Ames football players talk a 49-21 win over Des Moines Roosevelt
Ames football players Brennan Swanson, Jeffrey Roberts and Cameron Cantonwine following the Little Cyclones’ 49-21 victory over Des Moines Roosevelt.
Sometimes mistakes turn into blessings.
That is what happened to Ames receiver Brennan Swanson midway through the second quarter of the Little Cyclone football team’s 49-21 victory over Des Moines Roosevelt on Friday.
Ames had the ball, first-and-10 at the Roosevelt 25-yard line with a 28-13 lead when Swanson went out for a 10-yard dig route. But a Roosevelt defensive back came up in press coverage, so Swanson changed plans.
With no safety over the top, Swanson ran a straight go route.
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“I saw him go right by,” said Ames quarterback Cameron Cantonwine. “So, I said I’ll let him go get it and I just threw it as far as I could.”
Swanson went on a full sprint and then dove for the ball. With his body fully laid out, he made a diving grab at the 2-yard line. Cantonwine ran it into the end zone on the next play to put the game out of reach.
“He (Cantonwine) just launched it and the rest happened,” Swanson said. “I just wanted the ball.”
It was the highlight play of a breakout night from Swanson, who finished with seven catches for 156 yards and one touchdown.
But he was not the only receiver to shine for Ames on Friday.
Cantonwine, known more for his running ability, had a career night through the air in leading the Little Cyclones (1-3) to their first victory of the season.
Cantonwine threw for 439 yards and five touchdowns on just 14 completions. He now has thrown for 866 yards and seven touchdowns with three interceptions on the season to go along with a team-high 238 yards and three touchdowns rushing.
“Last year I kind of got thrown into (playing) quarterback,” Cantonwine said. “I hadn’t really played it before, so it was kind of a work in progress. It’s been nice to see all of the work we put in finally coming through. We’ve established the passing game, to open up the run game and spread out our offense.”
More: What we learned from Ames’ 49-21 Iowa high school football victory over Des Moines Roosevelt
Isaiah Knight, who joined the football team for the first time this fall as a senior, scored when he broke free down the Roosevelt sideline, hauled in a deep pass from Cantonwine and raced 78 yards to paydirt on a third-and-25 play to give the Little Cyclones the lead for good at 14-7.
“Isaiah is new for us,” said Ames coach Tom Crowden. “He came out late, but we knew he was going to have a great night tonight because he’s a great athlete. We’re excited for that.”
Then there was the man who helped make it all possible — Jeffrey Roberts.
Roberts, a 6-foot, 180-pound junior, was just offered a scholarship to play Division I football close to home at Iowa State a couple of weeks ago. He came into the game with a team-high 13 catches for 307 yards and two touchdowns.
Roberts snared a 29-yard touchdown reception in the first half, and then he really took off. Roberts added touchdown grabs of 36 and 73 yards in the second half to finish with five catches for 208 yards and three scores.
“Cameron and I couldn’t really get it going during the first half,” Roberts said. “We talked about it at halftime and got it going.”
Roberts now has 18 catches for 515 yards and five touchdowns on the season, leaving him just four yards shy of the 519 receiving yards he had as a sophomore.
Swanson said the other receivers are grateful for the extra attention Roberts requires from opposing defenses.
“He’s a great player,” Swanson said. “They go to double team and put a lot on him because they know he’s a great player.”
But in turn, their emergence will open things up for Roberts.
“They did an amazing job giving me more opportunities to get the ball,” Roberts said.
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There is one other key aspect that helped make the passing game click for Ames against Roosevelt. A much-improved offensive line.
The Little Cyclone front five had taken their lumps going up against No. 3 Ankeny Centennial, No. 4 Waukee and talented rival Iowa City High in their first three games. But they grew from those experiences and did well protecting Cantonwine on Friday.
“It’s a hard job for them to do,” Cantonwine said. “They don’t get a lot of props and stuff like that, so for them to be able to go out and execute tonight – there were a couple of little things they need to fix and (then) quite honestly we’ll be rolling.”
Ames will need its passing game to be on point if it hopes to hang with No. 2 Valley, who just defeated Waukee on Friday. But the Little Cyclones have built up a lot of confidence after the Roosevelt game, and they hope to keep pushing the ball downfield against the Tigers, and for their remaining games on the schedule.
“Teams have to make a choice who they’re going to guard,” Crowden said. “We’ve got a ton of guys who can come through and make plays for us. It’s going to be tough for those guys trying to cover that.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 00:30:00
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