Ankeny Students, Football Coach Hope For An Upset Against Undefeated Valley

Sara Brown knows what the odds are and she doesn’t care. Brown, a senior at believes the Hawks have a chance to upset West Des Moines Valley during Friday night’s playoff showdown in Cedar Falls.

“I think we’re going to win,” Brown predicted on Wednesday.

Brown, along with many of her fellow students, plan to caravan to Cedar Falls Friday afternoon to watch the Hawks take on the undefeated Valley Tigers at the UNI-Dome. Students said school spirit was running at an all-time high this week as the team prepared to face its toughest test yet.

“Everybody’s really excited about the game,” Brown said.

While students acknowledged that a matchup against Valley, who Ankeny hasn’t faced in the regular season, would be a tough game, many are hoping the Hawks can pull off an upset victory under the Dome and have a chance to bring home another state championship to Ankeny.

“Winning, Ankeny’s really all about the winning, especially against Valley,” senior Aly Rickabaugh said.

Rickabaugh said while the weather will be a factor in her travel plans to Cedar Falls, she expects Ankeny fans to show up in force. And make no mistake, Rickabaugh promised that Hawk fans would be louder than their rivals on the other side of the metro.

“It’s the Dome, more people will make it out, it’s a big thing,” Rickabaugh said. “We always make an effort to be the loudest.”

Hawks head coach Jerry Pezzetti knows how tough Valley is, and he’s been spending all week making sure his team is ready to face its biggest challenge of the season. For Pezzetti, the key to the game is turnovers. He believes that if the Hawks limit their mistakes and control the ball, that they’ve got a chance to win.

“We’re going to play smart, and play hard,” Pezzetti said. “If there’s a mistake, we’re just going to have to bounce back and take care of it.”

This won’t be the first time that Pezzetti has led the Hawks onto the field under the Dome. In 11 years he’s taken eight teams to Cedar Falls, and lost a state championship by 3 points, but he said he’s focused on the task at hand.

“You don’t live in the past because this is a new experience for many of our team members,” Pezzetti said. “We’re just going to live in the moment and try to take advantage of it.”

Pezzetti said that while a victory over the Tigers would be “enormous” for the Hawks, he’s focused on getting to another state championship game. Along the way he’s been thrilled to see the tremendous amount of support the team has received from students and members of the community.

As the Hawks jogged out onto their practice field Wednesday, eighth- and ninth-grade students had hung a large banner outside, urging the Hawks to hit ‘em hard and bring home a state championship.

“It makes you feel really good to think that the student body supports you,” Pezzetti said. “We’re the Ankeny Hawks and when you get the community and most of the students involved, I feel great about that.”

Brown and Rickabaugh have been behind the Hawks all year, and they’re pumped to head to the Dome on Friday to watch the Hawks play like champions. As they sat with fellow senior Sam Ridlen discussing Friday’s clash of titans, Ridlen said that a win over the Tigers would mean throwing a party of unheard-of proportions.

“It’s going to be huge,” Ridlen said. “There’s going to be a huge party if we win.”