Chandler defeats Brophy in Open playoffs, will face rival Hamilton

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After getting past the sting of the regular-season loss to Hamilton in the Battle of Arizona Avenue, a game in which Chandler led 34-16 in the third quarter, the Wolves licked their wounds and got back on track with a win over visiting Phoenix Brophy on Friday night, Nov. 21, in the Open Division quarterfinals held at Austin Field.

No. 4 Chandler, coming off a first-round bye, outlasted No. 5 Brophy 45-34, led by three rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns from junior quarterback Will Mencl.

“I knew this team has been itching to play, ” Mencl said. “Personally, I hate bye weeks. I’m a football guy, I love football. It’s great to get back on the field, build more chemistry, get ready to make a push this year.”

The win sets up a rematch with No. 1 Hamilton in next week’s semifinals on Nov. 28, with a spot in the Open state championship at Mountain America Stadium at stake. Hamilton hung on to beat No. 8 Mesa Mountain View 35-27.

It’s the matchup Chandler (9-2) wanted. Their only other loss this season was to an out-of-state team.

“It’s our rivalry game, but more than anything, it’s a playoff game to go to the state championship,” Mencl said. “We really want to make a push this year, especially the seniors, for them. It’s another football game, another opponent that we get to play that’s good. It’s playoff football, it just means more.”

Chandler jumped out to a 21-0 lead on Brophy, going up three scores with 5:44 left in the second quarter on a 7-yard run from sophomore running back David Douglas. 

Brophy nearly scored just before halftime as senior wide receiver Daylen Sharper came down with a 22-yard pass, but offensive pass interference was called.

That’s when the comeback attempt began.

The Broncos used that as fuel and came out of the break on fire, scoring in just three plays and 50 seconds. Senior Devin Fitzgerald hauled in two passes from senior quarterback Case Vanden Bosch for 76 yards on the drive to make it 21-7.

The Wolves answered with a touchdown of their own, with Mencl connecting with senior wide receiver Jai Jones for a 17-yard score to push the lead to 28-7 with 7:53 left in the third.

Brophy struck quickly again, as Vanden Bosch hit Fitzgerald for a 58-yard touchdown on a drive that took just under two minutes to cut it 28-14.

On the ensuing drive, Mencl came up big, taking an option run on fourth and 2 for an untouched 71-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 35-14 at the 3:32 mark in the third.

Brophy refused to go away quietly, though. The Broncos came back and scored, with Vanden Bosch connecting with Fitzgerald for a two-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-21 just after the start of the fourth.

Coach Jason Jewell rolled the dice and called an onside kick, which was successful.

Brophy put together an eight-play scoring drive, extended by a Chandler personal foul penalty, as Vanden Bosch ran it in from one yard out to slice the lead to 35-27 with 9:47 left in the game.

Then Mencl did it again, scoring a 51-yard touchdown on an option run on third and 1 to go up 42-27 with 7:20 to play. It was his third score on the ground of the game. Mencl had to go get oxygen on the sideline since he isn’t used to running that much.

“He had a tremendous effort,” Chandler coach Ty Wisdom said. “Great football player. He made some great throws early, then obviously in the run game. They were loading the box pretty good, so we thought that might be there late. He made a lot of good decisions. You can’t do it without those five o-linemen up front, they did a great job.”

Just when it seemed like Brophy was done, the Broncos came back with another rapid scoring drive as Vanden Bosch and Fitzgerald hit on a 60-yard pass to make it 42-34 with 6:28 left in the game.

It was Fitzgerald’s fourth touchdown of the game, a new Brophy school record. Fitzgerald, a Notre Dame commit, ends his high school career with just over 2,000 receiving yards.

“Devin’s a special player,” Jewell said. “We’re going to miss him.”

After forcing a punt, Brophy had one more chance to go down and tie it. The Broncos had yet to punt in the second half up to that point.

But junior linebacker Jayden Arnold read Vanden Bosch perfectly and came down with a bobbling interception to help put the game away.

“It was a great feeling to get that turnover, get the offense the ball back and stop the momentum Brophy had going for them,” Arnold said.

While it’s not the outcome Brophy (7-5) wanted, the team showed incredible fight against a perennial contender.

The year as a whole – first Open playoff bid, first Open win – carries momentum for the Broncos heading into the offseason. With an offensive line that was entirely new this season, hope is high.

“We played a bunch of young guys,” Jewell said. “We lose some big-time players, right, with Case, Daylen (Sharper), Devin…But we have a good foundation that we’ve set. We’ll get back to work Monday.”

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Chandler outlasts Brophy in Open quarterfinals, will play Hamilton

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