A Town of Purple and Gold

The cross-town rivals Waukee and Waukee Northwest faced off on Friday in a battle for the city of Waukee. However, it would be the Warriors that would emerge victorious. The Warriors, led behind Beckett Bakker, Grant Gammell, Maverick Inman, and Evan Jacobson, started the game out with a fumble, a crucial mistake that would lead to a Northwest touchdown early into the first quarter. As the game settled in, both sides sought to establish the run game. Senior Grant Gamell, after the Warrior’s 40-29 win over the Wolves, stated “I think we controlled the trenches pretty well.” Gamell would later go on to highlight Waukee’s strong rushing attack, totalling 330 rushing yards by the game’s end. Leading into the half, the Warriors would enter halftime up by five with a score of 19 to 14.

Along with the beginning of home football for the Warriors, Friday’s game also marked the first performance for the Waukee Warrior Regiment, performing their show called “Ragnarok”. The show portrayed a battle between opposing forces, each fighting as “the world caves in”, which is also the name of one of their feature songs of the show. When speaking on her first performance as lead Drum Major, Beverly Zheng stated that she felt “exhilarated.” Later on, Zheng would go on to state that “our second act has a lot of choreo I feel is pretty challenging.” After the conclusion of Ragnarok, the cross-town rivals would enter the field of play once again. 

The second half was very similar to being the defensive, run-heavy matchup the first half had been. Both sides continued to pound the ball away at each other, each seeking to break through and score. The Warriors would be the first to achieve this, as Grant Gamell would score a touchdown to give the Warriors a 26 to 22 lead. After a quick Northwest response, the game truly began to tighten in intensity. Gamell would score another impressive touchdown late in the fourth, dragging two defenders in with him to make the score 33-29. Now frantic, the wolves attempted to return a score against the Warriors, but would fail. After a three and out by the Wolves, junior quarterback Beckett Bakker would turn on the jets and sprint a staggering distance to widen the gap with a score of 40-29. The final nail in the coffin would be an interception by senior Carter Johnson, sealing the game for the Warriors. After the game, four-star tight-end Evan Jacobson stated “It’s amazing to beat a cross-town rival like that, it’s just an amazing feeling.”