TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
Saguaro celebrates winning the 4A high school football state championship game against Salpointe Catholic on Saturday at Arizona Stadium in Tucson. The 28-7 victory marked the fifth consecutive state title for Saguaro.
Saguaro celebrates with the 4A high-school football state championship trophy after their 28-7 win over Salpointe Catholic at Arizona Stadium in Tucson on Saturday. It’s the fifth time in a row Saguaro has claimed the title.
TUCSON – Not now. Not with Chandler being there before, not with so many big-game players on the field.
As resourceful as senior quarterback Brock Purdy was Saturday night, Gilbert Perry just couldn’t keep up with Chandler’s tremendous firepower in the end at Arizona Stadium in the 6A football final.
With Jacob Conover spraying the ball to three receivers, each of whom had more than 100 yards, and with Drake Anderson breaking tackles on his way to a big night, Chandler held off Purdy and Perry for a 49-42 victory that set a 6A record for combined points.
It was a state championship game for the ages, as both teams went back and forth in the second half, nobody giving in.
Chandler (12-2) won its second state title in a row and third in four years.
Just through three quarters, Purdy – brilliant all year on his way to breaking a single-season 6A record for touchdown passes – had 106 rushing yards and a touchdown and 209 passing yards and three scores. Then, this happened in the final quarter:
Purdy hooked up with D’Shayne James for touchdowns of 13 and 65 yards, threaded a pass between defenders to Connor Boyd for a 46-yard score and found Dickie again from 19 yards out with 2:39 left. Dickie then made a diving catch in the corner of the end zone for the twopoint conversion.
Chandler, however, always had an answer.
Anderson scored on a 2-yard run, Conover found Gunner Romney for a 47yard TD, and Anderson broke four tackles on his way to an incredible 43-yard score.
Perry recovered an on-side kick after cutting it to seven but was called for encroachment and had to kick it again. Chandler had the ball go into the reliable hands of Jarick Caldwell, and Chandler moved the ball enough to keep Purdy from having the ball again.
Conover clinched it with a 15-yard pass to Caldwell to the Perry 4 with less than a minute to play.
Key stat
Perry left 21 points on the field in the first half. Purdy just missed Colby Dickie on the game’s first play on what would have been an 80-yard touchdown. D’Shayne James dropped what would have been a 79-yard score.
And Purdy missed Jaden Young, who had his man beat deep. Instead of having a 35-21 halftime lead, Perry trailed 21-14.
Standout performer
Junior QB Jacob Conover threw scoring passes of 66 and 6 yards in the final four minutes of the second quarter to rally Chandler from a 14-7 deficit for a 21-14 halftime lead. \
The 66-yarder to Jarick Caldwell came a play after Caldwell dropped a short pass on a crossing pattern. Conover looked one way and found tight end Brayden Liebrock for the TD pass with 2:01 left in the half.