Both Ankeny high school football teams battled each other for a trip to the Class 5A high school football championship game Friday night, drawing in proud Ankeny residents to watch the game.Ankeny topped Ankeny Centennial, 10-7, in the UNI-Dome to clinch a championship berth. While fans packed the Dome in Cedar Falls, around 150 fans who didn’t make it north to Cedar Falls filled Sports Page Grill in Ankeny to watch their two hometown teams face off.The popular restaurant is where Centennial hosts its pre-game family tailgates, “Jaguar Roar,” during the regular season, but on Friday, fans of both the Hawks and Jaguars filled the room.A packed restaurant is normal on a Friday night due to the restaurant’s proximity to the stadium where the football teams play. When people walked in on Friday, they found 18 televisions synced together with the game on and the sound broadcasting throughout Sports Page.People were decked out in sweatshirts donning the mascots of either one of the two schools. All eyes were locked on the screen most times, while others spent the evening speaking with old friends.Watch below: Southeast Polk, Ankeny win tight semifinal games to advance to 5A title gameAs expected, some people were rooting for one team over the other — but there were many people who told KCCI they were happy to see both of their hometown teams make it to the Dome and were cheering for them both.“It’s nice to see as the split has happen that more kids have an opportunity and this means that many more kids get to go to the Dome,” said Barb Wiedenman, who was cheering for both teams.Wiedenman is referring to 2013, when Ankeny Centennial opened, meaning there were now two high schools in the Ankeny Community School District. It’s something many people thought about leading up to Friday’s semifinal showdown.“It wasn’t an ‘if.’ It was ‘when,’” said Rod Brannan, an Ankeny alumni who was cheering for Ankeny Centennial because his kids graduated from there. “This was going to happen. I mean, our teams are great.”“There was a lot of people worried back when they split up, that it would really affect the sports team,” said Jake Hudson, the general manager of Sports Page Grill. “So to see everybody doing this well this quickly is really awesome. It’s exciting for the crowd.”Southeast Polk and Ankeny will face off in the championship at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17.
Both Ankeny high school football teams battled each other for a trip to the Class 5A high school football championship game Friday night, drawing in proud Ankeny residents to watch the game.
Ankeny topped Ankeny Centennial, 10-7, in the UNI-Dome to clinch a championship berth. While fans packed the Dome in Cedar Falls, around 150 fans who didn’t make it north to Cedar Falls filled Sports Page Grill in Ankeny to watch their two hometown teams face off.
Advertisement
The popular restaurant is where Centennial hosts its pre-game family tailgates, “Jaguar Roar,” during the regular season, but on Friday, fans of both the Hawks and Jaguars filled the room.
A packed restaurant is normal on a Friday night due to the restaurant’s proximity to the stadium where the football teams play. When people walked in on Friday, they found 18 televisions synced together with the game on and the sound broadcasting throughout Sports Page.
People were decked out in sweatshirts donning the mascots of either one of the two schools. All eyes were locked on the screen most times, while others spent the evening speaking with old friends.
Watch below: Southeast Polk, Ankeny win tight semifinal games to advance to 5A title game
As expected, some people were rooting for one team over the other — but there were many people who told KCCI they were happy to see both of their hometown teams make it to the Dome and were cheering for them both.
“It’s nice to see as the split has happen that more kids have an opportunity and this means that many more kids get to go to the Dome,” said Barb Wiedenman, who was cheering for both teams.
Wiedenman is referring to 2013, when Ankeny Centennial opened, meaning there were now two high schools in the Ankeny Community School District. It’s something many people thought about leading up to Friday’s semifinal showdown.
“It wasn’t an ‘if.’ It was ‘when,’” said Rod Brannan, an Ankeny alumni who was cheering for Ankeny Centennial because his kids graduated from there. “This was going to happen. I mean, our teams are great.”
“There was a lot of people worried back when they split up, that it would really affect the sports team,” said Jake Hudson, the general manager of Sports Page Grill. “So to see everybody doing this well this quickly is really awesome. It’s exciting for the crowd.”
Southeast Polk and Ankeny will face off in the championship at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17.