Chaparral wins second straight 5A-II football title

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Sean Kamela had never recorded a safety in his high school career.

"Never in my life," he clarified.

Now he has two. And No. 2 couldn't have come at a better time.

With top-seeded, undefeated and unchallenged Chaparral (Scottsdale) trailing at halftime for the first time this season, Kamela rallied the Firebirds with a bull rush on Centennial (Peoria) offensive lineman Tyler Brown midway through the third quarter.

When he felt Coyotes running back Jalen Oritz going down in his grasp on the end zone turf, Kamela was overcome with a warm feeling.

"It felt good," he said of the safety that gave Chaparral an 11-10 lead. "We needed to make a play."

Chaparral's defense made most of them Monday at University of Phoenix Stadium as the Firebirds claimed their second straight Class 5A Division II title with a 32-17 win.

In the season-long debate over who is Arizona's best prep football team – Chaparral or Hamilton (Chandler) -- the Firebirds (14-0) didn't make a strong case with a sloppy first half and a host of mental errors, including a bizarre and botched fake punt late in the first half that gave Centennial life.

But none of that mattered to Kamela and Co. as they celebrated another title in what could be a string of them, given the bevy of returning talent next season.

"I don't think people understand the scrutiny and the pressure that comes with being in a program like this," Chaparral coach Charlie Ragle said. "It just shows the resiliency of this football team to come back like we did."

Despite coach Richard Taylor's statements to the contrary, Centennial (12-2) entered the game with a king-sized chip on its shoulder. The Coyotes won three straight 5A-II titles from 2006 to 2008, but all of that cache was lost when Chaparral won the 2009 title and then grabbed all the headlines with its star-studded cast of skill players.

"Chaparral deserves everything that has been written about them," Taylor said. "They're an outstanding team and hardly anyone has come close to them. You take your hat off to them. It's that simple."

Ragle said there were no rah-rah speeches at halftime.

"We just said ‘hey, we've got to do what we do,' " he said. "Loosen up a little bit, execute and take care of business.

"We knew we were the better team. We just had to go out and perform."

It was the defense that gave the Firebirds a chance. Chaparral limited Centennial to 260 total yards -- 79 on the ground – while producing a pair of turnovers and Kamela's two safeties.

The offense finally got untracked to put the game away in the fourth quarter on a pair of touchdowns – one a 7-yard pass to Pete Greene and the other a 1-yard run by Davonte' Neal.

Neal was the conference's most electrifying player all season with 28 touchdowns -- 11 have via the run, 11 via catches and via returns (kickoffs, punts, interceptions). But he was largely ineffective Monday, amassing just 69 all-purpose yards.

"They were keying on me," said Neal, before crediting his defense with the win.

"They stepped up when it counted and we got a state title."