Football Preview: Chandler Wolves vs. Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions
Chandler has gone 3-0 against Mountain Ridge recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Chandler Wolves will welcome the Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Chandler is looking to give their home crowd another W after opening their season at home on Thursday. They walked away with a 27-18 win over Cesar Chavez. Given the Wolves' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Champions are ranked 98th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tristan Halsana went supernova for Chandler, rushing for 170 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.4 yards per carry. The team also got some help courtesy of Will Mencl, who rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Chandler's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Xavier Senior was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two sackshimself. His also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up two sacks and making three total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Chandler was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 209 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 159 rushing yards in four consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Mountain Ridge had to travel to play their first game of the season, but the final result was worth the trip. They breezed by Tolleson on the road to the tune of 28-0 on Friday.
A big part of the victory came down to the chemistry between Lukas Baughman and his top target Vince Norfolk. Baughman threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns while Norfolk gained 150 total yards and a touchdown. Norfolk got the majority of those yards when he pulled down a pass and and took off for a gain of78 yards.
Mountain Ridge's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Brayden Fife and Ezra Villasenor. Fife also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making three total tackles and defending a pass in addition to snagging two interceptions.
Everything came up roses for Chandler against Mountain Ridge in their previous meeting back in August of 2023 as the squad secured a 49-7 win. Does Chandler have another victory up their sleeve, or will Mountain Ridge turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
