(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
Even if its starting lineup is drastically different than a year ago, the Ankeny football team still remembers the heartbreak and the seeding side effects of dropping its 2025 season opener at home against Waukee Northwest.
The Hawks got their payback during Friday night’s season opener at Northwest.
A stout Ankeny defense led by senior linebacker Dawson Whitinger and a new-look offense highlighted by a breakout performance from junior running back Caleb Alhussaini powered the Hawks to a 28-20 victory over the highly-touted Wolves.
“Last year we lost to these guys by a point when they went for two and it was a tight game,” said Ankeny coach Jeff Bauer. “You look back at last year, and that first game meant a lot to the seeding. We could’ve been a No. 1 or 2 seed if we would’ve pulled that game out. So we were hungry for this, we worked hard all summer, and I’m proud of my coaches and my players.”
Northwest was a favorite to win on its home turf with plenty of talent returning from a squad that advanced to the Class 5A semifinals and finished with a 10-2 record after beating the Hawks in week one.
Among the Wolves’ biggest returnees is quarterback and Western Illinois commit Mack Heitland, who threw for just shy of 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior.
Heitland had some big weapons coming back with him including leading receiver and UNI commit Jordon Green, who posted just under 1,200 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns last season, and Iowa State tight end commit Joe Vinyard.
But an Ankeny defense that returned just four starters from a year ago nearly shut the Wolves out the entire first half.
“Coach put a bunch of great blitzes in,” said Whitinger. “We like to blitz our corners and our linebackers. We’re a crazy team. We like to send the pressure, and we’ll catch you off guard. I love our defense. We just click together.”
The Wolves drove down the field on the game’s opening drive before Ankeny forced a turnover on downs with senior safety Ace Parton breaking up a potential touchdown pass on a fourth-and-14 from the Hawks’ 22-yard line.
It was just one of two turnovers on downs that went along with three punts and one interception that Ankeny forced in the first half.
The interception by Whitinger toward the end of the first quarter proved to be a huge turning point for the Hawks.
“I didn’t see (Rowan Doak dropping down on the running back), so I come dropping downhill, but then I flipped my hips and I’m like, ‘Oh Rowan is dropping down,’” Whitinger said of his pick. “I flipped my hips back, I just saw the ball and I had to go get it.”
Ankeny trailed 7-0 after a fumble inside its own 20-yard line led to the Wolves scoring on a fourth-and-goal, but Whitinger’s interception a few drives later was followed by Alhussaini’s 56-yard rushing touchdown on the next play that tied the game up.
That started a stretch of four consecutive touchdown drives by Ankeny, while the Wolves punted the ball away twice and turned the ball over on downs before halftime.
Junior receiver Jamello Cooper made a diving catch on a tipped pass to help the Hawks convert on a third down the following drive, and it ultimately led to senior quarterback Mason Machan throwing his first touchdown of the season from 17 yards out to sophomore receiver Dreighton Tate for the go-ahead score.
“My staff (and I) weren’t surprised because we thought we had a pretty good team,” Bauer said. “But with so many inexperienced kids, you don’t know how they’ll react on a Friday night and they did a great job tonight.”
Not to be outdone by the interception and the work that the defense had done, Whitinger left his mark on the offensive side of the ball as well.
Whitinger took a handoff outside and sprinted 53 yards untouched for a touchdown that put Ankeny up two scores with just under 3 minutes left to play in the half.
The success that the offense was seeing carried into the opening drive of the second half with Alhussaini picking up a 30-yard reception before breaking off a 40-yard touchdown run just a few plays later to make it 28-7.
Northwest’s offense finally started to gain some traction, and it resulted in two long scoring drives. But the Wolves burned a good amount of clock in the process.
“The (first) Alhussaini touchdown changed the momentum, and our confidence started to soar from there,” Bauer said. “Obviously, (Heitland) is really good and he can keep plays alive. I’m proud of our guys.”
Heitland was able to find running back Max Schmitz for a 12-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-7 from the Ankeny 12. A missed PAT had the Wolves within 28-13 with just over 3 minutes left in the third quarter.
Their next drive also resulted in a touchdown after converting five different times on third down, but that brought the game clock down inside 5 minutes with the Hawks still leading by 28-20.
Senior Devan Goode was able to assist the Hawks in moving the chains and keeping the clock moving, and then a run near midfield by Whitinger for another first down all but sealed Ankeny’s win.
“If I’m being honest like myself I don’t think anybody can tackle me, so I just run,” Whitinger said. “I’ve been learning the offensive playbook, too. It’s great to help my family out.”
The Hawks will try for a 2-0 start on Friday when they host Waukee in their home opener. The Warriors opened their season with a 42-7 loss to Johnston.
Ankeny will try to build off the momentum of its victory against the Wolves.
“We were the 11 seed going against the 2 seed and people didn’t think we were going to be anything, so that changed our mindset for sure,” Whitinger said. “It feels amazing to get this win, and now we can focus on Waukee.”
