PHOENIX- In what was supposed to be a duel between the top two quarterback prospects in Arizona for the class of 2019, it was Chandler Wolves backup, Billy Bolger, who outplayed Pinnacle’s top prospect Spencer Rattler.

With starter Jacob Conover out with a sprained AC joint, Bolger made the most of his first career start for the Wolves leading them to a 35-28 overtime victory over the Pioneers. Bolger unofficially threw for 249 yards with five touchdown passes which accounted for all of Chandler’s offense. “It feels unbelievable. Mostly I’m just happy about being able to share it with my brothers and coaches out here” Bolger said.

The Wolves came out firing in the first half and took a 14-7 lead into the break. They scored first in the second to go up 21-7 before losing two 14-point leads.

Pinnacle mounted its comeback by taking advantage of some injuries up the middle on Chandler’s defense and scored on 42- and 32-yard runs from Amelec Juntunen in the fourth quarter to send it to overtime.

Bolger hit running back Drake Anderson for 4 touchdown passes including the eventual game-winning touchdown in overtime. “It just happened to work out that way. They were leaving Drake wide open there in the flat. We made them pay and Drake made great runs on those plays,” Bolger said.

Pinnacle had its chance to answer back. Rattler hit a wide-open Hayden Hatten but as Hatten stretched out for the goal line the ball was knocked loose. The Wolves recovered the fumble to win the game. “Sometimes it’s good to be lucky.” Wolves head coach Shaun Aguano said.

The Wolves were hit hard with injuries both coming into and during their game against the Pioneers. They had six starters out for parts of the game, according to  Aguano. “I’m proud of our guys that stepped up” Aguano said.

On the defensive side of the ball, safety Gunner Maldonado was all over the place for the Wolves, coming up with big plays to help slow down the potent Pioneer offense. Maldonado credited the leadership from the seniors and solid communication for allowing him to play well.

The game was sloppy on both sides when it came to penalties with personal fouls being handed out like candy. Unofficially, Chandler finished with 144 penalty yards on 15 penalties while Pinnacle had 85 penalty yards on eight penalties.

The Wolves head home next week to take on the second-ranked Mountain Pointe Pride on Friday in what will be their second 1-2 matchup of the year.