Will United Ankeny Win Football Title in its Final Year?

For years, Ankeny has been the team to beat in almost every sport.

This year, in particular, has been something out of a fairy tale. The Ankeny Hawks football team is the top-ranked Class 4A team in the state. The squad is undefeated as it heads into tonight’s quarter-final game against West Des Moines Valley on the way to a hoped-for state championship.

And if the Hawks win it all, the victory will be especially sweet for players, coaches and Ankeny residents alike, because next year things are changing.

Ankeny is opening a second high school, and the team will be split in two.

Silver and black will replace the maroon and gold for some players, and Hawks will become Jaguars. Other varsity athletes, students, parents and community members will make the switch alongside the football team.

The opening of Ankeny Centennial High School marks the first time in 40 years an Iowa school district has expanded to a two-high school system. Looking at other school districts throughout Iowa, Ankeny seems to be bucking the trend as enrollment numbers across the state continue to drop. This year, over 9,000 students are enrolled in the Ankeny Community School District. The district is projected to reach almost 11,000 students by the 2016-17 school year.

Arguably one of Ankeny’s most high-profile graduates and former football players, Iowa State Cyclones head football coach Paul Rhoads, said as time passes Ankeny community members and both teams will find their place in the competitive realm.

“As time passes, it will be like it always was,” said Rhoads, class of 1984. “Both programs will get to a point where both are competitive because of the background of Ankeny schools and the people who live there.”

So when the transition occurs, will Ankeny still be the team to beat?

The football team’s record speaks for itself. It earned a Class 4A state championship in 1997, was a runner-up for the title in 2007 and made it to the semifinals last season. , the team has qualified for the football playoffs 22 times and earned 14 conference championships under his leadership.

Now, though, the talent pool will be diluted as it splits in two.

School District Has Been Preparing for Years

The split into two schools – Ankeny High School and Ankeny Centennial – is by no means sneaking up on the Ankeny school district. In fact, the district and its athletic department have spent years preparing the students for the transition. Tenth grade, junior varsity and middle- school sports teams have already split, and many of those teams already have winning records.

Only the varsity teams have remained intact.

"When the transition occurs, we will already have had students compete in a Jaguar uniform and begin that process of building pride in where they will attend high school," said Kevin Biggs, athletics director for the Ankeny school district. "These students are already buying in and I've seen it with my own eyes. They already believe in the opportunity and they're taking advantage of it."

What opportunity? Biggs said one of the biggest advantages to opening a second high school will be students gaining the chance to play a sport they might not have been able to before. Will the split affect the success of both teams? That depends on the definition of success, and Biggs said success can be more than wins and championships.

"It can be about personal or team improvement, or how rewarding it feels to be apart of something great, or how happy our parents are of the experiences we are able to provide their kids," Biggs said. "Opportunity creates growth and with growth comes happy, healthy and self-confident kids. Winning is certainly important and it should be one of our main goals, but its not the only thing that defines the success of our programs."

Becoming a powerhouse in football as well as other sports, including volleyball and basketball, didn’t happen overnight, Biggs said. Success, he said, is fostered by those who have already started encouraging both teams to work toward a state championship, even if it means the Hawks and Jaguars will play each other to earn it.

"We hold ourselves to a very high standard and expectation, and I predict we will see the product of those standards in year one of the split," Biggs said. "We've got some amazing coaches leading our kids and they'll be ready to compete right out of the gate."

Community Members Predict an Emotional, Difficult Transition

Ron Sampson, an Ankeny real estate agent, was a member of the 1969 Ankeny Hawks football team. He said the split is going to be difficult and emotional for many people.

“Ankeny still has this really good small town feel, and that’s unique. It has such a tremendous brand name,” Sampson said. “We’ll still be successful, but rooting against someone your kids have known since kindergarten will be hard, but when you go to a game you have to clap for someone.”

Mike Higgins, who played from 1982-84, has watched his children go through the transition. His son was a Hawk in ninth grade, a Jaguar in 10th and is a Hawk again this year. Next year, he will return to silver and black as he closes out high school as a Jaguar.

“The dynamics will be tough, and there could be a potentially huge divide when you have such a rich tradition split right down the community line,” Higgins said.

The transition is going to be a bumpy road, Higgins said, but the community has a responsibility to rise above the difficulties.

“All my ties to the community are as an Ankeny Hawk,” Higgins said. “We have to try and confront those issues because it is all about the kids.”

Two High Schools, One Community

Biggs said above all, the transition cannot be contentious or confrontational. Community members can expect to see the district finding ways to encourage camaraderie throughout the entire community when the Hawks and Jaguar football teams meet each other for the first time next August and beyond.

“We need to stress the importance of being supportive. We want that rivalry but once that game is done, we’re hoping one team will continue to support the other,” Biggs said. “At the end of the day, we’re still one community.”

But an adjustment period in inevitable, and not everyone is convinced it will be easy. Sampson said he believes a rivalry may be inevitable.

“There isn’t anything you can do. You’re just going to have to let it go. If you start downplaying the games you’re hurting the systems, the kids,” Sampson said. “You can’t do that because it’s fraudulent. A game is a game, and that’s why you’re playing it.”

But Sampson, who officiates sports for the school district, also believes the players and community members of Ankeny have a level of class that’s hard to find elsewhere.

“The kids always have a good attitude,” Sampson said. “They have that reputation that whenever you call them on something, they’re going to take it, swallow it and go on to the next play, the next game.”