Chandler High’s football Web site dubbed this week’s game against Mesa Dobson the “Big Pay Back.”
SLIDESHOW: Friday night high school football
It likely had something to do with the Mustangs humbling the Wolves, 39-0, last season. Payback was accomplished after a slow start as Chandler reeled off 38 straight points and went on to douse Dobson, 45-21, Friday night in a 5A Division I nonregion game at Austin Field.
Chandler (2-0) piled up 517 yards of offense, including 380 rushing, to continue its early-season offensive assault. Bryce Lamb rushed for 137 yards on nine carries and Jamil Hines added 13 carries for 115 yards. Chandler has scored 100 points in two games and has piled up just a shade under 1,000 total yards from scrimmage.
Payback began after Dobson used a game-opening 51-yard kickoff return by Emilio Gutierrez to gain good field position at the Chandler 44. The Wolves didn’t help themselves with a pair of defensive penalties during the possession, including a roughing the passer call that extended the drive rather than stalling it at the Chandler 32. A 6-yard touchdown run by Terrance Martin with 8:56 left in the quarter put Dobson up 7-0.
Not exactly the start Chandler coach Jim Ewan would have liked, but it provided his club an opportunity of sorts.
“I was interested to see how we’d respond to a little adversity,” Ewan said. “We had way too many penalties in the game, but our effort was good again and we played physical. That’s what we wanted to see.”
Chandler reacted to the deficit post haste. Hines scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 14-yard run, capping a 15-play, 80-yard drive, to tie the score.
The Wolves’ defense drew momentum from that and posted three successive three-and-outs from Dobson.
Kyle Yount put Chandler ahead for good 14-7 with a 10-yard TD pass to Markus Wheaton with 8:07 left in the first half.
Chandler took advantage of a shanked punt and took three plays to move 33 yards for another score with 4:25 left in the period. Hines did the honors again with a 28-yard run.
