Noah Sasaki is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover San Tan Charter High School for AZPreps365.com

CHANDLER – San Tan Charter needed to utilize its full arsenal in order to fend off the Chandler Prep Titans and pick up a 65-43 road win over the previously undefeated Titans on Friday night.

The Roadrunners offense started the game scoreless in the first quarter before bouncing back with three unanswered scoring drives led by senior quarterback Zayden Neill in the second quarter.

The first drive lasted six plays and was started by a 25-yard run from senior running back Cayne Ramirez before being punctuated by a 9-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Uriah Neloms.

The second drive lasted for 4:25 on the game clock and showed off the full range of Neill’s skillset, as he picked up a 27-yard run on the third play of the drive and finished with a 20-yard touchdown pass made across his body to senior wide receiver Maison Coffman to tie the score at 14-14.

The third drive lasted one play and saw Neill make another challenging cross-body pass while being pursued by the Titans defense. However, this time it went 30 yards to sophomore wide receiver Bairyk Schulte and gave the Roadrunners their first lead of the game at 20-14.

“He’s got a great grasp on what we’re asking of him and it showed tonight,” Roadrunners Coach Chase Cartwright said of his senior quarterback. “When he extends plays to throw and then runs when he has to, he’s really tough to defend.”

Neill’s three scores in the second quarter led the Roadrunners to a 28-20 halftime lead. Neill finished the game with 177 passing yards and four passing touchdowns, completing 11 of 15 attempts to pace the Roadrunners' passing attack. 

San Tan Charter’s run game also played a key role in the victory. Ramirez rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, including a key 21-yard rushing touchdown that extended the Roadrunners’ lead to 35-20.

“Our offensive linemen executed well this game,” Ramirez said. “I give all my praise to the offensive linemen at the end of the day for opening up the holes.”

For most of the third quarter, the Titans traded blows to stay within one touchdown, responding to the Roadrunners by finding the end zone on a fake punt on fourth-and-16 from their own 37-yard line and on a 50-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Kody Dodson to sophomore wide receiver Timi Akinyoyenu.

However, the Roadrunners finally started to pull away in the third quarter.

A Ramirez touchdown with 5:43 remaining in the quarter re-opened a 13-point lead before a defensive sack on fourth-and-goal with 2:51 left in the quarter set up San Tan Charter to have possession at the start of the fourth quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Roadrunners running back Mike Aguinaga broke free for a 55-yard touchdown run to open the largest lead of the game at 55-35.

“We were down two scores in the first quarter,” Neill said about the Roadrunners' resilience. “A lot of teams would put their heads down and give up, but we just stuck to it.”

San Tan Charter (5-1, 4-1) next plays Santa Cruz Valley (5-1, 5-0) on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.

Chandler Prep (5-1, 4-1) takes on Scottsdale Prep (4-2, 4-2) next Friday at 7 p.m.