Southeast Polk becomes 8th team to three-peat, beats Ankeny in Class 5A title game

CEDAR FALLS - Right from the opening kickoff, the Class 5A title game between Southeast Polk and Ankeny was an action-packed event.

Ankeny's Evan Irlmeier was back to receive, but couldn't handle the ball upon its arrival. He scooped the ball off the bounce and took it 91 yards for a touchdown to open the game.

Right then and there, it was evident that fans would get their money's worth.

Ultimately, Southeast Polk came away with a 49-21 win at the UNI-Dome, the Rams' third-consecutive title.

Southeast Polk is the 33rd team in the state with three or more titles and the eighth to win three straight. This season was the most dominant of the Rams' three-year run as they finished undefeated.

In the previous two seasons, Southeast Polk had lost in the regular season to, you guessed it, Ankeny.

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The Hawks were opportunistic Friday, with big plays on offense and special teams allowing them to stay competitive for a while. But the size and speed of Southeast Polk were too much for Ankeny to handle.

Defense was seemingly optional in the first half, with 35 combined points in the opening 24 minutes. After Irlmeier's spectacular return, the Rams answered with back-to-back touchdown drives to take a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.

The Rams struck first via the deep ball, as Connor Moberly found Carson Robbins for a 43-yard touchdown strike to conclude a 93-yard drive started by the run game. On the following offensive drive, Southeast Polk's CJ Phillip rushed for his fourth touchdown in the last two games, this time from two yards out to take the lead.

Ankeny answered with a bomb downfield from Luke Anderson to Caden Henkes, curated by a great play-action setup from the coaching staff to allow Henkes to separate from his man and tie it at 14.

Before the half, Phillip added another touchdown, this time from 13 yards out to take a 21-14 lead.

The Rams imposed their will on Ankeny from kickoff in the second half as Sam Zelenovich opened the third quarter with a 60-yard return deep inside Ankeny territory. Zelenovich finished that drive, hauling in a 21-yard reception to go up 28-14. On the following drive, Trey Lust recorded the defense's second interception of the night, setting up a 44-yard touchdown drive ended by Phillip's third touchdown of the night to ice the game.

Ankeny added another seven points to the scoreboard just before the end of the third with a Henkes touchdown run, set up by two long completions by virtue of the deep ball from Anderson. But to stifle any hopes of coming back, the Rams' defense brought in two interceptions to allow Phillip to add two more touchdowns to the stat sheet to conclude the night.

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Phillip finally gets his moment

The senior running back looked upon his teammates celebrating just a few yards away from him on the turf of the UNI-Dome.

"They're gonna have to teach me how to celebrate, I'm not used to this," Phillip said.

Phillip, who spent last season at Dowling Catholic, rejoined the Rams during the offseason hoping to win a state championship. He did so as the star of the last two outings in the UNI-Dome, recording eight touchdown carries to push the Rams into dynasty territory in the state of Iowa.

His final tally of the night was five touchdown carries for 149 yards, averaging more than five yards a carry. Much credit has to go to the offensive line, which brought back several starters from the last two title games. Those blockers kept Connor Moberly upright for most of the night, allowing just one sack.

Phillip was the star of another special night in Southeast Polk history.

"He's a worker," said Southeast Polk coach Brad Zelenovich. "He's a blue-collar guy, he's a physical back and a tough kid. Boy, I'm sure glad he's on our team."

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Ankeny set to return several key starters

One thing is certain about Ankeny: The Hawks have playmakers.

Ankeny was involved in some of the most electrifying games of the year. From an overtime thriller against rival Ankeny Centennial to a stunning upset over Dowling Catholic in the state quarterfinals to a return to the UNI-Dome, the one constant was the Hawks making huge plays to win games.

Ankeny returned just five starters from last season, so few people saw the Hawks returning to this level of play in the first year of the Jeff Bauer regime. But behind Irlmeier, Anderson, Henkes, Samuel Sandvig, Kinnick Vos and Daniel Larmie, all of whom will be back for the Hawks next year, Ankeny emerged as a state title contender.

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On Friday, the Hawks flashed potential on offense, putting together strong drives behind a dynamic passing attack. Its defense was opportunistic all year long with Vos and Sandvig making plays and forcing turnovers.

Ankeny certainly will be among the top contenders next season to unseat Southeast Polk atop the Class 5A heap.

"There's a good core coming back, it will be exciting next season," Bauer said.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Southeast Polk wins third-consecutive Iowa HS football state title