After enduring 14 years of frustration against Hamilton, from heart-breaking, last-minute losses to blowouts and everything in between, the Chandler Wolves finally turned the tables on their crosstown rivals on Friday night, rallying late to pull out a 26-16 victory. With the victory, the Wolves earned this week's Tire Pros High School Team of the Week distinction.
Including postseason play, the 14-year streak included 17 consecutive losses, and it appeared headed for No. 18 when Hamilton went ahead 16-13 with 1:12 to play. But Chandler picked itself off the mat and regained the lead on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Perkins to Dionte Sykes with 13 seconds left. The Wolves tacked on another score when J.R. Hunt returned an interception for a score as the clock ticked down.
“There are people here, people on this field, who have been waiting (14) years for this,” Sykes told the East Valley Tribune. “To me, it was just another game. But to the school, to the community, it was big time. This is for them.”
The victory pushed Chandler (4-2) up to No. 3 in this week's Varsity Xtra Division I rankings, while Hamilton (4-2) fell to No. 5.
Other teams under consideration were Saguaro, Arizona Lutheran, Washington, Campo Verde, Sunnyslope, Blue Ridge and Cortez.
The Tire Pros High School Team
of the Week is selected by a panel consisting of
Jason Skoda of MaxPreps
and the Ahwatukee Foothills News, Mark Heller and Kyle Odegard of the
East
Valley
Tribune, Don
Ketchum and Les
Willsey of aia365.com, and Craig
Morgan, Matt Swartz and Dave Lumia of
FOXSportsArizona.com.
