Will Mencl rallies Chandler past Hamilton for big football rivalry win

Chandler's football team made a statement before the opening kickoff when the players ran through Hamilton's entry lane formed by band members and cheerleaders.

The most intense Arizona high school football rivalry, known as the Battle For Arizona Avenue, was on at Hamilton High School in Chandler.

It took a 14-0 deficit for quarterback Will Mencl to rally Chandler to a 31-24 6A football victory in the final regular-season game before an overflow crowd at Hamilton on Thursday night, Nov. 5.

No. 2 Chandler (6A AIA/MaxPreps ranking) finished the regular season 9-1. Hamilton (No. 3) finished 8-2.

Mencl threw two touchdown passes and ran for two others in Thursday's win.

Last year, after the Wolves lost to Hamilton in the final regular-season game, Mencl tore apart Hamilton with his legs in a 30-17 Open Division semifinal playoff win, in which he ran for 105 yards and three TDs.

The teams will find out Saturday morning, Nov. 7, where they're seeded in the Open Division state playoffs when the 12-team bracket is released.

Mencl, on a fourth-and-1 play, broke loose up the middle for a 62-yard touchdown that tied the score at 24-24 with 1:59 left in the third quarter.

Then, shaking off an interception, Mencl drove Chandler downfield on a 73-yard scoring drive, completing three straight passes, running for an 11-yard gain, before capping it with a 4-yard touchdown run that gave Chandler its first lead, 31-24, with 6:57 to play, which turned out to be the final score.

"Just telling Coach Wiz (Ty Wisdom) I want the ball in my hands," Mencl said, about preparing for his team's rival.

Jax Sculley, Mencl's counterpart, was having a remarkable game early on. In the opening series, he found Christian Riley deep for a 73-yard gain. Sculley capped that with a 1-yard scoring sneak. Then, after Chandler turned the ball over, Hamilton cashed in with Sculley finding Riley for a 2-yard touchdown play.

Sculley later hit Roman Oliver for a 42-yard scoring play, giving Hamilton a 21-14 lead after Chandler had tied the game Mencl's 4-yard scoring pass to Daniel Martinez.

Wisdom kept dialing up plays for Mencl, and the Oregon commit kept delivering in the clutch.

"There was self-inflicted stuff early," Wisdom said. "But if you were on our sideline, you didn't see a lot of panic. We all know crazy things are going to happen in a rivalry game. But I was proud of our guys. They kept coming back. I thought the defense played a lot better in the second half."

Chandler limited Hamilton to just a field goal in the second half.

Mencl helped the Wolves run off the final 5:33 after Hamilton (8-2) had to punt it away. He was helped out by a 15-yard personal foul after sliding in and getting hit late over the top of his body. He scampered for an 11-yard gain later in the drive, moving the sticks. Hamilton ran out of time outs and, on the last play, Mencl, looking at the clock, ran backwards and purposely took an 18-yard sack.

Chandler didn't have to run another play.

"I told him this last week, 'I want the ball in your hands. If I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down with you.' " Wisdom said of Mencl. "He made a lot of big plays tonight."

"It's not fun being hit late, but it's part of the game," Mencl said. "We respect these guys down the street. They did a really good job game planning for us.

"I was just trying to be that guy. It centered on me a little bit. So I just popped up every time, and kept my head up, knowing we have to go back to work."

Chandler plays with a swagger. It showed before the kickoff, as Hamilton coaches were furious that Chandler players ran down their lane.

Mencl said he didn't realize the team was running through Hamilton's lane before the game.

"I was just running out talking as much as I possibly could," Mencl said. "They have the student section right next to our locker room. So coming out people were throwing stuff at us. We had to represent Chandler. It's a good rivalry game. There's a lot of tradition and legacy. So to come out with this win, it's great to talk about it."

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. Please sign up for Azcentral Preps Now newsletter. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert