The Ankeny football team passed its biggest test of the season thus far.
The visiting Hawks got a pair of interceptions from Zane McAnelly and Dawson Whitinger in the second half and held off Sioux City East, 35-25, in a battle of unbeaten squads on Friday at Elwood Olsen Stadium.
“It was a tough one,” said Ankeny coach Jeff Bauer. “It was a strange game in a lot of ways, but I was proud of our kids.”
Ankeny (5-0) was clinging to a 28-25 lead late in the third quarter when the Hawks fumbled the ball near midfield on an option play. Landan Monk recovered for the Black Raiders (4-1) and returned the ball 36 yards to Ankeny’s 8-yard line.
On the next play, McAnelly picked off a pass that was intended for Isaiah Grant.
“They tried to go to (Grant) on a fade, and McAnelly made a great play,” Bauer said. “That was huge obviously.”
Ankeny then extended its lead to 35-25 when Mason Machan tossed an 8-yard scoring pass to Landon Hutchins. It came with 7 minutes 13 seconds left in the game.
Sioux City East tried to answer, but Whitinger intercepted another pass in the end zone with less than 4 minutes to go.
Ankeny’s Devan Goode then ran for a couple of first downs on the ensuing possession to seal the victory. He ran for 119 yards on 16 carries.
“The offense kept answering for us,” Bauer said. “The offensive line ended up having a great game.”
The Hawks overcame an early 7-0 deficit after Sioux City East needed just two plays to score on the game’s opening drive.
“They ran a hook and ladder on the first play,” Bauer said. “But we answered.”
Machan threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Alhussaini on third-and-goal to tie it midway through the first quarter. He went on to complete 18-of-21 passes for 195 yards and three scores.
Ankeny used a trick play of its own to take the lead early in the second period. Jamello Cooper got the ball on a reverse, avoided a tackle in the backfield and then tossed a 3-yard scoring pass to Quin Somers to make it 14-7.
Sioux City East converted a field goal to pull within 14-10 at halftime, but the Hawks then responded again. Somers got behind the Black Raiders’ secondary and caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Machan with 10:43 left in the third quarter.
Amos Collins scored on a 2-yard run about 3 minutes later to cut Ankeny’s lead to 21-17.
The Hawks turned to their running game on the ensuing drive. Goode broke off a long run to the Black Raiders’ 2-yard line, then punched it in on the next play to give Ankeny a 28-17 advantage.
Sioux City East scored on a 9-yard pass to Grant on fourth-and-5 with 31 seconds left in the period. The Black Raiders added a two-point conversion to close the gap to 28-25.
“The second half they started moving the ball on us,” Bauer said. “They were throwing it up, and guys were making some plays. Our defense was giving up some yards, which we aren’t used to. But we made some big plays when we needed them.”
Sioux City East had outscored its first four opponents by a 164-20 margin.
“Our game against them last year was the hardest hitting game that we had,” Bauer said. “We thought Sioux City East and Johnston were the two best teams on our schedule. They were tough, and they’ll be a tough team to beat (in the postseason).”
Now, the Hawks will face another huge challenge. They’ll travel to Johnston on Friday to meet the Dragons, who improved to 4-1 with a 42-7 win over Council Bluffs Lincoln on Friday.
Johnston’s only loss came to defending state champion Dowling Catholic, 41-35, on Sept. 4.
“We know how good they are,” Bauer said. “We’ll have our work cut out for us.”
