(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
The Ankeny Centennial football team knew that if it wanted any hope of being in contention for a playoff berth, the Jaguars needed to find a way to pull off a big win.
But a dynamic Indianola offense adding a big-time playmaker threw a wrench into those plans.
Centennial struggled to contain a prolific Indianola attack and a big first half from returning receiver George Blake tanked the Jaguars’ playoff hopes as they dropped to 2-5 overall following Friday night’s 50-21 road loss.
“I have great respect for coach (Jerry) Pezzetti and Ryan (Pezzetti), and I think the world of those guys,” said Indianola coach Eric Kluver, who was an all-state linebacker under Jerry Pezzetti at Ankeny in 1989-90. “They just ran into a hot football team. We’re starting to get healthy, we’re as good skill-wise as we’ve ever been around here, and I think that showed tonight.”
The Jaguars have been dealing with a string of injuries, which includes senior receiver Luke Mitchell still being sidelined, while an Indianola offense averaging 33 points per game going into Friday got even stronger.
The Indians (5-2) saw their first action of the season from George Blake, the son of former MLB third baseman Casey Blake, and the senior receiver wasted little time getting involved.
He scored three of Indianola’s five first-half touchdowns as the Indians built a 33-14 advantage.
Blake took a reverse in for a 16-yard rushing touchdown to give Indianola a 13-7 lead in the first quarter. He hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Nolan Freeman and then caught a back corner jump ball for another score with under 10 seconds left in the half.
“(Blake) gives the rest of his teammates confidence,” Kluver said. “They all understand the athlete that he is. His frame, his speed, his skillset, it’s just hard to match at the high school level.”
Centennial came out of the gates prepared to battle for its season as junior quarterback Brekken Miller and the Jaguar offense went 85 yards for a touchdown in response to a big play from Indianola that opened the scoring.
The Jaguars converted three separate third downs before sophomore running back Matthew Nichols caught a check-down pass from Miller, broke away from a trio of defenders and scampered his way in for a 34-yard touchdown.
After a big play put Indianola inside the Centennial 45-yard line, the Jaguars’ defense got the stop they needed by only surrendering four more yards before the Indians punted the ball away.
From there, Centennial’s offense struggled to find any of the success that it found on its opening drive.
“There’s some really good targets and some greatly skilled kids (on Centennial), and it’s different seeing them throw the ball as much as they do,” Kluver said. “I’ve been coaching against (the Pezzettis) since 2004 and coming through the Ankeny program they coached, it was built on the run, but you’ve got to do what you got to do.”
The Jaguars’ next two drives started on their 3- and 8-yard lines, respectively, and both resulted in punts that gave Indianola the ball back near midfield.
Even a couple of miscues by Indianola couldn’t help the offense get out of its rut as the Jaguars were forced to punt following a kick out of bounds and an interception on a tipped ball by Centennial junior linebacker Cale Gasperi.
The Jaguars got the momentum booster they needed right before halftime when senior defensive back Rilynd Pezzetti intercepted Freeman and set up the Centennial offense deep in Indianola territory.
A pair of defensive flags lined up Miller for an 8-yard touchdown scramble that cut Indianola’s lead to 26-14 with 50 seconds left on the clock.
Unfortunately for the Jaguars, that was more than enough time for Indianola to drive back down and put up a fifth first-half touchdown.
The Indians added two more touchdowns and a field goal in their first three drives of the second half, and the Centennial offense wasn’t able to find the end zone again until late in the fourth quarter.
Cade Newman capped off a Jaguars’ drive by punching the ball in from 2 yards out with just over a minute left on a running clock.
The win was the fifth in a row for Indianola, which was No. 11 in Class 5A in the first RPI rankings of the season. The Indians’ winning streak coincided with the emergence of Freeman, who started the season as a backup but has blossomed into an effective dual-threat quarterback.
On Friday, Freeman completed 21-of-26 passes for 289 yards and five touchdowns. Max Martinez and Blake each had six catches for a total of 140 yards and four scores.
Centennial was No. 23 in the first rankings, and the Jaguars’ fourth consecutive loss will keep them on the outside of the top 16 spots that will qualify for the playoffs.
It won’t get any easier for Centennial this week as the Jaguars will host defending Class 5A champion and No. 4 Dowling Catholic. The Maroons (6-1) are coming off a 24-6 win at No. 6 Waukee.
