No. 20 Chandler to take on No. 24 Hamilton in battle of Arizona Avenue

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There is a single American city that boasts two teams in the Xcellent 25 national football rankings, and surprisingly it's not Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles or Cincinnati.

Care to guess which city? A hint: you'll never guess. Unless you peeked.

It's Chandler, Ariz., population 236,000. More than 12,000 fans are expected Friday when No. 20 Chandler (8-1) hosts No. 24 Hamilton (9-0) in a rematch of last year's Division I state championship, a 28-7 Chandler victory.

Not only is revenge on Hamilton's mind, but a Section I title is also at stake — as is a top seed in the state Division I playoffs.

Oh, and perhaps most important, the Arizona Avenue Trophy is on the line. The schools, only three miles apart, share the same street.

"The players respect each other but can't stand losing to each other," said Richard Obert, an Arizona Republic sports writer for the last 31 years.

A prominent suburb of Phoenix, Chandler is known for its family living, Ostrich Festival and healthy economy, spurred by technology manufacturers like Intel, Ebay/PayPal and Verizon, along with banking institutions like Wells Fargo and Bank of America, all of which employ its residents.

Chandler went winless against Hamilton in 14 seasons from 1999-2012, until an influx of talent arrived to turn the tables. Chandler has won three of the last four meetings between the two schools, and last year's state-title win was its first since the Arizona Interscholastic Association implemented playoffs in 1959.

"The athletes at Chandler in recent years have been off the hook," Obert said. "This might be Chandler's deepest team skill-wise. Hamilton's offense might be the most balanced since (coach Steve) Belles took over the program in 2006.

"Hamilton is getting hungry. The tables have turned. They don't want to take a back seat to Chandler, which wants to show that it still rules the city in football."

Obert said Chandler is growing and its school district is perhaps the best in the state.

"Coaches love coaching in the district because of the resources," he said, noting that Hamilton is a Nike team — Chandler is sponsored by Under Armour.

Chandler, which lost its Week 2 game at national No. 1 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 35-14, also lost five-star wide receiver N'Keal Harry (44 catches, 784 yards, seven touchdowns) last week against Brophy Prep to an ankle injury. The Wolves did return 4-star all-purpose back Chase Lucas (6-1, 182) who had missed most of the first eight weeks with a knee injury. Chandler coach Shaun Aguano could play Harry, but will likely save him for the playoffs when it really counts. It really doesn't matter, Obert said. Chandler has so much quality depth, it will manage just fine.

"They have a number of 'next-ups,'" Belles told Obert. "It would be different if they were somebody who didn't have a 'next up.' But they've got those kinds of kids."

Chandler senior quarterback Mason Moran (1,953 yards, 16 touchdowns) has plenty of targets and three running backs have rushed for at least 492 yards, led by junior T.J. Green (704 yards, 12 TDs).

Chandler's defense is playing its best ball of the year, having allowed just 13 points the last two games. Belles was complimentary of that defense, but added: "They're good, no question, but I think we've got a better offense."

Hamilton is averaging 45 points a game, thanks largely to senior quarterback Travis Lockhart (2,154 yards, 25 touchdowns). Senior Kaleb Pitts has 40 catches and 10 touchdowns and five backs have between 200-500 yards rushing.

It's hard to defend these Huskies.

"They got us last year," Hamilton defensive tackle Garrett Rand told Obert. "We just need to show them what we have this year."