return by Del Wesack, Morgan then raced 26 yards around left end on the next play from scrimmage to make it 14-0.
“Our kids came out and played great,” Pezzetti said. “A lot of different skill guys got the opportunity to touch the ball and make some plays, and our defense played really well.”
Ames’ next punt was partially blocked, giving Centennial the ball at the Little Cyclones’ 34-yard line. Two plays later, Jackson scored on a 15-yard run with 3:38 left in the opening period.
On Ames’ next possession, the Little Cyclones (0-2) almost reached midfield before turning the ball over on downs. Then, on the next play, Kluver found Caleb Reed behind the Ames secondary for a 49-yard scoring pass, putting the Jaguars ahead 28-0 with 46 seconds left in the quarter.
“We definitely wanted to get our chemistry back rolling tonight,” said Kluver, who later connected with Reed again for a 55-yard scoring pass. “Obviously vs. Ankeny last week, we only threw the ball a few times because they simply couldn’t stop the run. And when it was going extremely well, why go away from it? But tonight was our bounce back game for the both of us, and we came out there and proved to everyone we’re an incredible duo and can get it done through the air. Now we just have to blend both the run and pass game, and I don’t see a team out there that can stop us.”
An interception by Wesack set up Centennial’s next touchdown. Jackson ran 8 yards into the end zone to make it 35-0 with 9:56 to go until halftime.
Ames then closed out the half with a 13-play, 69-yard scoring drive. Cantonwine tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jeffrey Roberts on the final play of the half.
The Jaguars outgained Ames by a 176-141 margin in the opening half, then came out in the third quarter and continued to dominate. After Kluver and Reed teamed up for their second scoring pass, Sam Heither then dashed 30 yards for another touchdown to make it 49-7 with 1:43 left in the period.
Centennial’s final touchdown came on a 42-yard pass from Rowan Doak to Luke Mitchell with 9:59 remaining in the game.
“I think last week was a little bit of an anomaly,” Pezzetti said. “We want to be a balanced football team, and in 5A football you have to be balanced to be successful in the end. Chase throws the ball really well and does some great things, so we were glad that we could spread Ames out a little more than what we did to Ankeny and throw the ball.”
Brandon Bogseth led Centennial’s defensive effort with seven tackles. Isaac Bruhl added 6.5 stops, and Ben Rotert had two sacks.
The Jaguars will travel to Cedar Falls on Friday to play the Tigers (2-0), who are coming off a 37-34 victory at Johnston in triple overtime. Cedar Falls’ Davarrion Clark ran 32 times for 158 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
“They’re always good,” Pezzetti said of the Tigers. “They’re physical, and their offensive line is loaded. It’s going to be a tough game, and our kids will have to rise to the challenge.”
Cedar Falls previously played its home games at the UNI-Dome. The Tigers opened a new outdoor stadium at the high school this fall.
“It’s a little bit different now,” Pezzetti said.
