Chandler wins 24-17 in clash with Centennial
Chandler quarterback Will Mencl and head coach Ty Wisdom talk about the team’s late game win against Centennial on Aug. 29, 2025.
There were major breakthroughs, shocking results, incredible debuts and thrilling endings in Week 2 of the Arizona high school football season. The Arizona Republic rewinds the week and looks ahead, as the state’s top two ranked teams have national statements they’d like to make this coming week.
What we learned
If anybody thought Chandler was going to fade away quietly into these Friday nights, they’re wrong. Ty Wisdom, returning to the Valley after leading Millard South to a Nebraska state championship last season, had the Wolves humming with breakneck speed on the ball and a clutch final two-minute drive to beat Peoria Centennial 24-17, spoiling longtime defensive coordinator Andrew Taylor’s debut as Centennial head coach.
Centennial’s offense is a work in progress as sophomore Titus Hill gets used to the bright lights. Once Hill becomes comfortable in an offense that was given to him after senior Kainan Manna left for San Diego’s Lincoln High a week before helmets went on to start official practices, the Coyotes will take off. But he was going against fast, relentless athletes in his varsity debut. The Wolves game planned for a power rushing attack, led by Derrion Bartholomew. Jones’ quick strike to Carter Reidy for a 58-yard TD with 2:31 to play tied Chandler at 17.
But Will Mencl showed why this could be his best year, after his first two seasons ended in injuries. The junior will thrive in Wisdom’s spread offense. Mencl calls it a 48-minute “fire drill,” because the Wolves are at the line of scrimmage after each play, ready to attack in so many ways with four, sometimes five receivers split out wide. His 30-yard pass down the middle of the field to Maxwell Sprott with 29 seconds left was the game-winner. It wasn’t a clean game by the Wolves. But, if nothing else, Chandler and Mencl are going to be fun to watch in this offense.
Biggest statement
Chandler Hamilton went quietly through May, June and July, before unleashing its fury in a season-opening 63-20 rout of American Leadership Queen Creek on Thursday, Aug. 28. The 63 points were among the top five highest-scoring games in Hamilton’s rich football history. And it came against a team that most people had in their top 10 in 6A. Either ALA Queen Creek’s defense needs a complete makeover, or Hamilton’s offense is as potent as any in the state. Sophomore quarterback Jax Sculley answered any doubts in his varsity debut, passing for 372 yards and five touchdowns, completing 80% of his passes. Sophomore wideout Roye Oliver III, who started as a freshman on an Open semifinal team, was on the receiving end for most of those TDs. The score was 47-14 at halftime. An impressive win like this, coupled by Sculley’s breakthrough performance, puts Hamilton in the Open state championship conversation with No. 1-ranked Basha and No. 2 Liberty after one game. Sculley was the first sophomore to ever start at quarterback in a varsity game in Hamilton history.
Statement starts
The Jeremy Hathcock factor was on full display in Mesa’s 34-14 win over Surprise Shadow Ridge. The Jackrabbits play with grit, locked in from start to finish, not leaving a single detail out in their game planning. But the big litmus test of how big of an offseason hire this was for Mesa comes on Sept. 5 when it travels to take on rival Mountain View, which is licking its wounds after a 37-0 loss at Liberty, a game in which quarterback Brady Goodman got sacked six times and was knocked out of the game with an injury. If Goodman isn’t ready to go, Mesa’s got a great shot at pulling the upset.
- Queen Creek Casteel gave its new coach, former college head coach Joe Bushman, a 51-14 win to celebrate in San Diego against an historically strong Helix program that produced the likes of Reggie Bush and Alex Smith. Casteel has been a middle-of-the-road team in the 6A Premier Region in seasons past, but Bushman could be one of the best offseason hires, coming from Lewis & Clark. Casteel hung its helmet on defense with defensive end Brady Casper making three sacks, forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble and catching a TD pass at tight end. Casteel dominated, despite not having anticipated starting QB Tee Smith Jr., until midway through the season. He is ineligible for the first half of the season, per the AIA transfer rules, after coming over from Hamilton.
“Great jump-start to the year,” Bushman said. “Defense was dominant.”
- Phoenix St. Mary’s sophomore QB Luke Horn had an impressive varsity debut, leading the Knights on the road to a 37-15 win over Cottonwood Mingus. The son of former Arizona Rattlers star wide receiver Chris Horn completed 12 of 20 passes for 303 yards and four TDs with junior Anthony Cannon catching three passes for 191 yards and three TDs.
- Tolleson’s offense, it turns out, needed just one big out-of-state transfer to turn its fortunes after winning just one game and scoring a total of 99 points last year. Quarterback Youngmin Lee, who arrived from the Seattle area, threw for 326 yards and four TDs, completing 13 of 19 passes in a 41-0 River Rock win over rival Avondale Agua Fria. The rock is back at Tolleson, and so are the Wolverines, it appears, behind a QB who last year at Mercer Island High passed for 2,900 yards and 37 TDs. With wide receiver Rico Blassingame, this could turn out to be one of the state’s more dynamic duos this season.
- The Nick Offenberger coaching era at Tempe McClintock started with a 36-19 win over one of the top two Phoenix Union High School District teams, Camelback. Offenberger, who came over from Heritage Academy, started six freshmen, including QB Kaiden Ikaika Agbunag, who threw three TD passes.
“A lot of stuff we need to clean up, but, all in all, I was very impressed with the showing we had,” Offenberger said. “I don’t think this team has even scratched the surface of its potential, which makes me more excited about this group.”
Biggest impact
Chandler Seton Catholic, which had a good team in 4A last year, is now in 3A with RJ Fogerty having one of the biggest impact games ever seen in a 32-26 win over one of the best 2A teams, Gilbert San Tan Charter. As the place holder, he scooped up his kicker’s blocked field goal try and ran it in for a TD from 10 yards out. He had an 85-yard kickoff return for a TD, his second in two games. He threw a TD pass as the holder on a fake field goal. He caught the game-winning TD with seven seconds left. And, on defense, he had an interception.
Look ahead
Maybe the two biggest games on Sept. 5 involved teams from outside, and would give Arizona high school football a huge national boost if they can pull out wins. Basha plays host to Orange Lutheran, one of the top teams in California that is 2-0 and ranked 20th in the nation by MaxPreps. Liberty travels to Utah to take on Corner Canyon, which is ranked No. 10 in the nation by USA Today. Liberty’s only two losses the last two seasons came against California’s Corona Centennial, which was a Top 25 team. Basha’s only loss, other than to Liberty in the Open final, last year came in California, a 31-28 setback to Mission Veijo, which ended up going 10-1. Neither Basha nor Liberty is ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation.
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
