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

CHANDLER – Senior quarterback Hayden Fletcher led the Liberty Lions, the defending 6A state champions, to a 45-20 rout of the Chandler Wolves Friday night at Chandler, completing 16 of 25 passes for 177 yards. He threw one TD pass and also rushed for a touchdown.

Chandler sophomore quarterback Will Mencl finished with 18-of-30 passing for 270 yards and two passing touchdowns, plus an explosive 45-yard rushing touchdown.

The Wolves' struggles on Friday were an echo of their struggles the previous week. They were called for nine penalties for a loss of 95 yards by the end of the game. That includes a face mask penalty on the opening kickoff.

The Wolves allowed the Lions to score on their opening drive of the game, which culminated in a 7-yard touchdown run by Lions junior running back Esteban Demby-lamas. 

Despite the blowout, Chandler gained more yards – 366. However, their downfall was two costly turnovers and several penalties. One of these turnovers came from a Mencl pass that was intercepted by senior defensive back, Malachi Holliday.

The Lions quickly capitalized, taking a 15-0 lead with 5:32 remaining in the first quarter. Off the interception, Fletcher completed a 47-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Braxton Huynh for the touchdown. The Lions decided to flex their early dominance after the touchdown, completing the two-point conversion off a 3-yard rush by junior Cannon Garday.

Liberty responded with big plays every time Chandler made a great play. After a great drive that culminated in a Skylar Ormita 13-yard receiving touchdown for Chandler’s first points of the game, Liberty’s sophomore running back, Jayden Sanchez, returned the kick  for a 96-yard touchdown to make the score 21-7 with 8:40 remaining in the second quarter.

By the end of the first half, the Wolves had racked up five penalties, digging themselves into a 35-7 hole. Liberty capitalized on Chandler’s mistakes, scoring when given an excellent field position. The Wolves showed more composure in the second half but were unable to mount a comeback.

With this win, Liberty remains undefeated when facing in-state competition and now boasts a record of 4-1 on the season. Their only loss came at the hands of California’s Centennial Huskies, where they were defeated 63-39.

Coming into Friday’s game, Liberty had dropped its last four games against Chandler. Liberty coach Colin Thomas was in great spirits when speaking about previous matchups vs Chandler.

“There’s been some tough losses here,” Thomas said. “We lost in the playoffs twice in the semis in overtime, so it meant (a lot) for the brotherhood, which our kids care about a ton, to get those back. But those days are gone, so I’m just excited for this team to get a win tonight.”

Thomas also highlighted Fletcher and his play through the first five games of the season.

“I’m very happy. He’s a great player, he’s a great leader,” Thomas said. “He stayed the course. He didn’t leave when he didn’t get a chance to play right away. He’s a tremendous player. I’m very happy for him.”

Fletcher has been tasked with manning the defending 6A championship team. He said he understands that teams are gunning for the Lions.

“We take it week by week,” Fletcher said. “We know we’ve got a target on our back. But, we have a slogan we say. ‘Flip the target.’ We’re going to attack the other team. We’re not just defending our state title, we’re attacking for another one.”

The Wolves have dropped their last two games. After their loss last week to Highland, Chandler coach Rick Garretson highlighted the team's lack of experience as a factor. He said losing to a veteran Liberty squad can be a learning experience.

“Oddly enough, my staff has experienced this before,” Garretson said. “We got clocked by Mountain Pointe in 2016, 52-7. It’s been a long time since that’s happened, but it happened tonight.”

“Tonight we got hammered,” Garretson continued. “Take it and move forward with it. Get better from it. My staff has done it before, so we’ll go ahead and rile the troops up and get ready for Casteel in two weeks.”

Chandler (4-2) will travel to Casteel (3-2) on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.

Liberty (4-1) will host Pinnacle (4-2) next Friday at 7 p.m.