Brooks sparks Chandler’s win against Perry
When it was over, Chandler players and coaches made room for No. 6 – the kid without the pads and, so far, without a season – to get into the huddle, where he could receive the game ball.
Chandler dedicated its 45-34 6A football win over host Gilbert Perry to senior cornerback David Eppinger, who played for Perry the past three seasons.
This was a rematch of last year’s state final that Chandler won.
Eppinger, ineligible since leaving Perry, tried to get into Friday night’s game against his old team, but, hours before kickoff, a Superior Court judge didn’t make a decision during a preliminary hearing.
Another hearing will be held next Friday for Eppinger, who, after having his hardship turned down by the Arizona Interscholastic Association in August, is taking his case to court in an attempt to get on the field with a temporary restraining order.
“Obviously, this was a very personal game with the situation that is going on,” said senior quarterback Jacob Conover, who completed 18 of 23 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns. “We did a good job of pushing out the distractions. We want to keep David in the loop. He’s our family now. This one was for him.”
Chandler (5-1) did get one part of its team back on Friday with senior defensive tackle Matthew Pola-Mao eligible for the first time after sitting out the first five games for transferring from Phoenix Mountain Pointe.
He was part of the reason why Perry couldn’t find success on the ground. It only had 13 rushing yards in the first half.
Meanwhile, Chandler asserted itself upfront, gashing Perry’s defense with senior running back DeCarlos Brooks showing off strong, change-of-direction cutback moves on his way to 227 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries.
Brooks had 18 carries with more than nine minutes left in the second quarter.
“I thought we needed to establish the dominance up front,” Chandler coach Shaun Aguano said. “I think we did that in the first three quarters. After that, I knew they were going to pass. We knew we probably had the game at hand. I just liked the dominance up front.”