Hamilton surges back to top of Arizona's Division I with win over Desert Vista

CHANDLER, Ariz. - The struggles of a state power is almost always exaggerated.

When the Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) opened the year 0-2 for the first time in school history and lost three in a row going back to last year's title game, a bit of second guessing could have crept in.

The elite have an unwavering way of going about their business and Hamilton is no different.

"We've been working hard and that got us riled up," said junior cornerback Levi Sterling, whose interception in the end zone for a touchback with 3 minutes remaining essentially sealed a 23-13 win over Desert Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) on Friday. "We answered all that talk about us being down.

"The coaches always get us prepared and we get better each week. It doesn't matter what you do in the first game as long as you playing better at the end."

Hamilton (5-2) has won five in a row and has moved toward the top of Division I with a few others in tow, but the Huskies seem to be back to their usual level after knocking off Chandler last week and getting some revenge for besting Desert Vista, which started the so-called downslide with a 45-19 win in the state title game to end 2011.

"Every game became that much more important," Hamilton coach Steve Belles said. "We weren't used to being in the whole and we the 28th seed in the power rankings. We were looking at it and we realized we just have to start winning games. "

Per usual the Huskies are seemingly getting better each week. It's become a trademark as new players are ushered in and by the time October and November come around, the Huskies have it rolling.

This year most of the success comes from one particular unit.

The Hamilton defense, which features seven juniors and a sophomore, won this game as the unit took a bit of the aggressiveness out of the usually physically and overpowering Thunder line.

"This year the one thing I can say is we have a great defense and defensive wins championships," Hinds said. "That's a physical team and they feed off that but our defense did a great job of containing their running game."

The Thunder (5-2) lost leader Zack Tamburo early because of a high ankle sprain to lessen the physicality the line usually has. Junior Jalen Jelks and Adam Ortega filled in, but the Hamilton front seven managed to limit Desert Vista to about 150 yards rushing.

"We didn't play our best game," Hinds said. "We had some young guys go in and they did a nice job, but it wasn't an ideal situation against a tough defense like that."

The game swayed Hamilton's way quickly in the second quarter in a short period of time. The Thunder's Matt Young was sacked in the end zone for a safety by sophomore Caleb Peart for a 9-0 lead with 3 minutes and 40 seconds left in the first half.

"We had one play, checked to another and that was my fault there," Young said.

The damage didn't stop there as Tyler Eggers returned the free kick to the Thunder 31-yard line. After a nifty 15-yard run by Stevon Adams, he pushed the lead to 16-0 on a 3-yard touchdown run with 37.5.

"They came right back and got that good field position and that hurt even more," Hinds said.

Hamilton went for an onside kick and Desert Vista recovered at 50 with 30 seconds left, but Hinds elected to take a knee instead of running a play.

"I didn't want to give the ball back to them. It's a decision I made," he said. "I wanted to get in and regroup."

Thunder got a break to open the second half when Hamilton quarterback/punter Aj Thigpen bobbled the punt snap deep in Husky territory to set up a 7-yard touchdown by Jarek Hilgers (13 carries, 42 yards). The failed 2-point try made it 16-6 with 9:30 to go in the third.

After Desert Vista closed within 23-13 on a Zach Gonzalez 2-yard score, the Thunder's Dylan Fischer recovered a Hamilton fumbled.

Young drove the Thunder down toward the red zone before being intercepted by Sterling, who celebrated his birthday with twin Santana on Friday.

"It was tipped up and I came down with it," he said. "It was a big play because it looked like they were going to score, but we found a way."

Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothills News staff writer, is an 18-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.