Northwest’s Biggest Game of the Year: Waukee vs. Northwest Football Preview

For the first time in school history, the Waukee Warriors and the Northwest Wolves will play under the Friday night lights to decide once and for all who runs Waukee. The parents, students, and most importantly the players have all been anxiously waiting for this one game since the schools divided in 2021. Here is how it could shake out. First and foremost, the main man at Waukee is sophomore quarterback Beckett Bakker. The sophomore QB threw for just under 125 yards against Ames last Friday on just 19 attempts. He completed 12 of those pass attempts, two of them for touchdowns, along with 12 rushing attempts for over 100 yards and scoring a touchdown on two of those runs. The Warriors are not just a passing threat either, as the duo of junior Grant Gammell who turned eight rushing attempts to over 100 yards, on over 13 yards per carry and one touchdown, and senior Nile Eddy who also had eight attempts and ran for just under 50 yards.

Moving on to the other side of the ball the Warriors are just as scary. Holding Ames to just seven points and under 300 all-purpose yards. The defense also managed to record three sacks and 8 tackles for loss en route to a dominating win. The Warriors have a good thing going for them offensively, with a run-heavy scheme combined with the passing threat from Bakker. The Wolves struggled defending the deep ball against Johnston, and with them usually out in a zone look the Warriors should look to get the ball deep. Defensively the Warriors need to be able to stop the run and the short pass. Around half of quarterback Sam Johnson’s throws against Johnston were shorter than 10-12 yards. The Wolves also have a run-heavy scheme with over 30 attempts with Johnson having 17 carries. 

Now for the Wolves, led by Senior quarterback Sam Johnson, they look to bounce back in a big way. The Wolves struggled during the first half to get anything going offensively or defensively allowing 14 points early, but after those first two touchdowns, the defense stepped up only allowing nine more points the whole game. While the Wolves were off to a slow start offensively they picked it up late with Johnson racking up just under 250 yards in the air and 43 on the ground. If the Wolves want to win this Friday they need to keep that momentum from the second half and bring that the whole game. They could not get a consistent run game established which is a must-do if they want to control the game. Defensively stopping the run will be crucial against such a run-heavy offense, which they did well last week, but they will need to have better medium and long ball pass coverage

With potentially over 5,000 people attending the game, it will be really easy to let the crowd and moment distract you, but senior Will Retz said, “We won’t let the crowd get to us.” 

With such a large and presumably crazy crowd, it can be easy for nerves to get the best of you but the Wolves appear to be locked in.

Junior Maverick Inman said, “We gotta stay focused on what’s going on in the game, and remembering we’ve played in big games before.”

As is the story for all formerly combined schools turned rivals, the emotional side of the game plays a big role. 

Senior Dixon Montgomery said, “It’s personal you know, these guys have been talking down on us for the past two years, and tomorrow we finally get the chance to prove ourselves.” 

The schools have had to wait two long years to finally match up, and after all this time it is finally here and neither team looks to back down. The outcome of the game is unclear but one thing is for certain this is about more than football. It is about pride, it is about honor and most importantly it decides who truly runs our city.