Ankeny Centennial’s Braeden Jackson put on a show Friday night at Ankeny Stadium.
Over the next few hours, Ankeny’s Daniel Larmie proved to be just as spectacular.
The junior running back rushed for 279 yards and four touchdowns to lead the eighth-seeded Hawks to a 47-21 victory over No. 9 Linn-Mar (Marion) in the nightcap of a first-round Class 5A football playoff doubleheader.
“I didn’t think I’d have a game like that,” said Larmie, who surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season. “I’m just really grateful to my guys up front. One goes down (with an injury), and another one steps up. There’s really no way to stop those guys. They’re really good.”
In the first game, Jackson erupted for 342 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns in the Jaguars’ 52-28 win over Iowa City High. Ankeny coach Jeff Bauer was confident that Larmie could have a similar game.
“I knew he was ready to break out,” Bauer said. “I told him everybody is talking about (Jackson), but he’s just as good as anybody on this field so let’s go show it, and he did.”
Ankeny (6-4) broke away from a 21-21 tie in the second half by scoring 26 unanswered points. After Linn-Mar (7-3) tied the game on a 5-yard run by Dylan Muszynski, Larmie dashed 54 yards up the middle on the next play from scrimmage, setting up his own 6-yard scoring run five plays later to put the Hawks ahead for good.
“We felt really good about what our offensive line could do,” Bauer said. “With Daniel and our offense, we thought we had things we could expose and we did.”
After forcing a punt, Ankeny extended its lead to 34-21 on a 3-yard run by Larmie with 1 minute 47 seconds left in the third quarter. The touchdown was set up by a 57-yard run from Caden Henkes.
The Hawks later sealed the victory when LaMarious Clark picked off a pass from Linn-Mar quarterback Austin Waller and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown with 3:36 remaining.
“It was a little breakout play, and I ended up making a play on the ball,” Clark said of his second pick-6 of the season.
After forcing a turnover on downs, Ankeny put an exclamation point on the win when Luke Anderson fired a 44-yard scoring pass to Owen Fischer with 2:04 to go. Anderson attempted just six passes in his return to the starting lineup after recovering from a concussion, but he completed five of them for 70 yards.
“Obviously, it was tight into the third quarter,” Bauer said. “We struggled early to stop them. That’s a good offense.”
The first half featured a few big plays from Ankeny and some long time-consuming drives by the Lions, who ran 41 plays in the first two quarters to just 19 by the Hawks.
Larmie gave Ankeny a 7-0 lead when he raced 80 yards to the end zone with 6:59 left in the first quarter. Linn-Mar tied the game on a 1-yard sneak by Waller early in the second period, capping a 12-play, 70-yard drive.
The Hawks regained a 14-7 advantage on a 1-yard sneak by Anderson with 7:39 left until halftime. Larmie had four carries for 42 yards on the seven-play drive, which was Ankeny’s longest of the night.
“Shame on our offense for never having a long drive and having big plays, but that happens,” Bauer joked.
The Lions then responded with a 13-play, 80-yard drive and tied the game on a 10-yard pass from Waller to Chase Bradley with 2:40 to go in the half.
“It was a lot of mental (mistakes) on our end,” Clark said of his team’s defensive struggles in the first half. “But we talked it over, and we executed from there.”
Larmie dashed 58 yards for his second touchdown three plays later, giving the Hawks a 21-14 halftime lead. He was confident that Ankeny’s defense would eventually rise to the challenge, even though the Lions tied the game again with an 11-play, 70-yard drive to open the second half.
“I trust those guys all the time,” Larmie said. “(Ankeny defensive coordinator Todd) McGhghy always has something cooked up. I’m never worried about the other side of the ball. I know those guys will step up.”
Linn-Mar finished with 405 total yards, but the Lions averaged just 4.7 yards per play. Ankeny, meanwhile, racked up 445 yards on just 37 plays–an average of more than 12 yards per play.
“It feels good,” Clark said. “We put a lot into practice this week, and we’re onto the next one.”
The Hawks will play at No. 1 Iowa City Liberty (9-1) in the Class 5A quarterfinals on Friday at 7 p.m. The Lightning advanced with a 31-14 victory over Waukee.
Quarterback Reece Rettig passed for 138 yards and a touchdown in the win. He also ran for 95 yards and two scores.
“They’re a good team,” Bauer said. “I think we’ll have the boys’ attention at practice this week.”
Ankeny will try to avenge a 28-20 loss at Iowa City Liberty on Oct. 11. The Hawks had nearly 400 yards of offense in the game, but could not overcome some costly mistakes.
“That game put a sour taste in our mouth, and we’ve got something to prove this time,” Clark said.
Larmie is also looking forward to the rematch.
“I’m really glad that we get to play this team again,” he said. “They’re very good, but I think we’ve got a really good shot. I just really want to go to the Dome, and so we’re going to make that happen.”