Some say Chandler dodged a bullet in their 6A state semifinal overtime win against Highland two weeks ago.
It was the Wolves who came out firing Saturday night in the 6A state title game against Perry.
DeCarlos Brooks ran for 339 yards and scored six times. The defense forced four turnovers against a formidable Puma offense, and the Wolves won their third straight state title and their fourth in five years after beating Perry 65-28 on Saturday.
“That was the best two weeks of practice that we’ve had,” Chandler football coach Shaun Agauno said. “We needed to get punched in the mouth. I think we needed to re-focus, and our kids understood they could be beatable if they weren’t doing the right things.”
Chandler opened the game with two efficient drives that both resulted in DeCarlos Brooks 1-yard touchdowns. The Perry offense started to find a rhythm on their second drive, but Chubba Purdy fumbled the snap right outside of the Chandler red zone, which was recovered by Chandler defensive end Max Sandlin. On the ensuing drive, quarterback Jacob Conover capped off an 11-play, 74-yard drive with a touchdown run to make it 21-0. From there, the smallest lead Chandler held was 13 points the rest of the game. Chandler ran the ball 50 times for 454 yards, eight touchdowns and averaged 9.1 yards per carry.
“It’s really special because this is the freshman group that started way back when four years ago,” Conover said. “We had a goal to go three-peat when it was our turn. To be able to do that and fulfill a destiny and pay tribute to the Wolves who have made this what it is, it was great.”
Conover is now 14-0 in postseason and bowl games in his three years as a starter and has won three state titles in Arizona’s top high school football division.
“Jacob is such a leader,” Brooks said. “When I see him on the field, he just leads everybody. If you just have a conversation with him, it’s incredible how he talks. He can just influence you.”
Chandler capped off a weekend of repeat state champions. Saguaro won their sixth straight state title in the 4A division, and Centennial defeated Notre Dame Prep earlier on Saturday to take the 5A title.
