Ankeny’s Jase Bauer: Class 4A Player Of The Year

Ankeny&#8217;s Jase Bauer: Class 4A Player Of The Year

Photo: IAHSAA Twitter

Dana Becker

November 30, 2020 @ 08:00 AM

On a team loaded with Div. I players and stars, [player_tooltip player_id="23828" first="Jase" last="Bauer"] made sure to shine the brightest at Ankeny. The all-state quarterback led the Hawks to a Class 4A state championship, first knocking off seven-time defending champion West Des Moines Dowling before rolling past top-ranked Southeast Polk. And Bauer was at the forefront of it all. Ankey scored over 30 points 10 times including 70 in the second round of the postseason. Bauer completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,041 yards with a 28-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He also was deadly with his feet, racking up 852 yards and 10 more scores on the ground. <em>Bauer can stand-and-deliver in the pocket, but is also very smart at shifting away from defenders. He displays excellent arm strength and is obviously best when given the freedom to operate in space.</em> All in all, it was the perfect ending to a highlight-filled career for Bauer. https://twitter.com/JaseBauer/status/1330632430185754625 He capped it all of with one of his finest performances to date, completing 9 of 16 for 101 yards with 158 yards and two scores rushing in a championship-game victory over the Rams. <em>Defenses did all they could to try and slow Bauer down, but his abilities in the RPO make him almost unstoppable. Add in the huge arm and it is no wonder Ankeny finished on top this past fall.</em> Bauer and the Hawks avenged their lone loss, knocking Waukee out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals after suffering a 21-17 setback in Week 2. The list of those also up for the honor included [player_tooltip player_id="23947" first="Jaxon" last="Dailey"] of Southeast Polk, [player_tooltip player_id="23810" first="Brody" last="Brecht"] from Ankeny, [player_tooltip player_id="35343" first="Arland" last="Bruce IV"] of Ankeny, Alexander Linquist from Waukee, [player_tooltip player_id="23823" first="Tucker" last="Langenberg"] from Urbandale, [player_tooltip player_id="23831" first="Marcus" last="Morgan"] of Iowa City West, Dominic Caggiano of Southeast Polk and [player_tooltip player_id="23942" first="Xavier" last="Nwankpa"] of Southeast Polk.