With the game on the line, the Ankeny football team trusted its faith in Daniel Larmie.
The senior running back delivered another virtuoso performance.
Larmie ran 35 times for 210 yards and two touchdowns to carry the fifth-ranked Hawks to a 29-15 victory over Ankeny Centennial on Friday at Ankeny Stadium.
“I love when they trust me like that,” said Larmie. “I know a lot of people say that you can’t sustain it. It’s not healthy, but it’s really whatever you have to do to win. I don’t care if I get one carry or if I get a thousand, I’m here for this team. No goals aren’t aligned with the team, and when we do have goals that aren’t aligned with the team, it’s we. We achieve those goals. It’s not (just me)–it’s everybody. We’re all brothers.”
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Larmie continues to lead Class 5A in rushing. He has rushed for 737 yards on 121 carries while helping Ankeny to a 3-1 start.
“He’s insane,” said Ankeny offensive lineman Owen Liechti. “He finds holes that don’t even exist. It makes our job so much easier–we work our butts off for him.”
The win allowed the Hawks to avenge last year’s 31-10 loss to Centennial (2-2). Liechti played for the Jaguars as a junior before transferring to Ankeny.
“It feels great,” Liechti said. “Two wins in the rivalry game, but on different sides of the ball this year.”
Another former Centennial player, Dawson Whitinger, also played a key role in the win. The junior linebacker led a strong defensive effort that held the Jaguars to 183 total yards, including just 59 in the second half.
“Last year was hard to lose to them, but this year felt really good taking the win,” said Whitinger. “We had a tough week of practice, and the coaches were on us a lot. I couldn’t do anything other than play with my team. I love my teammates, I love my coaches, and I love it here.”
Whitinger made an impressive debut as a two-way player, getting a couple of carries in the backfield in an effort to give Larmie a brief rest. Midway through the third quarter, he took a handoff up the middle, bounced to the outside and raced 37 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, giving the Hawks a 22-15 lead.
“We’ve been practicing that all week. We put it in right before the game,” Whitinger said. “I used to go to Centennial, and they wanted to let me show out a little bit so that’s what I did. I went in there confident. Confidence is key, and I trusted my O-line–there are some dogs out there. I saw the hole, hit it, hit the dude and took it to the outside and ran.”
After forcing a punt, Ankeny put the game away with a 12-play, 70-yard drive. Larmie had eight carries for 30 yards on the drive and scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard run with 10 minutes 17 seconds left.
“We just ran it down their throats, and our defense is so good,” Larmie said. “The secondary is amazing, and then Dawson–no surprise–he’s an animal. That was really it.”
La’Marious Clark intercepted a pass on the Jaguars’ ensuing possession. The senior defensive back had a pick for the third straight week.
Daniel Frazee also had an interception for the Hawks, who recovered a Centennial fumble as well.
“It feels great,” said Clark. “We felt like all season we had something to prove to the other side, and we got it done today.”
The game was billed as a matchup between Larmie and fellow senior running back JJ Morgan, who entered the night averaging more than 16 yards a carry. Morgan scored both of the Jaguars’ touchdowns on runs of 19 and 16 yards, but was limited to 78 yards on 12 carries overall.
“We ran through schemes every day and worked on our craft, and it worked out today,” Clark said.
Ankeny took an early 3-0 lead on a 43-yard field goal by Canden Ganahl, who later missed a pair of PAT attempts.
“He’s coming back from an injury,” Ankeny coach Jeff Bauer said of Ganahl. “He has the leg to be good. We just have to get him healthy.”
The Hawks erased Centennial’s 7-3 lead when quarterback Kael Roush fired a 31-yard scoring pass to Hayden Carlson with 4:40 remaining in the first half. Frazee’s interception set up the touchdown.
Roush completed 14-of-22 passes for 156 yards. Larmie had four catches for 60 yards.
“I’m confident in my boys, confident in my offensive line, confident in Kael and confident in Daniel of course,” Liechti said. “I love them. They’re my family.”
Ankeny had a chance to extend the lead right before halftime, but Roush was intercepted by Centennial linebacker Will Morris at the Jaguars’ 5 as he tried to find Carlson again across the middle.
“The boys played hard,” Bauer said. “Offensively, we were very sloppy obviously. Too many penalties and a couple of turnovers that shouldn’t have happened. But we played hard and were physical.”
Nobody was more physical than Larmie, who scored on a 9-yard run to give the Hawks a 15-7 advantage about 2 minutes into the third quarter.
“I think we’re the best team in the state,” Larmie said. “I think we can go out there and play with anybody.”
The Hawks will get another huge test on Friday when they host Sioux City East (4-0).
