Before the Chandler Prep players reconvened on Monday to get ready for the program’s first playoff game since 2019, the coaching staff had to find a quarterback.

Starter Kody Dodson was ruled out for an injury, so if the Titans were going to win the first playoff game in the program’s history someone new was going to be leading the team out of the huddle.

It came down to two players, both wide receivers.

One is the star in junior Aaron Crawford. He’s 6-foot-1, athletic and plays the game with an ease and confidence.

The other is junior Oliver Rodriguez.

The one who never played quarterback in his life. In fact, he never played football before the start of the 2024 season.

Well, he has now.

And he is 1-0 as he took 98 percent of the snaps, while Crawford, and the defense took care of the rest as No. 13 Chandler Prep topped No. 20 Alchesay 26-21 to advance to the 2A second round.

“I came into weights (class) on Monday, and they said there’s a good chance I was going to play quarterback this week,” said Rodriguez, who still looked stunned by the idea. “I wasn’t sure about that. I just started playing football last year, and I wasn’t very good. Then as the week went on it looked like it was really going to happen.”

It sure did. He took most of the snaps, used his quickness to find holes, to extend drives and lead Chandler Prep to the round two.

Waiting for the Titans is No. 4 St. Johns.

“We had to find a way to get through this game,” second-year coach Chris Ator said. “We looked at it, and thought Oliver and Aaron gave us the best chance. We wanted to keep Aaron outside as much as we could, and once Oliver started making plays, we stuck with him.”

Even though Rodriguez, who ran 20 times for 183 yards with two touchdown passes, turned in a great performance, it was the defense that finished this game off for Chandler Prep (8-3).

Alchesay (7-4) uses a double wing running offense that is meant to confuse and wear down opposing defenses.

While the Falcons, who made the playoffs for the 12th time in school history but is still waiting for their first postseason win, never had that game-turning big play via the run game, the offense was churning out yards as the Titans defense tired.

Alchesay, which is 3.5 hours away, had two chances at a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. The second to last one was the best opportunity and quarterback Liam Thompson converted a 4th-and-2 from the Titans’ 35-yard line.

It was followed up with three straight penalties by the Falcons, including an intentional grounding on third down, to create at unattainable 4th-and-35 so they had to punt. Alchesay started its last drive with just over a minute left, but it ended with a Crawford interception for Chandler Prep.

“The penalties were too much,” Alchesay coach Ray Acosta said. “That was our chance. The offense was working. We wore them down, we were in position to win it, but we couldn’t finish it off.

“I am proud of these boys. I told them that before the game, and I am still very proud of what they’ve done this year.”

The Falcons had an example of dedication, accountability, and toughness in Acosta.

 The coach had a cut on his toe early in the season, it became infected and after the second game of the season he drove to Phoenix to get it looked at and he was immediately admitted to the hospital. Two days later, his right leg was amputated just below the knee.

The Alchesay players thank their fans after Falcons coach Ray Acosta (in the wheelchair) suggested it before the 2A playoff game. (Jason P. Skoda/AZPreps365)

Four days later, he was on the sidelines coaching from a wheelchair.

“He showed us what it means to be all in,” junior linebacker Edgar Adams said. “He came back, and we want to play hard for him.”

The Falcons did that with a large fan base looking on as many made the trip from the White River school district area to support the team.

“The Tribal commission made it a no school, no work day and they gave us a great send off and a caravan,” Acosta said. “Alchesay has great fans, and we did what we could for them.”

On this occasion, it wasn’t enough as the kid who never played quarterback found a way to get it done as he commanded the offense to four scoring drives including a 30-yard score by Marshawn Britt on a 4th-and-1 in the first quarter.

Rodriguez managed to hit Crawford for two touchdown passes, one a 30-yard rainbow that the receiver ran under and the second a short pass that Crawford cut inside, broke a tackle, and raced 46 yards for the score.

“He did what he could, but I knew a lot was going to fall on both us,” said Crawford, who also had an interception at the goal line to preserve the lead in the third quarter. “We hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2019 and never won before. This was huge. It’s great to part of the group that did something that has never been done before.”

Now, the Titans should get Dodson back and from there Chandler Prep will head to St. Johns ready for whatever comes its way.

“What an effort,” Ator said. “We kind of patched it together, but we knew these kids worked hard and weren’t going to let this opportunity pass by them. Give them credit, we weren’t at our best but the effort and will to win was.”