Jacob Conover is done traveling and resting. Now it’s time for the Chandler quarterback to win another state title.

After playing two games outside of Arizona in the first month of the season and a bye week, the Wolves return home to defend their back-to-back state titles against the Desert Ridge Jaguars Friday.

Conover, a 4-star commit to Brigham Young, has been a star for the Wolves racking up nearly 1,000 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions over his first four games.

However, if you ask Conover, his role as leader of his team far outweighs the significance of any stat line and his goals haven’t changed from what they’ve been in years past.

“Leading them helps (me) lead myself in aspects that I’m learning for the first time and puts me in a position where I need to lead this team for this next half of the season to ultimately go win another state championship.”

The Jaguars (3-2) will test the highly-praised Chandler run defense. They have been far more effective running the ball this year than passing it, averaging 191 yards on the ground compared to just 92 through the air.

While the Jaguars are fairly one-sided in terms of offensive approach, Conover is confident his team will be ready to face any surprises Desert Ridge throws its way.

“The biggest thing is playing within ourselves,” Conover said. “We’ll know by the second drive what they practiced but they could come out and do anything. We’re 1-2 against Desert Ridge and ultimately, we’ve got to focus on ourselves and do what we do best.”

The Wolves (3-1) opened the season with a 35-13 loss to nationally-ranked Centennial in Corona, California.

“The first couple of games are figuring out what this team is all about and especially with the Corona Centennial game,” Conover said. “That was a test to see where we were at and what adjustments we needed to make.”

Chandler dominated its next two in-state games, outscoring their opponents 111-21.

In week four, the Wolves traveled to Las Vegas and beat Faith Lutheran 35-21 in Sin City.

Although the team didn’t have difficulties lighting up the scoreboard, senior tight end Brayden Liebrock believes the Wolves can still improve offensively.

“We came out and put up three touchdowns in the first quarter but towards the end of the game we started to slow down,” Liebrock said. “We just need to work on our consistency and playing good throughout the duration of the game.”

Following its win in Vegas, Chandler enjoyed a much-needed bye week to focus on what lies ahead.

“Going into the bye week we knew that some things needed to change, even players and coaches and all of that,” Conover said. “This is the part of the season where now it’s a downhill stretch and we are ready to grind.”

The Wolves play in-state teams for the remainder of the season starting with a matchup against Desert Ridge.