Connor Morman is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chandler High School for AZPreps365.com

Homecoming didn't unfold as planned for Chandler Friday.

On the first possession of the game, sophomore receiver Kyion Graves II fumbled and Desert Ridge capitalized taking advantage of a costly penalty on the Wolves to score the game’s first touchdown.

“We came off the bye week and were a little mentally slow, not zoned in all the way,” senior safety Gunner Maldanado said. “I think that woke us up a bit.”

The wakeup call resulted in a 52-14 blowout to push Chandler's record to 5-0.

The defense tightened up after that first drive, forcing two turnovers and not allowing another score until late in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.

“We kind of relaxed and remembered this is our first home game,” Maldanado said. “We’re just here to have fun and play Chandler football. We don’t need to do anything else except play Chandler football.”

The offense, led by running backs Dae Dae Hunter, Nicolas Nesbitt and Rodney Clemente, woke up in its second possession and couldn’t be stopped after that.

All six touchdowns on offense were scored on the ground. The offense overall was balanced, able to produce through the air when needed, but the bulk of the production came from Hunter, Nesbitt, or Clemente.

“When we have backs like Dae Dae (Hunter) and Rodney (Clemente) and Nick (Nesbitt)... you want to put the ball in the hands of those home run hitters,” coach Rick Garretson said.

Each running back contributed with Hunter scoring three touchdowns, Clemente scoring two second half touchdowns, including one from 42 yards out, and Nesbitt adding a score.

The three backs accept and welcome the sharing of playing time week in and week out knowing the contribution it brings to the offense.

“We’re all close,” Hunter said. “We know each one of us can get the job done. We support each other with open arms.”

The Wolves saw the number of penalty markers against them rise as the half went along. It was the largest number of penalties against his team Garretson has seen in his time at Chandler.

“A lot of times when you have that many penalties, you don’t win ballgames, but we happened to win this one 52-14,” Garretson said.

“It’s adversity,” Hunter said. “We have to get through it and that’s what we’re built for and that’s what we train for.”