Dylan Raiola dazzles in Chandler debut, leads Wolves past Cathedral Catholic 63-7
Lead photo by Steven Silva
CARMEL VALLEY, Calif. -- New school, new season, big stage. If Chandler junior quarterback Dylan Raiola was feeling nervous on Friday night, he certainly didn’t show it on the field.
“I was anxious, we waited all day,” Raiola said. “I woke up at 6:30, went downstairs and worked out, ate some breakfast, and spent some time outside in the beautiful weather.”
Raiola and the Wolves scored early and often; leading host Cathedral Catholic 27-7 at halftime on their way to a 63-7 season opening win.
After a fourth down snap went over Raiola’s head on their first drive of the game, Chandler immediately regained their focus and proceeded to score on three straight possessions, all within five minutes.
“I just think how well we played together for our first game,” Raiola said of what impressed him the most. “There’s always gonna be those first game mistakes but I didn’t see much of that.”
The first of three touchdown passes for Raiola saw him connect with junior Kaden Anderson in the corner of the end zone.
“The first touchdown I threw to Kaden Anderson, that was all him just knowing where to be at the right times,” Raiola said.
Following a blocked punt by Chandler, the Wolves scored again, this time a one yard run from Dominic Raiola. Ca’lil Valentine scampered in from three yards out on the first play of the second quarter, giving the Wolves a commanding 20-0 lead.
The lone bright spot of the night for Cathedral Catholic came late in the second quarter when they put together an 80-yard drive in less than four minutes. Faced with enough time to run one play, Jack Stevens rolled to his left and fired a pass into the back of the endzone, connecting with tight end Max Bayles.
Chandler didn’t slow down after the halftime break, scoring on each of their first two possessions of the half and then added a third when the Dons screwed up a handoff exchange. The ball bounced loose and sat up for grabs on the ten-yard line before junior Kennedy Urlacher scooped it up and ran 90 yards for a touchdown.
“Just how fast they are and how physical they are,” Raiola said of the Chandler defense that made their presence known against Cathedral Catholic, holding them to 178 yards. “They get to the ball and I’m glad I don’t play against them… I could name all of them, they’re all doing their job, it’s such a sound defense.”
The talented Wolves team added two more fourth quarter touchdowns runs from backups Blake Heffron and Xavier Valdivia who were ready when their numbers were called.
Photos by Steven Silva
