Dorian Waller is a Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chandler High School for AZPreps365.com.

In a battle between two undefeated teams, the Chandler Wolves were defeated, 20-14, by the Highland Hawks in a thrilling matchup Friday night at Highland High School. 

The Hawks’ sophomore running back, Kruz Cullimore, led the way with a touchdown and 137 yards rushing on 34 carries.

The atmosphere of the game was electric. Both the home and visiting crowds arrived in full force for this AIA game of the week.

The Hawks' defense held the Wolves to just 85 yards rushing. Entering the matchup, the Wolves averaged 215 yards rushing a game.

After the win, Highland coach Brock Farrel said his squad's game plan was to stop the Wolves’ run game.

“It’s always the game plan,” Farrel said. “Especially Chandler. If you turn on their previous four games, they were running up and down the field against every team they were playing. So we had to stop the run.”

The Hawks opened the game strong, scoring on their first drive of the game. Senior quarterback Kalen Fisher completed a 21-yard pass to Dominic Lauria  setting up a 1-yard TD run by  Grady Crandall a few plays later.

The Hawks dominated the first quarter on both ends, forcing Wolves quarterback Will Mencl  into a fumble for a loss of 11 yards late in the quarter.

The Wolves defense was the answer for them in the second quarter, picking up the slack for the offense. At the start of the second quarter, Highland seemed primed to build an early lead in large part due to the Wolves' repeated penalties. Then, the Wolves defense forced a fumble by Hawks junior running back Peyton Gill. The fumble was swiftly picked up by Wolves defensive back Hamisi Juma, who returned it for a 70-yard TD. 

That proved to be the momentum shift the Wolves needed, as they built on it for the rest of the second and third quarters.

On the Hawks’ last three drives of the second quarter, they were stifled by multiple mental lapses. The Hawks were whistled for various penalty calls, specifically offsides. The Hawks ended their last drive of the quarter with a missed field goal attempt and four penalties.

Highland held tightly onto its lead to end the first half. At halftime,  the Hawks led, 14-7.

Chandler tied the game, 14-14,  after a 92-yard drive to start the third quarter. Wolves senior running back, Tristan Halsana, who was very quiet in the first half, opened the second half with five carries. He scored the tying 12-yard rushing touchdown with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter.

The game remained in a stalemate until Hawks defensive tackle Logan Bonham made the play of the game at the start of the fourth quarter. Bonham intercepted a Mencl pass and returned it for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 20-14 with 8:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. 

The Wolves defense blocked the Hawks' extra-point attempt, but their offense was unable to capitalize for the remainder of the game. 

Mencl completed  10 of 17 passes for 97 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. Halsana finished with one touchdown and 69 yards rushing. The Hawks' defense held Halsana to just eight yards rushing in the first half.

The Hawks’ Cullimore ended the night with 137 yards rushing, including a touchdown, on 34 carries. Fisher finished with 12-of-16 passing and 149 yards passing, plus 26 rushing yards. Highland finished the game with 21 first downs, as compared to Chandler's 10.

Cullimore was named player of the game for his stellar performance. 

After the game, both Cullimore and Farrel spoke about the importance of his role tonight, as he was tasked to fill in the cleats of senior running back Kash Allen.

“I knew Kash Allen was out,” Cullimore said. “I knew I had to step up big, so I did that.”

“ He (Cullimore) can do anything,” Farrel said. “You saw he could run jet sweep, he can catch passes, he can run inside, he can run outside. So he’s a fun little tool to have on offense.”

Chandler coach Rick Garretson said that despite this being a rematch of the state championship quarterfinals, this was not a revenge game for his squad.

“We don’t have revenge games,” Garretson said. “This year’s a different year. We came out and played hard, got down by a little, and didn’t really play well in the first half. Hamisi’s scoop and score kind of turned things around.”

Garretson commended his team's defensive effort.

“It’s important because I got a bunch of guys that are young out there,” Garretson said. “I got juniors, I got a bunch of sophomores, I got some seniors mixed in. Those guys rose to the occasion.

“I got a bunch of young guys growing up. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,  and we got a long part of the season ahead of us.”

Chandler (4-1) will host  Liberty (3-1) at 7 p.m. next Friday. Highland (5-0) will travel to Red Mountain (5-0) next Thursday at 7 p.m.