No. 5-ranked and District 6 champ Adair-Casey hosts Ankeny Christian
By Drew Herron - NT Sports Editor / Oct. 18, 2013
ADAIR – Adair-Casey, ranked No. 5 by the Associated Press and having locked up another District (6) championship, returns to action after a bye week that left them free to rest up and heal its ouches, so to speak.
Also, Friday night marks the final regular season home game for a decorated group of Bomber seniors.
Now, the Bombers are 7-0, healthy and eager to take flight.
“It helped a lot,” Bombers’ head coach Wade Anderson says. “The bye week came at a good time, and it’s given us time to focus on fixing some things during practice, and giving the guys a couple days off as well. Everyone came back to work Monday, fired up and ready to go.”
AC’s opponent this week is Ankeny Christian Academy, a squad that has struggled through 2013 and carries a 0-7 record into Week 8. The Eagles have failed to secure a victory, having come their closest in Week 4 to Grandview Park in a 38-31 loss.
Ankeny Christian is averaging just 13 points-per-game, while allowing 57 to the opponents, and they’ve thrice surrendered at least 60 points. The Eagles are most recently coming off an 81-13 loss at Lamoni, which marked a season-high for points allowed.
As impressive as the Adair-Casey offense has been, it’s a mismatch on paper. But coach Anderson says the Eagles have been pesky for four quarters in all the games he’s seen of them on film, and agrees the Bombers carry a target on their back.
Nobody in black-and-gold expect Ankeny Christian Academy to roll over for them.
“They’re a team that will try to spread us out, it’s a little bit of a different look…it’s an adjustment we will have to make,” Anderson says of the Eagles’ offense. “But (ACA) is a team that plays hard, regardless of the score is, and I figure they will give us their top effort.”
On the home front, the Bombers Offense continues to work on its line play up front. AC now has a formidable front five on the offensive line, but coach Anderson says it’s still a work in progress.
“We’ve still got areas to get better at,” coach Anderson says. “Our linemen have improved every single week, because we work on it. And we will continue to work on it. But, we always need to be strong in our blocking assignments, and know each other’s jobs.”
Another area of desired development is the passing attack. The Bombers aren’t bad when throwing the ball, hitting at 60 percent (33-of-55) for 836 yards and a tidy 15 touchdowns to 1 interception ratio. It’s just a matter of doing what works, and AC has always found success with its run first.
Plowman owns and continues to re-write the state’s 8-Man record book when it comes to rushing yardage, and the Bombers have used others as well to put up big points every week.
Already, Plowman has 132 carries for 1,190 yards and 22 touchdowns. Moreover, Traeton Jensen, Charlie Terry and Emmitt Wheatley all have equally efficient yard-per-carries on the ground.
But if the Bombers are to reach the UNI-Dome eventually, they will inevitably be put in passing situations. Developing that now becomes desirable.
“We have to continue to add pieces and develop that part of our offense so that we become a more balanced team,” coach Andersons says. “We will always be a rushing team, but having some balance never hurts.”
Getting healthy has been another point of emphasis for the Bombers. For the first time in a few weeks, the squad is at full strength after the Bombers had to do without the services of Plowman and junior Cole Reha against Grandview Park Baptist. Everyone is on board this week, and Adair-Casey is eager to get back on the field and start moving its power chess pieces.
There’s a focus on playing Bombers Football and not play down to the level of a lesser opponent and in this case, a winless team. It’s something the team talks about often, and nothing will change this week.
“We never want to look or think about the record of our opponents,” coach Anderson says. “We want to focus on what makes Adair-Casey a better football team. For us to do that, we need to start the game Friday with great intensity, and focused in on what my task is, and what my brother’s task is.”
The District 6 championship ensures the Bombers will host at least the first playoff game, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 30.
But Friday will be the final regular season home game for eight players who Anderson hopes can savor everything Friday nights at Bombers Field has to offer.
“High School Football is fleeting, it’s a short span,” coach Anderson says for the seniors.
“You need to take advantage of every Friday night you get. And our guys relish putting the equipment on and taking the field to see what they can do together as a team, as a band of brothers. That’s what we are, we’re a family, and we love to spend time together on the field on Friday nights.”
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