Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
For the 3rd year in a row, I'll be spending the first night of the Open playoffs at Hamilton HS. This will certainly not be as easy of a game for the Huskies as 2020 (Corona del Sol) or 2021 (ALA-Queen Creek) were. Coming into Hamilton's House is the defending Open Division champion Saguaro Sabercats.
Saguaro (7-3) has been in must-win mode for the Open since it lost to Liberty back in September to fall to 2-3. Brophy gave the Sabercats a test in the regular season finale, but SHS prevailed 14-10. In its 5-game win streak, no team has scored more than 18 against Saguaro. Devon Dampier has 14 TD passes and is just 41 rushing yards away from a 1,000-yard season. He was named the 6A Northeast Valley Region Player of the Year. Linebacker John Butler has 60 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
Hamilton (8-2) comes in after a dramatic 19-17 win over rival Chandler. Among in-state teams, only Basha defeated the Huskies, and it was a game that Hamilton led 23-9 with 10 minutes to go. Even with that loss to Bishop Gorman in the schedule, HHS averaged 35 points and allowed just 19. The Huskies had two receivers (Tre Spivey and Jaxon Haynes) make First Team All-6A Premier Region. Those 2 combined for 68 catches, 935 yards, and 13 touchdowns. Hamilton saw its season end against the Sabercats in the Open semis in both 2019 & 2021. In 2020, the Huskies defeated Saguaro in an ESPN regular season game.
For the 3rd year in a row, I'll be spending the first night of the Open playoffs at Hamilton HS. This will certainly not be as easy of a game for the Huskies as 2020 (Corona del Sol) or 2021 (ALA-Queen Creek) were. Coming into Hamilton's House is the defending Open Division champion Saguaro Sabercats.
Saguaro (7-3) has been in must-win mode for the Open since it lost to Liberty back in September to fall to 2-3. Brophy gave the Sabercats a test in the regular season finale, but SHS prevailed 14-10. In its 5-game win streak, no team has scored more than 18 against Saguaro. Devon Dampier has 14 TD passes and is just 41 rushing yards away from a 1,000-yard season. He was named the 6A Northeast Valley Region Player of the Year. Linebacker John Butler has 60 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
Hamilton (8-2) comes in after a dramatic 19-17 win over rival Chandler. Among in-state teams, only Basha defeated the Huskies, and it was a game that Hamilton led 23-9 with 10 minutes to go. Even with that loss to Bishop Gorman in the schedule, HHS averaged 35 points and allowed just 19. The Huskies had two receivers (Tre Spivey and Jaxon Haynes) make First Team All-6A Premier Region. Those 2 combined for 68 catches, 935 yards, and 13 touchdowns. Hamilton saw its season end against the Sabercats in the Open semis in both 2019 & 2021. In 2020, the Huskies defeated Saguaro in an ESPN regular season game.
