By Don Ketchum

Wow.

What else can you say about Peoria Centennial's 48-42 victory over visiting Chandler on Friday night.

The battle of superpowers came as advertised. Chandler had a chance to win it, but a pass by Chandler star quarterback Brett Hundley sailed past his receiver on a fourth and goal from the 9 with 27 seconds left to preserve the win for Centennial.

There were stars everywhere -- Hundley, who will announce his college choice on Monday. Gary Ross scored three touchdowns for Centennial, and sophomore Jalen Ortiz scored twice and blocked a punt.

"It was a great game,'' Chandler coach Jim Ewan said. "I would have liked to have won, but I can't fault our effort. We're not a bad football team.''

"It was very exciting. There was a lot of energy out there,'' said Centennial coach Richard Taylor, whose team was playing its opener. Chandler had a big win over Mesa Skyline last week, scoring 69 points.

"That dude (Hundley) is for real. There were a lot of things to applaud for us and there were a lot of mistakes. In some ways, we were fortunate to win.''

Hundley was all over the field, tucking the ball and running and firing long passes. He was particularly strong in the second half. He finished the game with 115 yards rushing on 14 carries and completed 17 of 35 passes for 350 yards.

How close was this, numbers wise? Chandler had 556 total yards, Centennial 554.

Fans were fortunate to see a game of this caliber. One can only hope there will be similar games to watch throughout the season and the playoffs.