After a long season the playoffs are here. Last week the team got a massive win against number one unbeaten Bettendorf. City finished with a 6-3 record and finished 10th in the RPI rankings, setting them up to travel to Ankeny and play number seven Ankeny Centennial. The 7-2 Centennial team has played very strong teams such as Ankeny, Cedar Falls (6-3), Southeast Polk (5-4), Dowling Catholic(8-1) and Waukee Northwest (4-5).

A player to look out for against Centennial is Sophomore Braeden Jackson who has 1,100 rushing yards on 134 carries and 18 touchdowns with 120 receiving yards and one touchdown receiving. Overall, Centennial tries to keep the ball on the ground and uses pre-snap motions and shifts to disguise their looks.

As for City, the key to this game is to score every drive and keep the offense flowing efficiently. City will need a good game from senior Connor Cross to do this. Despite not playing receiver for six games, Cross has still hauled in 13 catches for 218 yards and one touchdown.  

“Just feels good to be back, and I’m looking forward to doing anything I can to help us advance to the next round,” Conner said. 

The Little Hawks have been in this position before, as they were 6-3 heading into a first round road game in 2022 and 2023. They were unsuccessful in getting to the second round in both those years, they will look to change their ways on Friday. When asked about what separates this team from the previous two senior offensive guard Elijah Davis said “The mindset is that we don’t want this game to be the senior’s last and we know what we have to do to advance.” 

The game is set for Friday, November 1st at 5:30pm. If the Little Hawks win they will secure a second round game against the winner of Dowling Catholic vs Cedar Falls.