Chandler is 5-0 against Highland since October of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on November 17th. After each having a week off, both teams will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 7:00 p.m. on November 17th. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Chandler stacked a seventh blowout onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They really took it to Hamilton for the full four quarters, racking up a 49-13 win at home. 49 seems to be a good number for Chandler as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Chandler's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but CaLil Valentine led the charge by rushing for 147 yards and three touchdowns. Valentine hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for five straight games. Another player making a difference was Blake Heffron, who threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns while completing 92.3% of his passes.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Hamilton to a paltry 249 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Chandler's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out three times before it was all said and done. Jeremiah Young was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two sacks himself.
Meanwhile, Highland entered their tilt with Desert Ridge with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. Highland didn't even let Desert Ridge onto the board and left with a 12-0 victory on Friday. Given Highland's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked fifth, while Desert Ridge is ranked 32nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Highland's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kalen Fisher, who threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Greg Toler jr, who picked up 94 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The victory makes it two in a row for Chandler and bumps their season record up to 8-2. As for Highland, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-2.
Chandler came out on top in a nail-biter against Highland in their previous matchup back in September, sneaking past 24-22. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Highland's Kody Cullimore, who rushed for 23 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Chandler still be able to contain him? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
