The crowd roars, the drums pound, and the bleachers shake; the lights illuminate the Friday night sky as the Ankeny Hawks march onto the field. High school football is back. 

2024 Season Recap: 

The Hawks enter the new season coming off a turbulent 6-5 record last year. They started off the 2024 season dropping their first two games, but battled back and received notable wins against teams such as top-ranked Dowling Catholic and #4-ranked Valley. The Hawks reached the Iowa High Schools Athletic Association (IHSAA) 5A state quarterfinals, where they went on to face the Iowa City Liberty Lightning, who ultimately ended their season in a 21-13 loss. 

Despite the end result of the season, the 2024 team was a success, producing many memories, highlights, and numerous honors. Among those were three players on the Iowa Football Coaches Association All-State (IFCA ) First Team and three players on the IFCA All-State Second Team. At the district level, there were 8  players on the all-district first team, 7 on the all-district second team, and 3 honorable mentions. Of those 18 players honored, only 6 are returning for the 2025 season, leaving some gaps in the roster to fill. Notable seniors lost include Quarterback Luke Anderson, who holds 3 school records, and Defensive End Andrew Haase, who led the team last season with 7.5 sacks.

Key Players: 

Yet, these losses don’t cripple the Hawks, as they have strong returners, including three All-State players in Daniel Larmie, Dawson Whitinger, and La’marious Clark. The holes left in the depth chart are ready to be filled, as many players are ready to step up into new roles this upcoming season. 

Some notable players stepping up include Senior Quarterback Kael Roush, who will take the starting position after being the backup to Luke Anderson for 2 years. Roush has shown lots of talent through the years and played in two games during the 2024 season. He’s spent his offseason in the film room, gaining knowledge from other quarterbacks and getting ready to show out in his senior year. 

“I think last year was a good thing for me to learn and see what it would be like, and to always just be ready in case there is that opportunity,” Roush said. “During the offseason, there’s just a lot of mental reps and reps in practice, and just working outside of practice too, like working with guys who know the game and know how to play quarterback and give me their knowledge, so I can apply it to the game.”

Other seniors ready to step up from last year include Nate Jenkins, Kael Bodin, and Joey Sandvig. These players had limited action on the varsity field during the 2024 season, but have all stepped up majorly during the off-season. Junior safety Logan Wirtz has also emerged as a key defensive player and, through many reps in the offseason, has grown in his confidence and preparation for the season.

Even with new faces and changing roles, there is one thing that remains the same for the Hawks: the team’s ultimate goal. When leaders on the team were asked the main goal for the season, they all replied with the same answer: Winning a state title.

This goal isn’t new to Ankeny. The Hawks’ last state title was won in 2020, with their last state title appearance in 2023, where they fell to the Southeast Polk Rams 49-21. Now the Southeast Polk Rams look to clinch their 5th title in a row, and every team in Iowa hopes to knock them out.

Team Culture

So, what makes this year different for Ankeny?

Well, the answer isn’t found in a playbook, depth chart, or the opponents on their schedule. The players believe it’s in their bond with each other.

“I feel like there’s more of a team feel. The running backs and linebackers are just as close as the receivers are with the O-lineman, as the O-lineman are with the defensive backs,” star running back Daniel Larmie said. “There are no clusters; it’s more like one group.”

Team chemistry is one of the most important aspects in football, but for the Hawks, developing those connections off the field is just as important.

“The goal is for the same way we’re best friends on the field, we need to be best friends off the field,” Larmie said.

This chemistry translates to being there for each other and inciting positive performances on Friday nights. But outside of being good friends and teammates, these friendships reach beyond the field and into the community through leadership and participation in various activities and locations.

“The team itself is bigger than football,” senior quarterback Kael Roush said. He further explained how players are involved and contribute to other activities, “I think a lot of kids are good in the classroom, and just good people outside of football.”

Beyond developing an impenetrable team culture, the Hawks have also developed an unstoppable yet team-centered mindset.

This mindset is echoed by Logan Wirtz, who highlights the team aspect and intensity they are going for this season.

“Our mindset as a team is don’t let off the brake, don’t let off the gas pedal, keep going no matter what happens. Don’t take anything for granted. Give it your all and leave it all out on the field,” Wirtz said.

New Leadership

Among the many new faces this season is the new Offensive Coordinator, Rob Luther. Coach Luther, a retired principal, has 30+ years of coaching experience, working with 4 teams over that time period, with positions at both offensive coordinator and head coach. He previously worked as Head Coach for the Baxter Bolts for 27 years, leading them through changes such as the transition from a joint 2A 11-player team with Collins-Maxwell to a separate 8-man team in 2017. Luther retired as principal from Baxter High School 2 years ago.

Luther has known Head Coach Jeff Bauer for years, with their families growing close over the course of their friendship. Three of Luther’s five kids have attended Ankeny, and he is well aware of the tradition of Ankeny High. He knew when he got asked by Coach Bauer about the offensive coordinator position that it was meant to be.

“The timing felt right to take a step back from being a head coach and get a new chance at a top-notch 5A program. So it’s just kind of a retirement job turned into a really awesome opportunity,” said Luther.

With Luther’s many years of experience comes many lessons, one of which is his ideology of “It’s Players, not plays,” Luther explained.

There are many different ways to strategize in football, but Luther emphasized how it’s always important to keep the focus on the players.

“I think it’s pretty easy from our side of the field and the coaching box to just start dialing up every crazy play and to go ahead and think that we’re going to out-scheme everybody, and sometimes we forget it’s just about getting our players the ball in places they feel comfortable to get it,” Luther said.

Coach Luther lives and breathes football. When substitute teaching classes with players on the team, he can be seen writing plays on the whiteboard and scheming new ideas, but what is seen more often is him connecting to each student, football player or not.

To Luther, players are more than statistics on a sheet; this mindset changes the way he approaches the game.

“When you’re a young coach, you want to win championships. You want to win district titles, you want to win football games. I’ve won a lot on Fridays and I’ve lost some on Fridays. Because I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized, it’s about the relationships,” Luther said. “With our coaches and our players, it’s about fostering and building relationships.”

Luther further explained how, in the end, while he hopes Ankeny can become the 5A state champions, that 15 years down the line, that’s not what’s going to stick with him or the team.

“What you remember is those relationships, you remember those special things that happen in practice, you remember some things like the stories, the bus rides, the locker room, and that’s really what high school football is about,” Luther said. “It’s about those lessons that help you become a better father, brother, husband, citizen, and that’s what we’re trying to instill.”

With the Hawks’ newfound culture built on chemistry and making relationships, it’s evident that this season, the team comes first, and with growing relationships and trust, the wins will come along.

So far, the Hawks are two weeks into the season and have a 1-1 record. The Hawks recorded a nail-biting loss in the final minutes against Waukee Northwest 25-24 in week one, but rebounded with a strong win against Waukee, 26 -13, in week two. The Hawks take on Des Moines Roosevelt in week three (9/12) at home.