Both Ankeny Centennial and Ankeny moved up in the latest Class 5A RPI football rankings from the Iowa High School Athletic Association.
The Jaguars moved up two spots to No. 10 following a 28-10 victory at Waukee Northwest that likely knocked the Wolves out of playoff contention. The Hawks, meanwhile, moved up three spots to No. 12 after a 13-10 overtime win against then-No. 4 Valley, which fell three spots to No. 7 following the loss.
Ankeny (4-4) will play No. 27 Cedar Rapids Washington (3-5) on Thursday at Kingston Stadium. Centennial (6-2) will close out the regular season on Friday by hosting No. 24 Urbandale (3-5).
The Hawks currently boast the No. 2 strength of schedule in Class 5A. Their opponents have combined for a 47-25 record, which ranks behind only Cedar Rapids Kennedy (50-22).
The Jaguars have the fifth-worst strength of schedule (29-43), but they fare much better in the component that factors in their opponents opponents’ record (354-294)–which ranks third in Class 5A.
Both Ankeny and Centennial could potentially move into the top eight of the final rankings with a win, which would guarantee a home game in the first round of the playoffs.
Here is the current top 16 in the RPI rankings:
1 Bettendorf 8-0
2 Iowa City Liberty 7-1
3 Dowling Catholic 7-1
4 Johnston 6-2
5 Linn-Mar (Marion) 7-1
6 Pleasant Valley 6-2
7 WDM Valley 6-2
8 Sioux City East 6-2
9 Iowa City High 5-3
10 Ankeny Centennial 6-2
11 Iowa City West 5-3
12 Ankeny 4-4
13 Ottumwa 7-1
14 Waterloo West 5-3
15 Southeast Polk 4-4
16 Waukee 5-3
