Ankeny football team coasts past Waukee Northwest
The Ankeny football team picked up another win Oct. 14, beating Waukee Northwest 31-7.
Head coach Rick Nelson said Ankeny got out to a fast start, scoring two touchdowns early on.
“The wind was blowing, so they deferred, we took the ball… they kicked off and we returned it probably to their 25, so we had a good return,” Nelson said. “And we scored shortly after that. And then we kicked off to them into the wind and we had a good kick … and then we got a pick six.”
Senior quarterback JJ Kohl had another good game for the Hawks, finishing 15-for-17 for 120 yards and a touchdown and also rushing for a touchdown.
Nelson said Kohl, and Iowa State recruit, has been dependable all season for Ankeny, adding that he can use his feet to get first downs as well.
“He’s a real good player, throws a really nice ball and I think he gels with all of our receivers right now,” Nelson said. “He’s a really good football player and he’s been playing really well, so that’s been helping us a lot.”
The defense also played well, recording two interceptions and holding the Wolves to seven points.
“I think we played pretty solid from a lack of mental errors,” Nelson said.
Ankeny is now 7-1 with one game left in the regular season. After losing a good number of seniors from last year’s team, Nelson said he wasn’t sure how the Hawks would do.
“We’re really pleased with our record,” Nelson said. “We would like to obviously be 8-0 but we didn’t play good enough to beat Dowling that day. If we can take care of things maybe we’ll get another chance to play Dowling.”
The Hawks will close the regular season with a game against Des Moines Lincoln at 7 p.m. Friday at Lincoln High School.
Centennial volleyball closes out regular season
The Ankeny Centennial volleyball team finished out its regular-season schedule with a match against Waukee Northwest.
The Jaguars took on the Wolves on Oct. 11, winning three sets to one. Centennial grabbed sets one and two 25-16 and 25-20 before falling in set three 25-21. The Jaguars bounced back in set four, winning 26-24.
Centennial was led by a number of players in the game. Senior Delainey Winkel led with 14 kills, while sophomore Jaeden Pratt followed with 13 kills on a .435 hitting percentage.
Senior Jada Schmidt and sophomore Delaney Miller also contributed, finishing the match with 11 and 10 kills.
Senior Reagan Angus and junior Kambria Leazer shared setting responsibilities, with Angus leading with 21 assists and Leazer following with 19.
Pratt also had a strong day defensively, leading the team with eight total blocks. Senior Taylor Bechen and Pratt had four and three aces, respectively.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ankeny football team coasts past Waukee Northwest
