Morales' interception in overtime seals dramatic comeback win for Wolves
WEEKLY BLOG: 12/4/21
The Liberty Lions seemingly did everything necessary to end Chandler's reign at the top of Arizona High School football. The visitors from Peoria seized the first-half lead, played lights-out defense forcing a half dozen turnovers, mixed it up with their two quarterbacks playing to the strength of each, and most importantly, led by eight points with seven seconds remaining.
Yet, the king is not dead. The five-time defending champions prevailed with a thrilling (or gut-wrenching) 27-21 overtime victory and will try to make it 3-0 in Open Division finals next Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium against Saguaro, the team the Wolves knocked off in the 2019 final, 42-35.
"They're warriors and there's a culture of winning here," Chandler head coach Rick Garretson said. "That culture shows up because, even when we weren't playing our best, we hung in there and made the plays when we had to and had the big win."
Trailing 21-7 with less than seven minutes remaining, Chandler (11-1) put together a nine-play, 81-yard drive and scored quickly (just 1:47 of game time). The Wolves drew closer on a five-yard run up the middle from Anyale Velazquez. However, the extra point was blocked and Chandler still trailed by eight.
The Wolves got the ball back with just under four minutes to go. Chandler advanced it to the Lions' 23-yard line, but Liberty intercepted its third pass of the game as senior Gavin Dodge (who also recovered a fumble) grabbed it at the 1-yard line and brought it back to the 8.
Chandler used its final timeout on the Lions' ensuing possession that was a trio of short runs. It was a short punt (23 yards) that went out of bounds at the Liberty 30-yard line. The Wolves had just 24 seconds and no timeouts. On third down, Blaine Hipa completed a pass to Quaron Adams, who was tackled at the 8-yard line. A penalty for targeting stopped the clock (at 7 seconds) and moved the ball half the distance to the 4. A delay of game penalty backed it up to the 9-yard line and then Chandler had some late-game magic.
"It was a mesh corner," Velazquez said. "I came out of the backfield and meshed with Jamere (Haskell) on the left side. It just happened to work."
On the two-point try, Hipa faked a handoff and went left on a naked bootleg tying the game with 2.7 seconds remaining.
Just like the 2020 Open semifinal (also at Austin Field in Chandler), Liberty and Chandler went to overtime.
On third down from the 7-yard line, senior tight end Nason Coleman made an incredible one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone giving the Wolves their first lead of the night. Liberty was penalized for offside on the extra point attempt and the Wolves opted to move the ball half the distance and go for two from the 1-1/2 yard line. A run up the middle was short and Liberty had its chance down by only six.
"We've been practicing it for a long time," Coleman, a Princeton commit, said of the touchdown play. "Just waiting for when we were going to call it. I'm just happy I got my opportunity. We just knew we worked so hard, it wasn't going to end like this."
On Liberty's third down from the 6-yard line, senior defensive end Amar Elmore had a big 10-yard sack. That gave the Lions just one more opportunity and the pass was intercepted in the end zone by senior safety Franky Morales for a walk-off interception victory.
"Our defense leads our team," Chandler defensive back Travis Roberts said. "We knew we were the last to go out there. We had to finish and lock in. We pride ourselves on playing heavy man in the red zone and not giving up anything."
The story of the first half was Liberty cashing in on turnovers and red zone opportunities while the Wolves didn't.
Chandler advanced the ball to Liberty's 15-yard line on its initial possession, but fumbled inside the 10. Senior Noah Gutierrez recovered for the Lions. On its next drive, the Wolves went for it on fourth-and-seven from the Liberty 8-yard line. A pass was caught, but out of the back of the end zone.
While Chandler squandered those two trips to the red zone, Liberty (9-3) began its next two possessions following an interception (by Jax Stam) and a fumble recovery (by LJ Hunter). The Lions converted a fourth-and-six at the Chandler 36 with a completion from sophomore Navi Bruzon to Darin Barrows. Then, Bruzon, a dual-threat, called his own number for the first points of the game in the second quarter.
Liberty added a second touchdown before the half with its other quarterback. Junior Dom Ochoa hit Prince Zombo with a pass and the junior receiver stretched it over the goal line for a touchdown, and a 14-0 lead at the half.
Each team scored a touchdown in the third quarter. Hipa threw the first of his three TD passes (giving him 30 for the year) to Haskell, who sped down the right sideline for a 26-yard touchdown.
After throwing it just 11 times last week against Queen Creek, Hipa had his most attempts of the season. The senior was 25-of-48 for 276 yards.
"His job is to facilitate," Garretson said. "He did a much better job in the second half."
Seniors Quaron Adams (eight catches, 81 yards) and Kyion Grayes (six catches, 86 yards) helped provide variety in the targets for Hipa.
Liberty answered that back on its ensuing possession as Bruzon had his 10th touchdown pass of the season (to go with his 11 touchdown runs). That went to junior Braylon Gardner on a pop pass to the right side for a 19-yard score to make it 21-7 late in the third quarter.
Liberty head coach Colin Thomas said the coaching staff considered running it out of the back of the end zone for a safety prior to punting from the 7-yard line with 30 seconds left. They decided against it because the Lions would have had to still free kick from the 20 and a touchdown alone would have beaten them.
In all, the Lions forced six turnovers (three fumbles and three interceptions). The lone turnover on Liberty's side came in the game's final play.
"We deserved to win this game," Thomas said. "We just did not. We've got to coach better. We've got to play better. All those things down the stretch to beat a team like that."
In the last two seasons, Liberty has a record of 15-7 with four of those losses coming against Chandler.
"They worked all year long," Thomas said of his seniors. "We fought our tails off. I love our guys."
While Chandler is going for its sixth straight title, this will the first trip to the championship for Velazquez, a transfer from Corona del Sol. He has adopted the mantra with the Wolves.
"We knew that we're never going to give up because we always have the heart of a champion," Velazquez said. "We're just going to keep fighting."
Chandler has been in more close games this season. The Wolves have been tied or trailing at the half six times this year. Roberts said being there before helped the team down the stretch.
"Teams that gave us good competition, like O'Connor and Highland helped," Roberts said. "They showed us that we're human and could lose. We get to defend Chandler's throne. We get to show the state and the nation how good Chandler football really is."
Your shot at the king next, Saguaro.
First Quarter:
No Scoring
Second Quarter:
Lib - Navi Bruzon 15 yard run (Nathan Hawkins kick), 5:29
Lib - Prince Zombo 10 yard pass from Dom Ochoa (Hawkins kick), 1:24
Third Quarter:
Chan - Jamere Haskell 26 yard pass from Blaine Hipa (Parker Orr kick), 4:13
Lib - Braylon Gardner 19 yard pass from Bruzon (Hawkins kick), 1:24
Fourth Quarter:
Chan - Anyale Velazquez 4 yard run (kick blocked), 4:39
Chan - Velazquez 9 yard pass from Hipa (Hipa run), 0:02
Overtime:
Chan - Nason Coleman 7 yard pass from Hipa (run failed)
