Welcome to this year’s Chandler Hamilton: 5-foot-10, 205-pound Zachery Bauman. He may not win many sprint competitions, but he’s agile, hits a hole, drags a pile and can’t be tackled above the thigh. (Julio Jimenez/Tribune)
Not to sound like a broken record - even if it is one - but Chandler Hamilton has to be the favorite heading into the 5A Division I playoffs (with Mesa Mountain View in the passenger seat, though the only undefeated school in 5A-I isn’t exactly in anyone’s blind spot).
The intrigue with these Huskies - and a prime reason why they’re well-coached - is how different this year’s model is from recent years.
When Gerell Robinson and Kerry Taylor lined up, the Huskies were a quick-strike team happy to burn teams with one or two plays. Voila! Touchdown.
Those weapons are at Arizona State now, and since the Huskies had three-fourths of their defense returning, a new offense needed to be developed.
Emphasis on new. Zakary Hambsch has more mobility than recent Huskies quarterbacks, so Hamilton has shelved much of its gun-slinging style (which is what Chandler has done this season) in favor of an option-esque system.
Drew Terrell and Alante Wright still get down the field and make plays (including a couple huge 3rd-and-long receptions which kept drives alive), but during Friday night’s crunch time, the Huskies ran dive running plays, one after another.
Chandler had just cut Hamilton’s lead to 27-18 midway through the third quarter when the Huskies went to work from their own 34 yard line.
The Huskies rumbled downfield with Zachery Bauman and Dante Alexander for four, five and six-yard runs, most up the gut with an occasional sweep to the outside.
Hambsch hit (while being hit) Ethan Kipili’i for 18 yards on 3rd-and-10. He also flipped a swing pass to Bauman which went for 26 yards (that kid is hard to tackle).
Mostly, though, it was Alexander, who had seven consecutive carries during a six-minute drive. Hambsch finished it with a 3-yard touchdown dive of his own (bummer for Alexander, who did the dirty work and Hambsch got the glory, not that either of them care).
Sometimes Hambsch - who is terrific at ball fakes - runs QB keepers, sometimes they run the option, sometimes Hambsch rolls out and hits Terrell or Wright on intermediate routes.
This is what they do, and they’ve learned to do it well. The Huskies haven’t scored fewer than 30 points since the loss to Peoria Centennial (and not scoring against Centennial or Phoenix Brophy isn’t exactly an offense gone bad).
No thrills. No reliance on acrobatics or 6-foot-4 speedsters.
Dive. Option. Pass. Sneak. Sweep.
WIn.
