Ankeny advances to state 5A football quarterfinals with win over Johnston
Ankeny played host to Johnston on Friday in the first round of the Class 5A football playoffs. A tight game throughout ended in a 21-9 victory for the home team.
Ankeny, the No. 7 seed in 5A, advances to next Friday's state quarterfinals and will play No. 2 seed Dowling Catholic at Williams Stadium in Des Moines.
The Hawks jumped out to an early lead Friday. After a Johnston turnover, Caden Henkes ran for a 22-yard touchdown in the first minute of the game. From then on out, it was a back-andforth battle between the defenses. Ankeny led 7-0 at halftime.
Johnston got on the board in the second half, with the Dragons' first points also coming off a turnover. But the visiting team couldn't muster up enough points to get past Ankeny, which later added another touchdown from Henkes.
Ankeny will look for some payback next week against Dowling Catholic. The Maroons beat the Hawks 35-14 on Sept. 8.
“They took it to us the last time we played them,” Ankeny coach Jeff Bauer said. “So we just have to get better with cleaning up the mistakes we made on offense tonight and we'll give it our best shot.”
Ankeny’s defense stands out (again) against Johnston
The Hawks' defense was the star of the show from the very first play of the game.
It's hard to top a fumble recovery by Manning Allen the first time that Johnston had the ball, and the defense didn't slow down from that moment onward.
Much like the last time these two teams met, it was an all-around effort. Allen's fumble recovery and Jacob Mohrfeld and Devon Aker's interceptions late in the fourth quarter bookended Ankeny's dominance in the turnover battle. Lio Aguirre and Kinnick Vos were contributors all over the field.
“They played hard,” Bauer said. “They tackled well. It was probably one of our best tackling games. (The) defensive staff ... prepared them well. You could tell, our boys, nothing really surprised them, and it was an awesome effort.”
Johnston offense stumbles in rematch against Ankeny
Ankeny beat Johnston for the second time this season (the Hawks won 16-10 on Sept. 15). The Dragons trailed the entire game Friday, and Ankeny's defenders made sure Johnston wasn't able to mount a rally.
The Dragons finally capitalized on a turnover and scored a touchdown in the second half. But there were many more times when Johnston had solid field possession and did nothing with it.
Johnston has the pieces it needs to be successful on offense. But when players can't make big-time plays, it's difficult to win games. And that's what happened against Ankeny.
Ankeny’s Daniel Larmie returns after injury
The Hawks experienced a scary moment late in the first quarter.
With 1:32 left on the clock, Daniel Larmie rushed the ball and took a hard hit, which resulted in a fumble recovered by Johnston. As the Dragons celebrated the turnover, the stadium quickly fell silent as Larmie remained on the ground. He was eventually able to get up with the help of trainers and head to the sideline on his own, but he did not return in the first half.
That was a big loss for Ankeny. Larmie leads the team with 149 carries and has 721 yards and six touchdowns. He did return in the second half and played well.
Henkes, who has matched — and at times exceeded — Larmie's production this year stepped into an even larger role with Larmie sidelined.
“He's been doing it all year,” Bauer said. “He's high character, high quality with lots of speed. And he's a tough kid. I was very proud of him, and he's only a junior. So, it's awesome we get him back next year.”