Vote for the Register male Athlete of the Week for Sept. 13-19

The week of Sept. 13-19 was another eventful stretch of high school male athletics competition featuring schools from the Des Moines metro area.

It was Week 4 of Iowa high school football. The standout game of the week saw Class 5A No. 2 Southeast Polk take down No. 1 Dowling Catholic in a thrilling 31-28 battle at Pleasant Hill.

Ankeny, the No. 4 team in 5A, won its rivalry game over Ankeny Centennial in a 59-0 rout. There were several other enticing games featuring teams from the metro area during the week.

It was also a busy week of high school cross country as area schools competed at the Heartland Classic in Pella and the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minn., on Sept. 19. There was also plenty of high school boys fall golf featuring metro area schools.

Several area high school male athletes turned in impressive individual performances during the week.

Here are the Des Moines Register’s male Athlete of the Week candidates from the Des Moines metro area for the week of Sept. 13-19. DesMoinesRegister.com readers vote to determine the winners, who will be announced at the end of the week.

Peitz kicked the game-winning field goal for the 5A No. 2 Southeast Polk football team during its dramatic 31-28 home victory over No. 1 Dowling Catholic on Sept. 18 in Pleasant Hill.

Peitz kicked the game winner from 35 yards out with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to push the Rams to No. 1 in the 5A rankings. The game winner was the third field goal of the evening for Peitz, who also made both of his extra points.

Beer was a major factor in the Waukee football team’s 35-28 upset win over 5A No. 5 Valley on Sept. 18 in West Des Moines.

Beer had 8.5 tackles and one sack on defense. He also forced one fumble.

Minner was a force on defense for the 5A No. 4 Ankeny football team during its 59-0 drubbing of rival Ankeny Centennial on Sept. 18 at Ankeny.

Minner recovered one fumble, and he returned an interception 35 yards for the Hawks. He also tallied 3.5 tackles to help keep the Jaguars off the board.

Kerndt had the top showing out of a high school boys cross country runner for the Des Moines area at the Heartland Classic cross country meet on Sept. 19 in Pella.

Kerndt placed second overall for Dallas Center-Grimes with a 5-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 16.9 seconds. He only trailed the 16:56.2 showing by Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Cole Carrizales.

Wesley had an explosive night running the football for the Des Moines Lincoln football team during its 29-8 victory over Ottumwa on Sept. 20 at Des Moines.

Wesley racked up an incredible 285 yards rushing on just 21 carries. He ran for three touchdowns, with a long of 70 yards.

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Vote for the Register male Athlete of the Week for Sept. 13-19