No. 8 Chandler Hamilton (9-1) at No. 1 Marana (10-0)
Date: Friday
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Hamilton coach: Travis Dixon (9-1, first year at Hamilton; 18-4, overall in two years). Dixon coached Mesa Eastmark to a 9-3 record in his first season as a head coach last year before he was lured to his alma mater to coach the Huskies after Mike Zdebski stepped down as head coach after six years.
Marana coach: Phillip Steward (32-11, fourth year at Marana and overall). Steward coached Marana to its first unbeaten regular season since 1968, when the Tigers won a state championship with an 11-0 record. A victory over Hamilton will allow Marana to match that season for the most wins in program history.
.@MaranaFB @CoachSteward__ was nicknamed “Slam Man” when he played linebacker in the Houston area when he was a senior in 2008 at 13-1 Fort Bend Hightower High School, He has brought that confident and relentless style to Marana's program, which is the No. 1 seed in the Open… pic.twitter.com/iM17X2tnu7
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 19, 2024
When Hamilton has the ball:
Run percentage: 44.4 percent (254 rushes)
Pass percentage: 55.6 percent (318 passes)
Senior QB Rich Lucero Jr., who is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, has passed for 2,551 yards while completing 178 of 287 attempts. He has 28 touchdown passes and five interceptions. Lucero is also a threat rushing the ball with 294 yards on 47 carries. … A freshman — Roye Oliver III — is Hamilton’s top receiver with 679 yards on 30 catches with eight touchdowns. … Senior TE Logan James (6-foot-2 and 210 pounds) is next with 39 catches for 578 yards. … Hamilton is averaging 37 points a game. The Huskies have scored at least 40 points in five games. Three of those were more than 50. … Marana’s defense, which has struggled in past years, is a significant reason why the Tigers are unbeaten and No. 1 in the Open Division. Junior linebackers Hayden Utley Jr. (73 tackles, 20 for loss) and Gregory Webb (67 tackles, 17 for loss) are two of the state’s best at their position. … Utley has 12 sacks and Webb 10. … WR/S Dezmen Roebuck, bound for Washington, has four interceptions to lead the Tigers. He has eight interceptions and 14 pass deflections in his career.
When Marana has the ball:
Run percentage: 42.5 percent (266 rushes)
Pass percentage: 57.5 percent (360 passes)
Steward calls his offense that averages 43.9 points a game “NASCAR” because of its fast-paced, no-huddle style. Marana has scored at least 45 points in six of its last seven games. … Junior QB Colten Meyer is Marana’s record-holder for passing yards in a season with 3,330 yards, completing 262 of 352 attempts with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions. He is only 541 yards from the Southern Arizona season passing-yards record set by Sabino’s Cameron Hackworth last year. Hackworth passed for 3,871 yards while leading the Sabercats to the 3A state championship. … Roebuck is a walking record-breaker. His 121 receptions last season are a state record. His 336 career receptions are a state record. His 4,110 career receiving yards only trails Arizona freshman Brandon Phelps, who had 4,971 yards at ALA-Gilbert North from 2020-23. Roebuck has 1,002 receiving yards this season on 79 catches with 13 touchdowns … Freshman RB Jeffrey Smith III, a physical runner at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, anchors Marana’s backfield. He has gained 632 yards on 128 carries with 14 touchdowns. … Hamilton’s defense is led by senior LB Jason De La Torre’s 100 tackles, seven for loss. Three underclassmen are next in tackles — junior DB Falaniko Jandreau (88 tackles, 11 for loss), junior DB Marquis Richardson (73 tackles) and sophomore DE Derrick LeBlanc Jr. (65 tackles, 17 for loss). … LeBlanc has seven sacks, tied with senior DE Ben Jones for the team lead. … The Huskies have forced only 16 turnovers, nine of them interceptions. Richardson and CB Xavion Brazil, a junior, each have two picks.
Series record
First meeting between the schools.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District
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