(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
Two big plays, back-to-back, was all it took for the door to get knocked off its hinges.
With some playoff implications on the line, the 12th-ranked Ankeny Centennial football team went on the road and dominated the second half for a 28-10 win over a Waukee Northwest squad fighting to keep its postseason hopes alive.
Seniors Del Wesack and Braeden Jackson were the two players that ultimately tipped the scale in Centennial’s favor as the Jaguars turned a 10-7 halftime deficit into a convincing victory that likely clinches a playoff berth.
“We wanted to come in and run the ball, and we did,” said Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti, whose team posted a 35-7 win at Northwest in last year’s playoffs. “We wanted to balance that out with the pass, but didn’t do a very good job of that. Defensively, we bent, but we didn’t break. (Our defense) played really great in the second half. First half, they found some weaknesses in us that we need to get better at as we go on.”
Fresh off of a Chase Kluver touchdown that gave the Jaguars a 14-10 lead on the opening drive of the second half, the Centennial defense was in need of a big play to stop the Wolves’ offense in their tracks after finding some success in the first half.
Near the Jaguars’ 40-yard line, Waukee Northwest sophomore quarterback Mack Heitland pump-faked into a deep ball for No. 17 in black and blue, Elliot Combe–who had already scored a touchdown in the first half.
But rather than Combe coming down with the ball for a big gain, it was No. 17 in black and white–Wesack–that cut him off to intercept the ball at Centennial’s 20.
And if things weren’t going bad for the Wolves, Jackson immediately made it worse.
The standout running back carried the ball up the middle on the next play, bounced it outside and dashed 80 yards untouched to the end zone for his second of three touchdowns on the night.
“I told (Chase) that I really liked the look they gave me up front, and that was going to be a big run,” said Jackson, who rushed for 252 yards on 25 carries. “Just an inside zone, saw it, made one cut and ran.”
The Jaguars clearly had all the momentum.
Given the Wolves were tied with Waukee at No. 17 in the RPI rankings, battling back and winning was a must if they wanted to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Jaguars battled their fair share of penalties, including a roughing-the-kicker call that the team disagreed with, but the defense continued to bend and not break.
Centennial was unfazed by an attempted trick play out of a field goal formation, which ended with the Jaguars swallowing Julian Sweeney up for a loss and a turnover on downs.
That led to another long drive for the Centennial offense, which was capped off by Jackson finding the end zone again to make it 28-10.
“Just being patient behind my O-line, trusting they’re going to get their blocks, they’re going to get to the second level and let me do my thing behind them,” Jackson said of his success running the ball this season.
The second half shutout for the Centennial defense was in store as the Jaguars forced a quick punt and the offense burned over 6 minutes off the clock. The Wolves weren’t able to do much with around a minute left and inside their own 15-yard line.
Northwest had much more success in the first half.
After Centennial forced the Wolves to punt on their opening drive and cruised down the field for Jackson’s first rushing touchdown, Northwest was able to fire right back with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Heitland to Combe.
The Wolves’ only lead came on their following drive, which saw the Jaguars hold them to a successful 33-yard field goal before halftime.
“Very crucial,” Pezzetti said of starting off the second half with a touchdown and interception. “(Waukee Northwest) is a very good football team, and their record doesn’t indicate who they are. They’ve been in absolutely every game they’ve played this year. Hats off to them, they got some good kids and good coaches.”
Linebacker Reed Anderson had 12.5 tackles for Centennial, which now sits at 6-2 on the season with a chance to move up in this week’s RPI rankings. The Jaguars will host Urbandale (3-5) in their regular-season finale on Friday, and another win could potentially put them in position to host a playoff game.
The J-Hawks have likely fallen out of playoff contention with back-to-back losses to Dowling Catholic and Johnston.
“Urbandale is an outstanding team,” Pezzetti said. “If you look at the scores, they’ve been in every game and they got some great individuals. Being at our place and it being Senior Night, we’re looking forward to that. Obviously, we want to end on a winning note.”
