Jordan HammSeven straight years Hamilton has made it to the Arizona State Football Championship Finals.
Seven.
That streak was almost cut short in the state quarterfinals, when the Huskies squeaked out a win against Skyline after turning the ball over five times. They were facing off against a red-hot Brophy team that had won nine straight games, but they wouldn’t let that lull continue.
Hamilton’s Morris Kroma started things off with a bang. After the Hamilton defense forced Brophy to punt on their opening possession, Kroma fielded a punt on the bounce and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown.
Brophy wouldn’t go quietly though. Isaiah Oliver brought in a touchdown to keep the game tied at halftime. But the Husky defense shut the door in the second half, and thanks to Ian Anderson and Ari Johnson touchdowns, and a Dylan Brown 42-yard field goal, Hamilton won 24-7.
This is the second time Hamilton has beat Brophy this year. The first time was in Week 3, when Brophy was struggling mightily. They were able to turn things around and were arguably the hottest team in Division-I, but Hamilton was able to slow down the Broncos.
“Any game in the playoffs is going to be different than the regular season just because the emotions is so much higher, but they got a lot better and obviously improved,” Hamilton quarterback James Sosinski said.
Now Hamilton sets it’s sights on the state final game, where they will take on rival Chandler. The Wolves defeated Mountain Pointe 43-22 in their semifinal bout at Hamilton High School. While the state final has been almost an assumption for Hamilton the past seven years, Chandler has not made the state final in 65 years.
“I think this is going to be a great experience. Two of the best teams in the state, and we’re within a mile of each other. We just played at each other’s home stadiums, walking past each other right now so I think it’s going to be a really exciting game, and hopefully we get it done,” Hamilton sophomore running back Kyeler Burke said.
While there are storylines a plenty as these hated rivals battle for a state title, Sosinski says Hamilton wants to focus on their goal of becoming champions regardless of who there opponent is.
“A state game is a state game. Yeah, we get revenge on Chandler, but I don’t even want to say revenge. Just our main goal is not to beat Chandler, it is to win a state championship.”
