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No. 12 Chandler holds off Saguaro in first Arizona Open Division Title Game

(Tempe, AZ)  The long awaited battle between the Arizona classes went to 12th-ranked Chandler (Ariz.).

But as expected, it went right down to the wire.

The Wolves jumped to a 21-0 first-quarter lead on a Mikey Keene touchdown pass and run, plus a pick-6 from Brandon Buckner, and then held off a big second-half rall en route to a 42-35 victory over Saguaro in the first Arizona Open Division football champion Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium, home of Arizona State.

Chandler finished 13-0 and extended its overall win streak to 26. Saguaro (11-2), however, it didn’t go down without a fight. The Sabercats came in on a 10-game win streak kept battling back, starting with a 19-yard touchdown run by Kelee Ringo.

They eventually closed to 35-28 early in the fourth quarter on touchdown passes from Tyler Beverett of 70 yards to Denzel Burkeand a 14-yards to Will Shaffer.

Chandler’s Daveon Hunter, who earlier in the game broke off a 74-yard touchdown run, all but sealed it, capping off a long drive with a 4-yard TD jaunt to go up 42-28 with three minutes to go.

Shaffer added a 1-yard touchdown run in the final seconds for Saguaro, but Chandler held on for the hard-fought victory.

Courtesy of Mitch Stephens | MaxPreps.com

Edited by 602 Sports Talk.

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