It's an all-Chandler final in the big-school classification for the first time in Chandler district history. A district that's been a multi-high school district only since 1998.

Top-seed Hamilton did its part -- seemingly as usual -- on Friday night reaching a seventh successive championship game with a 24-7 victory over No. 4 Brophy Prep at Chandler High's Austin Field. No. 2 Chandler High punched its ticket by pulling away in the final period to dethrone defending champ and No. 6 Mountain Pointe, 43-22, at Hamilton High.

Hamilton (12-1) and Chandler (12-1) meet for the Division I title Friday Nov. 28 at University of Phoenix Stadium to kick off the first of five football championship games in two days. Game time at UofP Stadium is 7 p.m. D-II, D-III, D-IV and D-V title games will be played Saturday Nov. 29 at  Sun Devil Staidum and North Canyon High School.

Hamilton's victory wasn't easy, certainly not like its 41-6 triumph over Brophy back in September. The Huskies had to put together a complete half in the second half to pull away from a 7-7 deadlock at intermission.

"Our defense was great the whole game," Hamilton coach Steve Belles said. "Our offense showed up  in the second half. We didn't say a lot at halftime,. Made a couple adjustments. It was about our offense matching their physicality in the second half."

Neither team put up 100 yards of offense in the first half as defenses ruled. Hamilton scored before it ran a play from scrimmage on a 70-yard punt return by Morris Kroma with 9:31 left in the first quarter. Brophy answered in the second quarter using an interception at the Hamilton 35  by Devin Franklin to set up the Broncos' lone score of the night..That score materialized on the next play as Brophy quarterback Cade Knox tossed a 35-yard strike to Isaiah Oliver to even things.

Hamilton wasted little time in the third period gaining control of the lead and the contest. The Huskies took the second-half kickoff and marched 69 yards in nine plays for a 14-7 lead. Quarterback James Soskinski capped the drive with an 18-yard TD pass to Ian Anderson with 6:58 to play in the third. Hamilton mixed the run and pass, giving a healthy dose of the ground game to Ari Johnson. Johnson finished with 85 har-earned yards on 19 carries unoffically.

Johnson did the scoring honors a bit more than three minutes later to make it 21-7, sweeping right end for a 20-yard TD.at the 3:39 mark of the third. The TD was set up by an interception by the Huskies' Braxton Baniszewski at the Brophy 43. It was the second of three Hamilton picks in the game.

Brophy didn't have any more success offensively in the second half than it did the first. Knox, who was 12 of 32 for 155 yards, was under pressure often and when he did have time to throw was off the mark a few times and had a couple passes dropped by receivers.

"They ran the ball more and better the second half," Brophy coach Scoote Molander said. "We weren't able to run much, and made too many little mistakes to win a semifinal game against a good team....

"I'm proud of our team. They fought hard. Noone had us in the semifinals after we started 1-3."

Hamilton's seventh successive title-game appearance is impressive. The Huskies will be facing their sixth different opponent in a final during this seven-year bonanza. Previous title-game opponents in this run which began in 2008 are Brophy, Mesa High, Desert Ridge, Desert Vista, Mountain Pointe and now Chandler.

 

 

 

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