Will Tyrrell
ASU Student Journalist

Chandler Defeats Red Mountain

November 18, 2017 by Will Tyrrell, Arizona State University


CHANDLER, AZ- The Chandler High Wolves are on their way to play for a second consecutive state championship with a 51-10 victory over the Red Mountain Mountain Lions.

Jacob Conover and Gunner Romney led the way for the Wolves Friday night, connecting for five touchdowns. Conover only needed three quarters to throw for 370 yards and seven scores on 15-of-22 passing. Along with those five touchdowns, Romeny racked up 212 receiving yards.

Romney, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver, who is verbally committed to play at Brigham Young University next fall, is “a tough matchup with anybody,” Chandler head coach Shaun Aguano said.

Romney also admitted that the five trips to the endzone he made tonight is the most he has ever tallied in his young football career. But he does believe he has had more yards before.

While Romney is the story tonight, the talk before the game was star running back Drake Anderson, who had racked up 1,766 total rushing yards, averaging 10.6 yards a carry, along with 29 touchdowns on the ground.

The Red Mountain defense that has been dominating all season did a great job in holding Anderson to just 59 yards on 16 carries. Romney, Conover and Aguano all mentioned how Red Mountain shut down star running back Drake Anderson early in the game, which made them go to the air early.

Not to be ignored, the Wolves' defense was a key factor in the dominating victory, forcing four turnovers and giving the offense great field position. The turnovers led directly to 21 points.

Chandler also stopped a Red Mountain fake punt early in the third quarter, which resulted in a 51-yard touchdown pass to Jarick Caldwell on the ensuing possession. It was one of the few times Romney shared the end zone with a teammate.

The other Chandler player to find the end zone was wide receiver Brayden Liebrock. Conover was able to connect with Liebrock in the third quarter for a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Now the Chandler team is on its way to a second straight state title game, but this one is different. The Wolves fought through many injuries early in the season and had to rely on each other get where they are today, which is why the players are so special to Aguano.

“Their chemistry and they all get a long and work real hard; they had to overcome some injuries early and now they are all together and they are going to be hard to beat,” Aguano said.

Conover mentions how “phenomenal” the guys were that had to step up in the starters absence early in the season.

The Chandler Wolves will look to win their second consecutive state title on Saturday, Dec. 2 against Perry High School at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, AZ.

The game of football is cruel. And the Red Mountain football team is a product of that. After an 0-2 start, the Mountain Lions of Red Mountain reeled off 10 straight victories. Something no football team has done in school history. Players set records and exceeded expectations. But a disappointing 51-10 defeat that left them one game short of reaching their goal of a trip to the state championship.

Peterson reminisced about how his players worked their tails off since August, built such strong relationships with each other to where they celebrate fake birthdays, partake in continuous group chats, and were willing to spend their own money at the local Golden Corral just to spend time with each other. All he could say was, “I love them, and I hope they love me as much as I love them.”