(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
The last time Ankeny and Southeast Polk collided on the football field, it was for the Class 5A state championship at the UNI-Dome.
But inside Ram Stadium on Friday night, the three-time defending champion Rams and Hawks battled to see who could pick up their first win of the season.
Two scoring drives in the second half were enough for Southeast Polk to claim a 21-13 victory as the Hawks dropped to 0-2 on the year.
“I thought we played better in many aspects from last week,” said Ankeny coach Jeff Bauer. “I felt we moved the ball better and sustained drives. We didn’t finish a couple of times that we needed to.”
The pieces for success were there for the Hawks, who entered halftime with a 10-7 lead. But they ran into more issues with closing out drives in the end zone, which also hurt them in a season-opening loss to Ankeny Centennial.
Against the Jaguars, the Hawks had the ball in Centennial territory three different times in the fourth quarter, but ended up turning the ball over all three times.
There was a limited amount of drives to put up points against the reigning champs as both teams combined for just 13 total possessions–including just five in the second half–thanks to multiple-play, long-yardage drives that ate away at the clock.
Ankeny itself only had six drives all game with three ending in points. Two others ended with turnover on downs and one ended with a blocked field-goal attempt.
Ryan Harrington proved to be an important weapon for the Hawks. He comfortably nailed field goals of 53 and 39 yards.
“Right off the foot it felt great,” Harrington said of the 53-yarder. “I knew it was well within my range and as long as I make good contact with the ball, it’ll go in. The whole team trusts me, and I trust myself enough for those moments. I think my biggest improvement from last year to this year is my mentality and composure, allowing me to have a better opportunity to make those type of field goals.”
The only kick the Hawks would want back came on the game’s opening drive, where a low kick on a 31-yard attempt got blocked and ultimately led right into the Rams going on a 92-yard drive capped off with a 3-yard touchdown run from Holden Hansen.
“These guys throw the ball pretty well,” Bauer said. “They kept making plays and finishing things, and we didn’t. Kudos to them.”
The Hawks had two different occasions where they were in a prime spot to strike deep in Ram territory, but ultimately turned the ball over after failing to convert on third and fourth downs from Southeast Polk’s 37- and 8-yard lines.
Ankeny’s defense, much like the Centennial game, was tested in the second half. But while the Jaguars found success on the ground, the Rams found much more success through the air.
It’s what helped the Rams score on their first two second-half drives with Hansen hitting Sam Zelenovich for a 28-yard touchdown and Hansen powering in from 1 yard out. The second drive saw Southeast Polk convert four third downs with three of them coming on passes.
Hansen completed 20-of-28 passes for 222 yards. More than half of his completions went to Zelenovich, who hauled in 11 catches for 126 yards.
With the amount of talent that returned to Ankeny’s roster, the Hawks are still confident they can compete with anyone. They’ve seen the flashes of success, now it’s a process of simply just putting it all together.
“I told them there’s not anybody on the schedule we can’t play with and beat,” Bauer said. “We have to get better. We have to finish, we have to execute on offense, and we have to make plays and get off the field on defense.”
Dawson Whitinger intercepted Hansen in the first half for one of the defense’s bright spots. That led to a drive capped off by Luke Anderson connecting with Owen Fischer for a 23-yard touchdown connection over a defender to tie the game at 7-7 in the second quarter.
Andrew Haase and Sam Sandvig made some big defensive plays to keep the Rams off the scoreboard at the end of the first half. Haase came up with a sack before Sandvig swatted a pass into the turf in front of the end zone as the clock expired.
Anderson completed 22-of-28 passes for 211 yards in the loss. Evan Irlmeier had 11 catches for 100 yards, while Daniel Larmie added 108 yards on the ground on 21 carries.
Ankeny’s schedule doesn’t get any easier as the Hawks are set to come back home to host Dowling Catholic (2-0) on Friday. The Maroons are coming off a 26-23 overtime victory against Valley.
