In recent years, the Ankeny Centennial football team has produced several Division I players.
Easton Miller and Connor Welsch are on Iowa State’s roster, while Braeden Jackson plays for Iowa. Brothers Elijah and Trey Porter are teammates at Northern Illinois.
“It’s really a compliment to our staff and to the program,” said Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti. “We develop our guys, and it’s great when they have the opportunity to play in college at a high level.”
This year’s team has produced some more Division I prospects.
Senior tight end Cade Newman has already committed to Illinois. Junior offensive lineman Asher Megonnell has received offers from Iowa State and Kansas State.
“We’re super excited about those kids,” Pezzetti said. “Both of those guys will play defense, too. We’ll do what we need to do to assemble the best team out there.”
Newman caught 10 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns as a junior, when he helped the Jaguars to a 5-5 record. He was named to the all-district first team.
Newman is part of the team’s talented receiving corps. Senior wide receiver Luke Mitchell caught 11 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown last year, while senior tight end Owen Gasperi had eight receptions for 84 yards and one score.
Gasperi and Newman each had a touchdown catch in Centennial’s 34-26 loss at Johnston in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs. Gasperi will play for Drake next year.
“We’re pretty fortunate to have two high-caliber tight ends,” Pezzetti said. “They really stepped up in that playoff game. We’re very excited to have them and the dynamics they bring to the game.”
Megonnell will be the anchor of an offensive line that will provide protection for junior quarterback Brekken Miller. Miller joined Megonnell on the all-district second team a year ago.
“Asher is an up and comer who has a year in front of him to open up some more eyes,” Pezzetti said.
Miller completed 83-of-140 passes for 1,195 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore. He also ran 30 times for 70 yards.
“Having an athlete at quarterback like Brekken who can really do anything is pretty encouraging,” Pezzetti said.
On defense, the Jaguars return a pair of starters in senior linebacker Kiefer Reed and senior defensive back Rilynd Pezzetti. Pezzetti made 52 tackles last year, while Reed contributed 20.
Pezzetti had two interceptions, including one that he returned for a score. Reed also had a pick-six.
“I think we have a great nucleus of seniors,” Pezzetti said. “Kiefer and Rilynd both had injuries last year, but when they were healthy they were very good football players and did a lot of good things. They will be our focal point on defense.”
Senior place-kicker Noah Manning is the team’s other returning starter. He made 1-of-3 field goals and 23-of-26 PAT attempts as a junior, when he earned all-district honorable mention.
“Noah had a great year last year and had a dynamite offseason,” Pezzetti said. “He’s a kicker that we really feel good about.”
Sophomore running back James Naert is among the newcomers who could make a big impact. He was one of the top sprinters on the Centennial boys’ track team last spring.
“Right now he looks to be the starter going into week one,” Pezzetti said. “We have some young kids that have really stepped up, and I’m excited to see what they can do. We had a scrimmage against Norwalk last week and saw a lot of good things, and we also saw some things that need to be corrected. We’ll find out an awful lot on Friday against Southeast Polk.”
Centennial will host the Rams in its season opener at Ankeny Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Southeast Polk posted a 6-5 record a year ago. The Rams’ four-year reign as state champions came to an end with a 31-28 loss to Iowa City Liberty in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
“The preparation has been going really well,” Pezzetti said. “It’s day by day, but we’re getting people organized in their current position and moving forward to make the team as good as we can. We know this is a game that will show us where we stand. We feel like we’re right there though, and we’re excited to see what we can do.”