On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a skydiver delivered the game ball to Ankeny Stadium on Friday night for a Week 3 battle between Ankeny Centennial and Des Moines Lincoln.
With multiple branches of the armed services in attendance, the Jaguars got off to a fast start and never looked back.
Centennial scored four touchdowns in the first 13 minutes, built a 38-0 halftime lead and rolled to a 45-7 victory over the Railsplitters.
“The kids played well,” said Centennial co-head coach Ryan Pezzetti. “We came out firing on offense, and we included a lot of offensive players with touches and touchdowns. It was a full team effort on offense, and defensively we played sound enough to get the job done and we were pleased with that.”
James Naert and Matthew Nichols each scored a pair of touchdowns, quarterback Brekken Miller ran for one score and passed for two more, and Noah Manning added a 38-yard field goal as the Jaguars improved to 2-1 on the season. Lincoln dropped to 1-2.
The Railsplitters rushed for 226 yards, but they passed for just 39 as quarterback Dominic Severino completed just 5-of-12 attempts and was intercepted once.
“They did run the ball, and that’s what their offense is,” Pezzetti said. “We knew they would get some yards on the ground, and they did. You’ve just got to be sound and get in the gaps, and throughout the game we saw some improvement with that.”
Centennial took a 7-0 lead when Miller scored on a 2-yard run with 9 minutes 31 seconds left in the first quarter. Naert scored on another short run about 5 minutes later.
The Jaguars extended their margin to 21-0 when Nichols caught a pass from Miller and raced 59 yards to the end zone with 1:51 remaining in the opening period. He later completed the scoring with another touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Nichols, a sophomore, was pressed into duty a week ago following injuries to fellow running backs Naert and Knox Greiner. He ran 12 times for 44 yards and caught four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown in Centennial’s 23-20 win at Linn-Mar (Marion).
“We knew Nichols was doing a nice job in practice, and we wanted to give him an opportunity against Linn-Mar,” Pezzetti said. “And boy, did he ever take advantage of it.”
Miller passed to Hunter Derby for a touchdown just 33 seconds into the second quarter. Manning then booted his third field goal of the season to make it 31-0 with 8:19 left in the half.
Naert scored his second touchdown for the Jaguars with 1:25 remaining until the break.
Dayvon Wesley got Lincoln on the scoreboard with a touchdown run in the second half. He ran for 102 yards on 16 carries.
Centennial will face Ankeny in the annual Jag-Hawk showdown on Friday. The Hawks (3-0) remained unbeaten with a 43-7 victory over Des Moines Roosevelt on Friday at Mediacom Stadium.
“Ankeny’s a good team, and we’re excited for the opportunity,” Pezzetti said. “It’s always a celebration of football in our community, and we’re looking forward to stepping on the field against them.”
