The Ankeny football team didn’t want its postseason hopes to hinge on next week’s regular-season finale at Cedar Rapids Washington.
Friday’s overtime victory against fourth-ranked Valley likely punched the Hawks’ playoff ticket.
LaMarious Clark picked off a third-down pass from Valley quarterback Drake DeGroote to end the game, and No. 15 Ankeny evened its record at 4-4 with a 13-10 win at Ankeny Stadium.
“We’ve been going through battles every week,” said Clark, a junior. “This is what we’ve been preparing for.”
Ankeny kicker Ryan Harrington booted a 30-yard field goal with 1 second left in regulation to force overtime. He then connected on a 20-yard field goal in the extra period to put the Hawks ahead for the first time.
“They put me in a good scenario,” Harrington said of his teammates. “They got me into good field-goal position, where I basically just had to do a chip shot. That’s almost a guarantee for me, and I’m glad they put me in that situation.”
On Valley’s ensuing possession, Darius Mason was tackled for a 3-yard loss on first down. He gained just 1 yard on the next play, forcing the Tigers into third-and-goal from the 12.
DeGroote tried to find Jayden Brown in the corner of the end zone, but Clark leaped high and made the game-winning interception. He then sprinted down the field to celebrate the victory.
“I felt it was desperation time for them,” Clark said. “They needed points on the board, and we capitalized on it.”
The loss ended a five-game winning streak for Valley (6-2), which outgained Ankeny by a 261-202 margin but had two turnovers on downs and also missed two field goals in the second half.
“That was a tough one. They’re good, but we needed it bad,” said Ankeny coach Jeff Bauer, whose team avenged last year’s 24-23 loss at Valley. “Obviously, our offense struggled. I was so proud of our defense. After their first drive, I didn’t think we were ever going to stop them all night. But we just kept hanging in there. The defense played with a lot of heart tonight.”
The Hawks took advantage of an apparent injury to Valley star receiver Zay Robinson, who entered the game with 37 catches for 515 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Iowa State recruit played sparingly and was a non-factor.
“We didn’t really change anything,” said Ankeny defensive back Kinnick Vos. “We had a game plan, and we stuck to it no matter who they threw out there.”
DeGroote completed just 1-of-11 passes for 0 yards and was intercepted twice. He completed his first pass to tight end Zach Schemper on the Tigers’ fourth offensive play of the game, then misfired on his next 10 attempts.
DeGroote had passed for nearly 1,100 yards and 18 touchdowns in the first seven games.
“It’s just grit,” Vos said. “We were excited to get out there and do it for the offense. We knew they’d pull through eventually.”
After Valley’s Seppe Fratianni missed two short field goals in the second half, the Tigers got the ball back and threatened to score again when King Coleman broke loose for a 47-yard run down the left sideline. Coleman ran for 110 yards on 14 carries.
DeGroote scored on a 6-yard run three plays later, but the touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty. Then, after another incomplete pass by DeGroote, Christian Hesser replaced Fratianni and converted a 28-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead with 2:09 remaining.
Ankeny had yet to pick up a first down in the second half, but the Hawks finally got their offense untracked when they needed it the most. And they got a boost from backup quarterback Kael Roush, who entered the game when starter Luke Anderson took a hard hit near the sideline.
On third-and-10, Roush completed a 19-yard pass to Caden Henkes that moved the Hawks into field goal position at the Valley 25-yard line. Roush, a junior, then spiked the ball to stop the clock with 10 seconds left.
“Our pass game wasn’t working in the third quarter for some reason,” Bauer said. “Obviously, Luke got hit on the sidelines there and Roush came in and made a couple of plays for us, which was huge. That was awesome by a kid who doesn’t get many reps.”
Daniel Larmie then ran 12 yards to the Valley 13 before Ankeny called its final timeout with 4 seconds to go. Larmie rushed for 100 yards on 22 carries.
Harrington followed with the game-tying field goal.
“Carter Bailey did a great job with the hold, and Harrington is the best kicker in the state in my mind,” Bauer said.
Ankeny got the ball first in overtime. With Roush still behind center, the Hawks gained 7 yards in three plays to set up Harrington’s go-ahead field goal.
“I knew Kael was ready to go,” said Anderson, who was 6-of-16 for 22 yards through the air. “He puts in the work, and he’s going to be ready at any point in time. Kael Roush is awesome.”
Harrington has now made 11-of-15 field goals this season. He missed a 53-yard attempt midway through the second quarter, but nailed what was essentially an extra point kick in overtime.
“This was definitely a must-win,” Harrington said. “Our preparation was very good this week. We made some changes, and we improved from it. And of course we learned from it.”
Valley took a 7-0 lead when the Tigers drove 90 yards in 16 plays on their first possession of the game. Jayden Davison scored on a 3-yard run to cap the drive with 9:29 left in the first half.
Ankeny’s lone touchdown came after Vos intercepted a pass by DeGroote midway through the second quarter.
“I think we got great pressure on the quarterback with our D-line,” Vos said. “The ball kind of went up and it was kind of a duck, and me and Mars Clark pretty much grabbed it at the same time. I got at the bottom of the pile and I told him, ‘I got it.’ And he helped get the other team off of me, so it was a little bit of a together pick there.”
The Hawks then drove 42 yards in 11 plays and tied the game at 7-7 on a 1-yard sneak by Anderson with 1:02 left until halftime. Larmie ran six times for 32 yards on the drive, which was kept alive when Valley was called for an offsides penalty on fourth-and-1 from the Tigers’ 3.
“It feels amazing,” Anderson said of the win. “We’ve used almost all of our offensive linemen since we’ve had some guys banged up. Our defense really pulled through for us, and that’s what matters the most.”
Gage Olsen had a pair of interceptions for Valley, but neither turnover resulted in any points as Fratianni missed his field-goal tries from 28 and 27 yards. That allowed the Hawks to stay in the game despite their offensive struggles.
“It feels pretty good,” Vos said. “It’s been an up and down road all season, and just to get a big one like that at home, it feels amazing.”
Ankeny will play Cedar Rapids Washington (3-5) on Thursday at Kingston Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The Warriors are coming off a 27-7 win at Dubuque Senior on Friday.
“We’ve got big places we want to get to, and this (victory) is a big step toward getting there,” Clark said. “Now we have to get the next one.”
