A litltle defense went a long way Friday night in determining the winner in a nationally ranked meeting of two of Arizona's top teams. And I mean a very little defense.

Hard to imagine much defense was on display at all in a game that had zero punts, 12 touchdowns and 711 yards of offense in the opening half as Mountain Pointe escaped with a 45-42 victory over Chandler at jam-packed Mountain Pointe High.

It was the 19th win in a row for Mountain Pointe (5-0), the defending Division I state champs.The Pride were the ones that squeezed out enough defense from the end of the tooth paste tube to come away victors. Mountain Pointe turned in three takeaways -- all in the first half. Those led to three touchdowns and 21 points A 42-21 lead with less than two minutes left in the first half. Chandler had one takeaway and did not convert that into points.

Save the trio of takeaways --a fumble recovery and interception by Isaiah Pola-Mao and fumble recovery by Keondre Churchwell -- Mountain Pointe was roughed up for a handful of 80-yard touchdown marches and a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that kept Chandler's hopes for a win alive just before intermission.

Still, give credit where it's due as the offenses were electric. Mountain Pointe, going almost exclusively with the run, piled up 408 yards rushing in the first half. Speedster Paul Lucas totaled 232 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns in the first half. Brandyn Leonard scored three TDs and added 172 yards on 16 totes.

They helped Mountain Pointe score on each of its first six possessions. Lucas' TDs were the final two of the opening half, coming two minutes apart on runs of 44 and 64- yards. Leonard tallied three of the first four scores 5, 14 and 38 yards out.

The question mark coming into the season for Chandler - Could its defense be good enough to win a title. Not tin first half, although the offense didn't help with three turnovers. Chandler responded in the second half limiting Mountain Pointe to three points -- oddly enough the three that proved to be the difference. Lucas and Leonard combined for only 78 yards in the second half.

Chandler did not get the stop it needed, however, as Paul Lucas swept left end for a four-yard gain on fourth-and-3 with just over three minutes left. Mountain Pointe turned the ball over on downs at the Chandler 9 with 14.6 seconds left. Chandler gained 15 yards before time expired. 

Chandler featured playmakers that aren't ordinary as well. Quarterback Bryce Perkins tossed four TD passes -- two in each half. Two of those were to his favorite target on the night -- Justin Jan. The Wolves Chase Lucas showed his explosiveness, rushing for over 100 yards, including a 71-yard scoring burst in the first half and  two kickoff returns for 149 yards. The second went for 99 yards and a TD just before half.

Chase Lucas was shaken up late in he first half and did not play in the second half. His replacement, Micah Reed-Campos filled in nicely with a couple good runs and an 18-yard TD reception in the third period.

The top four teams in D-I in the state have now given up 35 points or more in a game -- something Mountain Pointe, Hamiilton, Desert Ridge and Chandler seldom do. Will that continue when those teams meet? Hamilton faces Mountain Pointe and Chandler the next two weeks. Desert Ridge is sure to see one or more of the others in postseason. Or was this game an anomaly. We shall see.