A balanced offensive attack and a stingy defensive effort proved to be a winning combination for the Ankeny Centennial football team.
The Jaguars scored a pair of touchdowns in the first, second and fourth quarters while allowing just 192 total yards and rolled to a 42-0 victory at Urbandale on Friday. It was the Class 5A District 4 opener for both squads.
Centennial improved to 3-2 overall, while the J-Hawks’ record dropped to 2-3.
“The kids came out ready to play and bounced back from (the loss to Ankeny) last week,” said Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti. “They played really well.”
Urbandale was held scoreless after averaging 25 points per game over the first month of the season. It was the Jaguars’ first shutout since they rolled to a 72-0 win over Des Moines East in 2023.
Centennial played without linebacker Will Morris and defensive back Rilynd Pezzetti, who were both out with injuries.
“A couple of new faces stepped in and played well,” Pezzetti said. “Anytime you shut out anybody in a 5A football game, it’s a compliment to your staff and your kids.”
On offense, the Jaguars got three touchdown passes from Brekken Miller and a pair of rushing scores from JJ Morgan. They racked up nearly 500 total yards.
“I think we ran for 275 and threw for about 200,” Pezzetti said. “We had good balance. A lot of different guys touched the ball and scored touchdowns.”
Centennial took the lead for good when Morgan scored on a 10-yard run on the game’s opening drive. Then, after Kane Brooks recovered a fumble to stop an Urbandale drive in Jaguars’ territory, Miller threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Devan Goode to make it 14-0.
In the second quarter, Miller found a wide-open Cameron Meiners down the middle of the field for a 64-yard scoring bomb. Morgan then added a short run for his 13th touchdown of the season to give the Jaguars a 28-0 halftime advantage.
Miller later connected with Meiners again for a 70-yard scoring pass. Meiners reached over a smaller defender along the sideline to catch the ball, then raced into the end zone with 9 minutes 11 seconds left in the game.
“Cameron made some great catches, and Brekken made nice throws. He was real consistent tonight,” Pezzetti said. “You always look for consistency in the passing game to balance out your run game, and tonight we could do that.”
A long interception return by Garrett Stevens set up Centennial’s final touchdown. Knox Greiner scored on a 16-yard run with 3:20 remaining.
“Urbandale always puts up a formidable fight, and we knew we’d have to play well to do what we did,” Pezzetti said.
The Jaguars will hit the road again on Friday for a game at second-ranked Valley. The Tigers (4-1) are coming off a 24-0 win at Indianola.
Valley boasts two of the state’s top receivers in Jayden McGregory and Jayden Brown, who have combined to catch 38 passes for 599 yards and eight touchdowns.
“We saw a little bit of them on film when they played Urbandale, and they’re an outstanding team,” Pezzetti said of the Tigers. “They have two of the better-skilled kids that you’ll ever see in Iowa high school football, and they’re on the same team. It’s going to be a tall task for us, but there’s no doubt we’ll be ready to play.”
Pezzetti isn’t sure, though, whether his son and Morris will be back in Centennial’s lineup.
“It’s week-to-week,” he said. “And we already have a couple kids out for the year, so we can’t afford to have any other injuries like that.”
