Game is tied.

 

Hamilton quarterback Tyler Shough takes the snap at the Desert Ridge 10-yard line, stutter steps to his left and shovels the ball to in-stride running back Jawhar Jordan.

 

With his right foot, he jab steps to make an oncoming linebacker hesitate just enough for Jordan to bounce outside towards the opponent’s sideline. As he approaches a closing hole, at the drop of a dime, Jordan plants on his left, cuts to the right and accelerates towards the three defenders standing between him and his second touchdown of the game.

 

He dives. He gets hit. He fumbles.

 

The ball trickles into the end zone where several Jaguar defenders pounce on the ball for a touchback. With just shy of nine minutes left in the first half, there was plenty of time left for Jordan to make up for the turnover - and that is what he did.

 

“When I got to the sidelines, I had to tell my team ‘I will make it up’,” said Jordan.

“I told them I was going to bounce back.”

 

In what at first looked to be a tight affair, Hamilton powered its way to a 52-28 home victory over a tough visiting Desert Ridge. The Hamilton run-and-gun tandem of Jordan and Shough proved too much.

 

On Hamilton’s next possession after the fumble, Jordan broke free for a 78-yard touchdown run only to have it negated by a holding penalty. Later that drive, Shough aired out a 40-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Brandon Schenks to give the Huskies a lead they would not relinquish.

 

Shough pushed the Huskies first half lead to 28-14 with a last-second back shoulder touchdown throw to leaping senior wide receiver Tim Lockart. Shough finished with 212 passing yards and four TDs to four different receivers.

 

“Jawhar is the kind of kid that will never get to high and never get too low,” said Hamilton head coach Dick Baniszewski. “If he touches it enough something good is going to happen eventually.”

 

Jordan, determined to find the end zone again, sealed the victory for Hamilton with two touchdowns in the second half. He carved up the Jaguar defense for runs of 55 and 80 yardsen route to three rushing touchdowns and 254 yards.

 

While the Hamilton offense looked unfazed most of the game, the defense looked vulnerable against the Desert Ridge offense.

 

“What we prepared for and what we saw were two different things,” said Hamilton defensive coordinator Brian Belles. “Their offense was different than what we had worked on all week.”

 

Even though the Hamilton defense struggled at times, senior defensive back Clayton Hooper’s playmaking abilities highlighted how dangerous the Huskies defense could be moving forward.

 

On a sprained ankle he sustained in the first quarter, Hooper had two pivotal interceptions that led to Hamilton touchdowns. He also swatted away what looked to be a sure touchdown with an acrobatic dive in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

 

“We knew coming in they were a good football team, Coach Hathcock is a great coach,” said Baniszewski about his Desert Ridge counterpart. “We got a couple of turnovers which were the difference in the game.”

 

The Hamilton victory pushes its record to 3-1. On the heels of back-to-back victories, the Huskies will host Cesar Chavez next Friday at 7 p.m.

 

Desert Ridge looks to rebound from its first loss of the season when it hosts Mesa.  A praise-filled Baniszewski has no worries the Jaguars will find their winning ways.

 

“They will be in the playoffs,” said Baniszewski. “I don’t want to play them again.”