Alyssa Raia is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Williams Field High School for AZPreps365.com

The Williams Field Black Hawks battled together on Friday in a determined effort against a tough Chandler squad to rebound afer their first loss of the season.

Penalties ran rampant throughout the game and the competition was fierce. Both teams fought until the very last minute to get ahead.

Ultimately, Williams Field lost 27-14 to the undefeated Chandler Wolves in the 6A non-region game.

After facing the first loss of the season just the week prior to the Basha Bears, Williams Field (2-2) did its best to bounce back and leave its best efforts on the field against Chandler (4-0).

“We came out with a great mindset,” said Williams Field running back Courshawn Hill, who scored to make it 7-all in the second quarter.  “Unfortunately, our other running back (Q Skillings) got ejected, so that shot us in the foot and brought the momentum down.”

Williams Field’s morale seemed to lower throughout the game as it continued to fall behind, and it became harder for the Black Hawks to fight their way back in.

The Black Hawks turned over the ball to Chandler in one of its last scoring opportunities of the game, which depleted any hope that the team may have had left.

This missed opportunity seemed to seal the fate for the Black Hawks as the Wolves took a delay of game penalty in the last minute of the fourth quarter as they tried to run down the clock.

As the clock ran down to zero, the players lined up to show their sportsmanship in the lineup.

Chandler capitalized on the Black Hawks' momentum loss at every chance it got, as the Wolves only allowed Williams Field two scoring drives the whole game. 

“We came out here and balled out, and I’m so proud of my boys,” Chandler defensive tackle Jaime Quihuis said.

The first scoring drive for Williams Field came in the second quarter as a response to Chandler’s initial touchdown, and after this, it seemed like there was a chance.

As the game kept going, though, Chandler kept pulling ahead and adding numbers to the scoreboard.

After Williams Field put its first touchdown on the board, the Wolves went on to tack on 20 more points, unanswered.

Tensions ran high both on and off the field, and both teams were determined to prove themselves. Mistakes were made by both teams offensively and defensively, which only seemed to fuel the competition even more.

This feat also came with a slew of penalties, and the game kept stalling, possibly delaying Williams Field’s momentum even more. Chandler’s defense took advantage of every opportunity that came its way, and proved that the Wolves were not ready to lose their first game just yet.

“I thought our defense played tremendous all night long,” Chandler head coach Ty Wisdom said. “Obviously, we had some penalties that we had to clean up, but otherwise I was super happy with how they responded.”

Regardless of Friday’s struggles, the Black Hawks vow to keep their season alive as they face the Desert Ridge Jaguars next.

“We are just going to have to go back to the drawing board and keep grinding every day of practice,” Williams Field quarterback Dominick Barjona said.