It didn’t matter that Chandler (Ariz.) High fumbled the ball away on the opening kickoff. Or that quarterback Jacob Conover had a rare off night. Or that another starter headed to the sideline with an injury.
DeCarlos Brooks put on a cutback clinic, tearing off big runs on his way to six touchdowns in the USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 Wolves‘ 49-21 6A football quarterfinal win over visiting Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) on Friday night.
This is still a must-see rivalry, even if Norris Vaughan is no longer the man on the sideline barking out orders for Mountain Pointe.
Mountain Pointe had its moments, but even without everybody in sync, Chandler still is king of Arizona football in the top division.
“Give credit to the offensive linemen,” coach Shaun Aguano said. “They’re giving (Brooks) lanes for him to do his business. You’d better tackle him early, because once he gets going, it’s going to be harder to get him to stop.”
Two-time defending state champion Chandler (11-1), the No. 1 seed, advances to next Friday’s semifinals against No. 5 Gilbert Highland – a 15-12 quarterfinal winner over Peoria Liberty – at Chandler Hamilton High School.
The Wolves can mostly thank Brooks for another final-four season.
Mountain Pointe failed to convert on fourth and 1 at the Chandler 15 early in the game after the Wolves fumbled the kickoff to start the game. That began the first of a series of highlight plays by Brooks.
Brooks took a handoff, cut back against the flow and was gone for a 71-yard touchdown.
Brooks’ next score was from the 1 after a nice pass from Conover set it up.
Midway through the second quarter, Brooks, from the Mountain Pointe 11, saw nothing at the line, cut to his right, went back upfield and, as he was being dragged down at the 3, he stretched his body out and stuck the ball into the end zone for a score.
“We came into this game knowing we had to be physical,” said Brooks, who ended up with 265 rushing yards and 80 receiving. “The offensive line did extremely well. The defensive line got us the ball.”
Brooks later became the momentum buster.