Recap of the Ankeny vs Valley Scrimmage on Friday

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Yesterday I was in Ankeny watching the annual fall kick-off scrimmage against Valley. The energy was high, with both teams excited to take a break from their inter-squad scrimmages. Each team has many elite prospects, and in this article, I will be talking about how they performed at this event.  </span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="104081" first="JJ" last="Kohl"] (QB) Ankeny South </b><a href="https://twitter.com/JJKohl3"><b><i>Twitter</i></b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(Prep Redzone Ranking: #3 in the 2023 Class)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">JJ looks strong. He had some great deep balls, including a magnificent throw to Maddox Ward on a 40-yard fade right. He had some moments where he threw the ball into thick coverage, but even then, he put it in a position for the receiver to make a play on it. He is, without a doubt, QB1 at Ankeny. It seems like he is going to hold his own this upcoming season.</span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="23946" first="Eli" last="Raridon"] (TE)</b> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Notre Dame Commit </span></i><b>W.D.M Valley</b><a href="https://twitter.com/EliRaridon"> <b><i>Twitter</i></b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(Prep Redzone Ranking: #2 in the 2022 Class)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="23946" first="Eli" last="Raridon"] looked excellent yesterday, making a plethora of blocks. His receiving game also looked good, with Eli getting open multiple times. He ended up making one touchdown, which took place on a play-action rollout. Eli is massive, standing at 6´6 228 lbs. He is going to be a beast this season. </span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="23967" first="Colin" last="Kadolph"] (HB) </b><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mankato State Commit </span></i><b>Ankeny South </b><a href="https://twitter.com/KadolphColin"><b><i>Twitter</i></b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(Prep Redzone Ranking: #23 in the 2022 Class)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="23967" first="Colin" last="Kadolph"] had a typically great game with multiple big runs, including one super impressive 40-yard run that caused multiple defenders to miss. He showed a crazy burst of speed in getting past the 2nd level of the defense. Colin has the look of someone who will be one of the top halfbacks in the state.</span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="147986" first="Danny" last="Rankins"] Jr (HB) W.D.M Valley </b><a href="https://twitter.com/danny_rankins"><b><i>Twitter</i></b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(Prep Redzone Ranking: Watchlist)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="147986" first="Danny" last="Rankins"] is my sleeper pick to be either a 3rd-Team All-State or a 2nd-Team All-State selection. He looked highly explosive in this game, making some very impressive cuts. Danny also showed great vision, picking the right hole almost every time. There were some plays where he got stuffed at the line, but it seemed like that was due to Ankeny´s strong defensive line.</span> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="148360" first="Mason" last="Morrow"] (QB) W.D.M Valley </b><a href="https://twitter.com/masonmorroww"><b><i>Twitter</i></b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(Prep Redzone Ranking: Watchlist)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="148360" first="Mason" last="Morrow"] had a pretty solid day. He began by hitting some nice quick check downs. In actual games, these could have gotten more yardage. Mason followed that up by hitting an excellent rollout connection to [player_tooltip player_id="23946" first="Eli" last="Raridon"] for a 30-yard touchdown. Toward the end of the scrimmage, they did some 11 vs. 11, and [player_tooltip player_id="148360" first="Mason" last="Morrow"] looked pretty good, connecting with multiple receivers for first downs. He was under pressure quite a bit, though, which he will have to get used to when playing Ankeny.</span> <b>Sean Gavin (DL) Ankeny South </b><a href="https://twitter.com/SeanGavinn"><b><i>Twitter</i></b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(Prep Redzone Ranking: Unranked)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Sean Gavin impressed me the most in this scrimmage, executing multiple tackles for losses. He showcased great speed off the line and was a major disruptor in the run game, blowing up multiple running lanes. I expect him to have a quality season - especially considering how he concluded last season. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Other players that had good scrimmages: [player_tooltip player_id="100844" first="Jackson" last="Penningroth"], Brady McCullough, Maddox Ward, and Joe Kingston.</span> <b>Team Recaps</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ankeny - Ankeny looked great. Their defense was phenomenal, and the offense was really clicking today. Valley doesn’t necessarily have a shut-down defense, but it is still nice to see junior QB [player_tooltip player_id="104081" first="JJ" last="Kohl"] have a really good day against a varsity-level defense.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Valley - This offense is going to be really good. I was surprised by how their line held up for the most part. Ankeny probably won a lot of the reps, but Valley’s offensive line held up for the most part. [player_tooltip player_id="148360" first="Mason" last="Morrow"], [player_tooltip player_id="147986" first="Danny" last="Rankins"], and [player_tooltip player_id="23946" first="Eli" last="Raridon"] will be super fun to watch this upcoming season.</span> <em><strong>If you would like to see film of the scrimmage check out iowa_highschool on Twitter.</strong></em> <b>Final Points</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">I would say Ankeny won the scrimmage, but Valley surprised me. The offense is definitely going to be the strong suit for this Valley team. As for Ankeny, they are picking up right where they left off. If they keep up that type of performance, I would say they can easily contend for the title once again. </span> &nbsp;