One of the nation's most heated, yet lopsided, rivalries takes place Friday when No. 10
Chandler (Ariz.) travels to 15th-ranked
Hamilton (Chandler) in the MaxPreps national Game of the Week. The visiting Wolves have won 45 straight overall and nine consecutively against the Huskies but that was after Hamilton won 13 straight and 14 of 15 against Chandler.
The big question: Is the pendulum turning back toward the Huskies?
The teams met in last year's state Open Division title game with Chandler prevailing 23-21 to take its fifth straight title. A missed 27-yard field goal in the final seconds prevented all those streaks to come to an end. Three weeks earlier, Chandler beat Hamilton in the regular-season finale, 34-14.
"An incredible game," Chandler coach Rick Garretson said immediately after the championship game in December. "Incredible. Great job by Coach Z (Hamilton coach Mike Zdebski). Their defense played lights out. But our kids are resilient and made plays when needed."
Resiliency and play-making are a must if you're gonna win 45 straight, which is the fourth longest streak in the nation. That's been the case in 2021 as well, though up until the last couple weeks the Wolves haven't squeaked out many.
How to watch
When: Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. PDT
Where: Hamilton HS
Online streaming: YurView.comLed by a stingy defense and quarterback play of
Blaine Hipa, Chandler won its first seven games by a 232-78 count. The last two weeks, however, they pulled out tough wins over Casteel (Queen Creek), 21-17, and Highland (Gilbert), 10-7.
"It's a culture of winning, Garretson said Tuesday during a Battle of Arizona Avenue luncheon. "We've got a great defense, and the offense is coming along."
Chandler celebrates the 2020 state Open Division title, its fifth straight Arizona state crown.
File photo by Darin Sicurello
The defense is led by 6-foot-2, 275-pound lineman
Isaiah Johnson, an Arizona commit who has 60 tackles and five sacks. Two other college prospects cover the corners in
Alfred Smith (29 tackles, three interceptions) and
Travis Roberts (44, 3). Both are ranked among the Top 50 senior recruits in the state,
according to 247Sports.
Senior linebacker
Dason Brooks (6-2, 215) leads the team with 70 tackles including four sacks and eight quarterback hurries, but perhaps the team's most dominating defender of late is
A’mauri Washington, a 6-4, 295-pound tackle who transferred from Detroit over the summer. The state's No. 7 junior recruit has 36 tackles, 10 for loss, including 5.5 sacks and two punt blocks.
"We thought in the beginning of the season it would be a defensive-led team," Garretson said. "Which it has."
Chandler's top recruits are on offense, including Ohio State-bound wide receiver
Kyion Grayes, who has only played three games due to injury. He has 13 catches for 212 yards and a touchdown. During the regular-season finale last season, Grayes had four catches, 115 yards and two TDs against Hamilton.
Hipa (155 of 228, 2,030 yards, 22 touchdowns) has spread the ball around nicely to others like
Quaron Adams (47 catches, 605 yards, five touchdowns) and
Nason Coleman (34, 515, 8).
Kyion Grayes with a touchdown grab against Hamilton in 2020.
File photo by Darin Sicurello
Hamilton has the top-ranked quarterback in the state in 6-2, 216-pound
Nicco Marchiol, a West Virginia commit who has completed 157 of 211 for 2,186 yards with 32 touchdowns and one interception. He's the state No. 5 recruit, a four-year starter and on Sept. 17 made national news,
engineering an improbable 18-point comeback with three scores in 65 seconds to stun then No. 7
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 25-24 in a televised game on ESPNU.
That win set the tone with what has thus far been a magical season.
Marchiol has thrown for at least 250 yards in five games and leads an offense that averages 425 yards and 41 points per game. Last week, he completed 16 of 20 for 279 yards and recently broke the school career record for touchdown passes, now at 86.
"When you play the system like ours we're going to extend the ball downfield and take some shots," he told azpreps365. "We have so many guys out there that can make plays."
He's got five receivers with either 15 or 16 catches, including Michigan State-bound tight end
Michael Masunas (6-5, 235), but the home-run hitter is 6-1, 175-pound senior
Christian Anaya (70 catches, 855 yards, 14 touchdowns). The leading rusher is
Nick Switzer (643 yards, seven TDs).
Arizona-bound defensive end
Russell Davis II is the big playmaker on defense with 70 tackles and 13.5 sacks. Middle linebacker
Timothy Weddell leads the teams in tackles (93) and fumble recoveries (four) and defensive backs
Tre Tate and
Genesis Smith each have three interceptions.
Zdebski, in his fourth season, said the Huskies need to keep their composure. It's a big game, but likely the two will meet again in three weeks for the state's biggest prize. Just like last year. To turn around those results, what will his team need to do?
"Focus on our self-discipline for 48 minutes," Zdebski said. "We have to control what we can control for 48 minutes. That's the whole key to the game."
West Virginia-bound Nicco Marchiol is Hamilton's career touchdown passing leader.
File photo by Steven Davis
