Just when the Ankeny Centennial football team appeared to have all the momentum, Southeast Polk grabbed it right back in the next couple of plays.
The four-time defending state champion Rams scored two touchdowns in a 2-minute span of the third quarter and went on to beat visiting Centennial, 30-14, in the season opener for both squads on Friday.
“The little mistakes hurt us,” said Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti. “All phases of the game, there was one time or another it was an influential mistake on our part that can be corrected. The effort is there–the kids played hard. But whenever you play that first game against a quality opponent, you better be ready. And I thought we were. We played well at times, but in the end you just can’t make mistakes like that.”
After 10th-ranked Centennial tied the game at 7-7 on a 14-yard run by JJ Morgan midway through the third quarter, the No. 2 Rams needed just one play to regain the lead. Drew Thompson returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards down the right sideline to put Southeast Polk ahead for good with 6 minutes 9 seconds left in the period.
Then, on the next play, the Rams’ Owen Oberbroeckling pounced on the ball at Centennial’s 20-yard line when the Jaguars failed to handle the kickoff. That led to a 13-yard touchdown pass from Austin Mart to Teague Cantrall on fourth-and-3, extending the margin to 21-7 with 4:08 to go in the quarter.
“Getting the stop and then tying it up, we were right where we wanted to be,” Pezzetti said. “But then the little things hurt us that need to be fixed.”
Southeast Polk later sealed the victory after Brayden Lewis picked off a pass from Centennial’s Rowan Doak and returned it 49 yards to the Jaguars’ 1. Mart then scored on a sneak on the next play to put the Rams ahead, 28-7, with 5:20 remaining.
The Jaguars answered with a 13-yard scoring pass from Brekken Miller to Cameron Meiners with 2:40 remaining. That touchdown was set up by a 34-yard run from Morgan and a 27-yard pass to Luke Mitchell from Miller, who shared the quarterback duties with Doak.
“We did some great things offensively, but we’re playing a lot of guys both ways–offensive linemen playing defense and vice versa,” Pezzetti said. “When you do that, you’re gambling a little bit and we did. Our kids got tired, but they fought. The effort is there. We just have to correct some things, and we’ll be a good football team.”
Lewis recovered the ensuing onside kick for the Rams, who later added a safety with 9 seconds left after Centennial forced a punt but the Jaguars eventually snapped the ball out of the end zone on their own punt attempt.
Southeast Polk held a 7-0 lead at halftime. The Rams dominated the time of possession in the first two quarters, running 37 plays on just three drives while Centennial had just 10 plays from scrimmage.
“Whenever you have the linemen back that they have and the center is a great kid too, that’s a huge advantage for the first game,” Pezzetti said. “They did control the line of scrimmage. They controlled it, but it was only 7-0.”
Southeast Polk drove 80 yards in 18 plays on its first possession. The Rams had four straight third-down conversions before a fourth-down pass from Mart was intercepted by Centennial’s Kiefer Reed.
However, the pick was nullified by a defensive pass interference penalty. Then, two plays later, Thompson scored on a 7-yard run over the right side–part of his 119-yard night on 32 carries.
Lewis intercepted a pass from Miller two plays later, but the Rams’ ensuing drive ended with a fumble that Centennial recovered. Then, after the Jaguars were forced to punt, Lewis returned the kick 34 yards to the Southeast Polk 45.
The Rams had a chance to increase their lead after driving into the red zone. However, Samer Arafa missed a 34-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of the half.
“That’s what we wanted,” Pezzetti said of the one-score margin at the break. “We wanted to bring the game into the third quarter and then open it up to a certain degree. That was perfect for us.”
After Southeast Polk’s opening drive of the second half ended in a turnover on downs at Centennial’s 34, the Jaguars needed just two plays to tie the game. Brody Prill raced 52 yards on a reverse to the Rams’ 14, then Morgan scored on the next play on a sweep around right end with 6:20 left in the third quarter.
That set the stage for Thompson’s go-ahead kickoff return and the Jaguars’ turnover on the following kickoff.
“We just have to get better,” said Pezzetti, whose team will host Linn-Mar (Marion) (0-1) in its home opener on Friday.
