August 27, 2016.
The Chandler Wolves made an out of state trip to play nationally-ranked Corona Centennial High School. It was a true litmus test for head coach Shaun Aguano to see where the Wolves stood after the turning of a page.
N’Keal Harry and Chase Lucas – two players that were key in Chandler’s 2014 state championship – had graduated and were starting their careers at Arizona State University. Sophomore Jacob Conover, who would eventually account for over 10,000 passing yards and 110 total touchdowns in his Chandler career – was untested in his second career start.
On the other sideline, Centennial junior quarterback Tanner McKee was making his first career start for an elite Husky program.
That night resulted in an absolute classic with Centennial edging out Chandler 56-49. McKee accounted for six touchdowns, a first step of many to becoming an elite quarterback recruit.
Even though the Wolves did not get the win, the team knew they could run with anyone. After losing to Mountain Pointe a few weeks after the Centennial matchup, the Wolves rattled off 10 straight wins on their way to winning a state title, outscoring opponents 544-173 in that span. The 2016 state title would be the first of five straight for the Wolves as they became the standard in Arizona high school football.
McKee would eventually commit to Stanford, serve a two-year LDS mission and become a premier Pac-12 quarterback.
After winning four state titles for Chandler, Aguano served as running backs coach for the Sun Devils before becoming interim head coach this fall.
On Saturday, McKee will once again take the field with Aguano as the opposing head coach on the other sideline as ASU travels to Stanford.
They revisit that 2016 matchup and the impact it had on both them as they reunite six years later.
Jordan Hamm
