The Chandler Wolves passed another big test Friday night and showed resilience in the process.
Thanks to a stellar defensive effort and timely quarterback play, Chandler was able to knock off Highland 24-22 in a clash of 6A heavyweights at Chandler’s Austin Field.

The Wolves (5-0) overcame a first half of many frustrations and trailed for much of the game.

Highland’s staunch red zone defense­­—coupled with monster performances from the Cullimore cousins—gave Chandler fits for most of the evening.
The Hawks (3-2) took a 15-11 lead into the halftime break, but Chandler’s defense clamped down in the second half. The Wolves defense limited the Highland offense to only 37 second half yards before the game’s final two minutes, when Chandler had secured a nine point, two possession lead.

“Our defense won this game for us,” Chandler quarterback Blake Heffron said afterward.
“We knew Highland was gonna bring it and they did. Every time we got inside the 20, they shut us down, but our defense kept us in the game until we could win it.”

Heffron spoke an accurate narrative of the game  

The Wolves—who entered the game ranked 19th in the nation—didn’t score an offensive touchdown until the 2:11 mark in the fourth quarter. It’s also when Heffron made the biggest play of the night, throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Justice Spann on an option play in which Heffron had the choice to keep the ball on a draw, or find Spann in the secondary.

“We figured Highland was expecting us to run the ball to wind the clock down,” Heffron said.

“When I saw their defense was favoring a run to our left, I knew Justice would find space.”

Despite driving to Highland’s 15-yard line or further on five different possessions, Chandler could only muster nine points thanks to three field goals from Adriano Palotto, one of which came on the first play of the second quarter.
Later in the second, Chandler defensive back JoJo Taylor picked off a Kalen Fisher pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.

A two point conversion gave Chandler a short lived 11-8 lead.

Highland's first two points came on Chandler’s second offensive possession, which found the Wolves  pinned inside Highland’s one yard line. That’s when senior linebacker Kash Cullimore shot into Chandler’s backfield like a missile, knocking running back Ca’Lil Valentine backwards two yards in the endzone, good for the safety.
After gaining possession near midfield, the Hawks marched to paydirt in six plays, capped off with a three yard scoring run by Kody Cullimore.

A failed two point conversion left the score at 8-0.

But it was Kody Cullimore who was a two-way wrecking ball for Highland, scoring all three touchdowns and breaking up a Chandler touchdown late in the second quarter.
His cousin Kash Cullimore was equally dominant from his linebacker position, finishing with 11 tackles and three for a loss of yardage..

"We played so well at times but we didn't have it going in the second half," Highland coach Brock Farrel said.
 

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“It’s frustrating because I’m so proud of how our kids battled, but we know we have to clean some things up. We can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot."