A trip to Williams Stadium on Friday night provided an opportunity for the Ankeny Centennial football team to bounce back from its first loss of the season.
The Jaguars took advantage of it.
Braeden Jackson returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and Centennial went on to beat host Des Moines East, 44-7, in its district opener.
“My teammates did a great job blocking, and the cutback lane developed because of them so I credit them a lot for their blocking,” said Jackson. “I felt like it was a good momentum starter for us so that we could get in and handle business because we have a big game coming up this week.”
The Jaguars (4-1) rebounded from a 21-13 loss to Southeast Polk on Sept. 20. East (2-3) suffered its third straight defeat.
Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti said he’s been reluctant to use Jackson on the kickoff return team due to the risk of injury.
“It’s always nerve-racking putting him back there because he’s such an instrumental part of our offense (as a running back), but we always tell him if they’re not going to kick it into the end zone maybe we’ll put you back there,” Pezzetti said. “The East kicker (Cristhian Villanueva Morales) was about 50/50 kicking it into the end zone, so we gave him a chance at it and he took advantage of it.”
Following Jackson’s kickoff return, Centennial extended its lead to 9-0 when East snapped the ball over its punter’s head and out of the end zone for a safety. Things only got worse for the Scarlets from there.
Chase Kluver tossed a 27-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Caleb Reed, then Jackson scored on a 3-yard run to increase the Jaguars’ margin to 23-0 by the end of the first quarter.
“Offensively, we had a lot of guys contribute and score touchdowns,” Pezzetti said. “It was good to get back on the right track.”
Centennial’s Sam Heither crossed the goal line from a yard out to make it 30-0. After East botched another punt, JJ Morgan scored on a 5-yard run for the Jaguars.
Morgan rushed for 74 yards on eight carries. Jackson ran six times for 52 yards.
Centennial increased its lead to 44-0 at halftime on a pick-6 by defensive back Cael Woods, who returned the interception 29 yards to the end zone. The Jaguars held East to 136 total yards, including just 4 yards through the air on 4-of-15 passing.
The Scarlets scored their lone touchdown in the second half on a 3-yard pass from A’monte Johnson to Caulier Cason.
“Our starters did not play the second half,” Pezzetti said. “We wanted to keep them healthy, and we’re healthy again for the first time since probably the Ankeny game. It’s nice to have everybody back, and we’re really excited about where we’re at right now with a huge game coming up.”
Centennial will play Dowling Catholic (4-1) on Friday at Valley Stadium. The Maroons are coming off a 37-0 win over Des Moines Roosevelt.
“They’re outstanding,” Pezzetti said. “We know coach (Tom) Wilson will have his team ready to play, and it’s our job as a staff to get our kids ready. It’s going to be a great game.”
