Chandler and Gilbert both came out firing on Friday. Gilbert, however, couldn’t keep up with the Wolves higher-powered offense. A lost snap on the first drive of the game was Chandler’s only turnover, as it cruised to a 49-24 victory over Gilbert.
Gilbert (2-7) took advantage of the early Chandler turnover, as Adam Astorga scooped up the fumble and took it 72 yards for a touchdown. Kabian Evans tied the game up with a 76-yard touchdown run on the next drive and Chandler would hold the lead from there.
The Wolves would score on their next four offensive possessions. Evans led Chandler (7-2) with 197 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Both Evans and quarterback Darrell Garretson would sit out most of the second half, with the Tigers up 35-10 at the break.
Garretson connected for two touchdowns in the first quarter, a 14-yard pass to Elijah Sykes and a 29-yard pass to Patrick Baldenegro. Garretson finished the night 8-for-13 with 144 yards passing and three touchdowns.
“This is a good win for our team, this makes it three in a row for us,” Garretson said. “I’m going to stay humble (tonight) and that was a really good team win. I’m really happy coming off of this win.”
Gilbert would attempt a comeback in the second half, against what was most of Chandler’s second string. Quarterback Conner Helvig finally got into the end zone in the fourth quarter on an eight yard touchdown run. He also connected later in the fourth with Michael Layser on a 32 yard touchdown pass, but it was too late for a Tigers comeback.
Helvig finished the night 5-for-14 with 71 yards passing and a touchdown in three quarters of play. Helvig also had an interception late in the third, with the Tigers inside Chandler’s 30 yard line.
“When you play against big teams like we did tonight against Chandler you can’t make mistakes,” Tigers coach Leland Rogers said. “That’s what we did, we made mistakes and they capitalized on them.”
Both teams look toward next week, with Chandler facing Desert Vista (7-2) at home.
“I wanted to make sure that we went into Desert Vista healthy, and I wanted to get the rest of the guys ready going into the playoffs,” said Chandler coach Shaun Aguano. “We did call off the dogs a bit, we did well on offense in the first half and wanted to stay healthy.”
Gilbert looks to finish the season strong, finishing the year off against Dobson (1-7).
Box score
First downs: C 11; G 13
Rushing: C 27-330; G 40-271
Comp-Att-Yards: C 11-16-194; G 7-17-79
Penalty yards: C 110; G 65
Fumbles-Lost: C 1-1; G 4-2
Scoring rundown
G - Astorga 72 fumble return (Carver kick)
C – Evans 76 run (Perkins kick)
C – Baldenegro 29 pass from Garretson (Perkins kick)
C – Sykes 14 pass from Garretson (Perkins kick)
G – Carver 28 FG
C – Baldenegro 24 pass from Garretson (Perkins kick)
C – Evans 77 run (Perkins kick)
C – Burton 29 pass from Garretson (Perkins kick)
G – Helvig 8 run (Carver kick)
C – Barraza 4 run (Perkins kick)
G – Layser 32 pass from Helvig (Carver kick)
