GILBERT, Ariz. — The 32nd season of Friday Night Fever is drawing to a close with the handing out of golden footballs to state champions of Arizona’s biggest high school football divisions.
Already we have seen Casa Grande win an instant classic in 4A for their school’s 1st title, and Horizon handle Salpointe to win the 5A state championship.
But now it’s on to Saturday and two of the biggest games of the year, the 6A state championship and the Open Division state championship.
The battle for Arizona’s top prize will come at 5 p.m. in the only big-school state championship to not feature a #1 seed vs. a #2 seed.
#5 Saguaro will take on #2 Chandler in a rematch of the inaugural Open Division title game two years ago.
In 2019, the Wolves won their 4th of 5 consecutive state championships by beating Saguaro 42-35.
“It’s a heavyweight title fight,” Saguaro head coach Jason Mohns said. “If you want to beat the champ and you want to take the belt, you’re going to have to go 12 rounds. You’re going to have to take their best shot. That’s what we’re prepared for mentally. We’ve just got to keep swinging on them.”
“Anytime you’re playing in a championship game, there’s a reason both teams are there,” Chandler head coach Rick Garretson said. “They know how to win, they’ve had success, they’ve overcome their share of issues and obstacles in front of them. I’m looking forward to (the game) because Jason and I are good friends and it’s always fun to play your friends.”
For the players, there is a lot more than just being known as the top team in Arizona at stake here. For Saguaro, it is winning their 1st state title since the 2018 4A state championship, and for Chandler, it’s winning their 6th-straight state championship (and 3rd-straight Open Division title).
“It’s a revenge tour,” Saguaro senior offensive lineman Parker Brailsford said. “I’m just so excited to get back out there on Saturday. I just remember after (the 2019) game, I was really emotional. I remember on the bus I was thinking to myself, ‘I’m never going to let this feeling come again.’”
“We’re excited to play Saguaro, it’s like a little rematch from a couple years back,” Chandler senior tight end Nason Coleman said. “We have a couple players from Chandler (on Saguaro), so it’s going to be good to play against them. We’ve been working so long from offseason and in-season. Our boys are just ready to eat and ready to go.”
Both teams are coming off of dramatic wins in the semifinals.
Chandler scored with less than 3 seconds to go in the 4th quarter to tie their semifinal against #6 Liberty, before winning the game in overtime.
Saguaro went to Hamilton and beat the then-undefeated Huskies 31-24.
“It’s awesome, it never gets old,” Garretson said. “You’ve got a different group of kids, the senior class that’s been to 4 (state championship games) in a row. Like I told the boys, it’s hard to get here and we overcame some big obstacles last week against Liberty and played a really good game against Queen Creek in the first round, so we’re looking forward to going up against Jason and his guys on Saturday.”
“Let me say this, we didn’t do it yet, we’ve still got one more,” Mohns said. “We told our kids we took a step, a big step, one that we are excited about, but we haven’t done anything yet. There’s no secret sauce, it’s hard work, it’s culture, it’s time in the weight room, it’s time in the film room and that’s what sets you up to be able to win games like that against great opponents.”
Both teams are coming into this game with something to prove.
Chandler wants to show they are still the top dogs in Arizona after a season that saw their 9-game win streak over crosstown rival Hamilton come to an end, and 3 games be decided by a touchdown or less.
“It’s about preparation, it’s about I have a real, awesome, experienced staff that knows how to get things done and the kids follow,” Garretson said. “And the way that we prepare and the way that we press them in practice and all things that we do in respect to execution and preparation, it just fell into place. And once we got our opportunity, they finished it.”
Chandler is currently 11-1 with their lone loss coming to Hamilton.
This year, the Wolves beat Centennial (6A #13 seed), O’Connor (6A #7 seed), Liberty (twice, Open Division #6 seed), Pinnacle (6A #10 seed), Perry (6A #15 seed), Queen Creek (twice, Open Division #7 seed), Casteel (6A #9 seed), Highland (6A #1 seed and State finalist), and Cherry Creek from Colorado (5A state champion, Colorado’s largest division).
Saguaro meanwhile wants to remind people that there are more teams to watch in our state than just Chandler and Hamilton.
“Hamilton is a phenomenal team this year and Chandler is Chandler,” Mohns said. “We do kind of have a chip on our shoulder. We’re like, ‘Hey, we’re still Saguaro and we’ve got dudes and we know how to win big games.’ It was kind of fun for us to be in that (underdog) role.”
This year, the Sabercats are 11-1, with their only loss coming by a point to Chaparral, who is playing for the 6A state championship at noon.
Saguaro has wins over Hamilton (Open Division #1 seed), Cactus (Open Division #4 seed), ALA – Queen Creek (Open Division #8 seed), Horizon (5A #1 seed and state champion), Salpointe Catholic (5A #2 seed and state runner-up), Notre Dame Prep (5A #7 seed), and Sierra Canyon from California (CIF Southern Section semifinalist).
“We’ve set our sights on winning the Open Division state championship,” Mohns said. “And sometimes you have to speak things into reality. And that’s all we’ve been talking about. And a lot of people I don’t think believed in that for our team. But we’ve got a talented team that loves each other, that’s put a ton of time and effort and energy into building the team and to getting better.”
Saguaro is also inspired by the unfortunate circumstances that caused their 2020 season to come to an abrupt end.
Last year, the Sabercats qualified for the Open but were not able to play their quarterfinal matchup against Salpointe due to COVID.
“We had played for 7-consecutive state championships and got knocked out by COVID,” Mohns said. “It was a hard pill to swallow. Especially for our seniors last year. I’m kind of like a believer in karma where if you commit to doing things the right way that sooner or later it pays off. And I think this run that we’re on this year is a little bit of payback for doing things the right way last year.”
“Sophomore year we made it here, we just came up a little short, and then the year after, it kind of put a bad taste in my mouth because we go canceled by COVID and nothing else,” Brailsford said. “It wasn’t even our fault. But I’m just excited to be here and I’m proud of everybody on the team.”
The Open Division state title game kicks off at 5 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium.
If you still need a ticket, it can be purchased here.
If you want to watch the game at home, it will be streamed on the NFHS Network.
Be a Believer and Catch the special Championship edition of Friday Night Fever on Tonight at 11 p.m.! We will have highlights from every state championship game from 1A through the Open division.