(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
For senior quarterback Mason Machan, there wasn’t much more the Ankeny football team could’ve done to make its final regular season game that much better.
Machan led an Ankeny offense that recorded nine consecutive scoring drives and had a running clock going before halftime, while the defense forced seven turnovers and scored a touchdown of its own to fuel the Hawks’ 66-7 blowout win over Council Bluffs Lincoln on Friday night at Ankeny Stadium.
“Every phase of the team played great tonight,” Machan said after tossing five touchdown passes to five different receivers. “We were firing on all cylinders, and it was really good.”
The visiting Lynx (3-6) won the coin toss and opted to put Ankeny’s defense out on the field to start the game by choosing to receive the opening kickoff.
It took just one play for things to start snowballing in favor of the Hawks (7-2).
Lincoln sophomore quarterback Hudsyn De Jager tested Ankeny senior cornerback Nolan Bennett with a deep shot on the first play from scrimmage, and it ended with Bennett’s second interception of the season.
“(Lincoln) took the ball to start the game, our coaches were talking and saying that they called for the ball, so they knew something was coming,” Bennett said. “I was just ready, I saw their quarterback look up and I just played the ball.”
It didn’t take the offense very long to capitalize on Bennett’s interception.
Senior Devan Goode ripped off a 28-yard run and a reception from sophomore receiver DJ Tate helped bring the Hawks inside Lincoln’s 10-yard line. Machan then completed the first of his five first-half passing touchdowns on a 6-yard toss to an open Garrett Bauer.
Bennett was at the forefront of Ankeny’s second turnover on Lincoln’s ensuing drive when senior linebacker Rowan Doak knocked the ball loose on a pitch before Bennett was able to fall on top of the ball right in front of the Hawks’ sideline.
“It’s big, and it swings the whole momentum of the game,” Bennett said. “Because they’re coming out, throwing it, trying to punch it down our throat, and we got those two big turnovers and I think that really shifted it for our offense and put them in a good spot to score.”
Machan then found junior receiver Gavin Hanfelt for a 37-yard catch-and-run touchdown. It ended up being a career night for Machan in just the first half alone, when he completed 10-of-12 passes for 264 yards and all five of his touchdowns.
Ankeny had the running clock started with 8 minutes 37 seconds left in the second quarter.
“(Our offense) is just electric,” Machan said. “We’ve just got so many playmakers, we’ve shown it all year and tonight was just another piece of that. It was good getting everybody a touch and getting everybody involved in a good way. It’s a big confidence booster for (the start of the postseason).”
Junior receiver Jamello Cooper recorded the longest of Machan’s five touchdowns when he took a screen pass 61 yards to give Ankeny a 21-0 lead before the end of the first quarter.
Machan threw a 35-yard strike to Tate to cap off the Hawks’ fourth drive of the night, which was set up by a Logan Wirtz interception.
A 55-yard catch-and-run by Hanfelt led to Machan’s 14-yard connection to junior Quin Somers for their fifth straight touchdown drive and broke the 35-point threshold needed for a running clock.
“One of our strengths is being able to spread it around, and we spread it around to a lot of guys,” said Ankeny coach Jeff Bauer. “That’s what we like and when we do that, we know we’re rolling pretty good. Hopefully that tunes us up for (the playoffs) next week.”
Junior running back Cooper McDowell scored one of Ankeny’s only two rushing touchdowns of the night right before halftime.
The offensive success went far beyond the starters.
Backup quarterback Asher Lindaman replaced Machan after halftime and led a drive that ended with a 41-yard field goal from senior Canden Ganahl.
Lindaman found fellow sophomore Elijah Johnson for an 82-yard touchdown on the following drive. Sophomore running back Zadok Swanson capped off the final scoring drive of the night with a 10-yard dash to the end zone.
“Tonight I was really impressed with our younger guys,” Machan said. “Jamar (Soulinthavong) and Zadok, both running backs were balling. Brody (Butler) and Asher at quarterback know how to take control of the offense. Whenever our twos go in, we know our coaches are going to put them in a great spot and we also know that they’ll go ball out and be great.”
The Hawks’ defense ended the night recording four interceptions, two turnovers on downs, one forced fumble with a fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown.
Ankeny forced turnovers on all four of Lincoln’s second-half drives with the running clock going.
Wirtz forced a turnover on downs after stopping the Lynx well short on a fourth-and-15 deep in Ankeny territory, junior Levi Yeager housed a pick-six to make it 59-7, and junior Jaden Breuer recorded his first interception of the season.
“The preparation we put in week in, week out with (coach) Todd McGhghy, our coaches and our defense,” Bennett said of what goes into the Hawks’ success on defense. “We put in a lot of work, we got some of the best players out here, and we just lean on each other.”
Seniors Jayce Seifert and Quincy Owens and sophomore Carson Braun teamed up to stuff a fourth-and-3 run in the backfield, which put the Hawks’ offense back on the field to run out the remainder of the clock.
Lincoln’s only points of the game came on a short Levi Nelson rushing touchdown late in the first half. The score was set up by a 39-yard reception in double coverage by leading receiver Braylin De Jager while facing third-and-long from midfield.
Ankeny will now face a familiar foe in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs. The fourth-seeded Hawks will host No. 13 Waukee (5-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. at Ankeny Stadium.
Ankeny rallied from a 10-0 deficit in the second half to beat the Warriors, 14-10, on Sept. 4.
“They’re great kids, and they’re smart kids,” Bauer said of his squad, which quickly rose up the ranks to be a top-four seed in the playoffs. “We’ve got this motto about being family, and we’re a close-knit group. Hopefully, we keep building and we get to experience a few more weeks. But now it gets real, and you have to perform each week.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face No. 5 Indianola (7-2) or No. 12 Iowa City Liberty (6-3) in the quarterfinals on Nov. 6.
