Anna De La Cruz is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Hamilton High School for AZPreps365.com

CHANDLER -- Eight down, two to go. There are now only two games remaining in the regular season for Hamilton. The number-one ranked team in Arizona preserved its perfect season Friday night, beating Highland, 32-12.

The nice October breeze and the dynamic atmosphere the fans created at Hamilton’s home field paved the way for their win. “It's always fun to play in front of people,” said Hamilton senior wide receiver Quentin Ross. “It feels more exciting.”

The Huskies were off to a slow start. After one quarter, the score stood 0-0, but the Huskies howled to life in the second quarter. By halftime, the score was 20-3, Hamilton. Although the Huskies did not leap out to their typical Hamilton start, they remained resilient.

“We had a slow start,” said Ross. “In the locker room, we talked ourselves together and just played Hamilton football and did our thing.”

Ross, who caught Nicco Marchiol’s sublime 39-yard pass in the endzone, helped put the Huskies up 20-3 in the second quarter. “We knew we were having a deep route and I knew I was going to be open,” said Ross. “I’m just glad that the line gave Nicco enough time to throw it and it was a perfect throw, he put it right on me.”

Senior wide receiver Christian Anaya took two of Marchiol’s passes to Hamilton’s endzone. “He puts the ball where I need it,” said Anaya. 

Marchiol, Hamilton's senior quarterback, has plenty of faith in Anaya. “I know if I’m looking Anaya's way, there's going to be a place I can put the ball,” said Marchiol. “He's going to catch it and make some plays happen.”

The leviathan Husky offense looked more like themselves in the second half of the game, scoring three more touchdowns. “It’s a lot easier,” said Marchiol, "when you got everyone on the same page and limit the mental mistakes”

The lone touchdown for Highland came in the third quarter. After opting out of the PAT they went for the two-point conversion and failed. 

Hamilton does not look like they'll be slowing down anytime soon. Marchiol, who finished the game with five touchdown passes and 242 yards in the air, is locked in. “A hard week of practice really showed,” said Marchiol.

The Huskies’ acumen appeared in this game. “We’re taking it one week at a time,” said Marchiol.
With eight games out of the way and two remaining in the regular season, Hamilton looks to remain undefeated. Question is, will they be able to remain undefeated and go into the Chandler game with a 9-0 record? And if they do? Chandler has the chance of going into that game with the same exact record.