CHANDLER, Ariz. — If you're a fan of high school football in the state of Arizona, you are well aware of the Battle for Arizona Avenue. A heated rivalry between not only two of the best programs in the state, but the entire country.
The Hamilton-Chandler rivalry is one of the best football rivalries a fan and player could dream of, and this fall might be hard to top in terms of competition.
That's because of the two quarterbacks, Dylan Raiola and Roch Cholowsky.
"We have all the pieces we need to win a state championship and dominate our level," Chandler quarterback Dylan Raiola said, "I think we’re all ready for the season and we’ve got a countdown of how many days till our first game.”
Raiola is the top-ranked quarterback prospect in the entire country for the 2024 class and has high expectations for the Wolves this season.
“It’s Chandler versus everybody and we stand by that, and I’m excited to show everybody what we can do," Raiola said.
But on the other end, is Hamilton's dual-athlete quarterback in Cholowsky. The junior shortstop is mostly known for his baseball prowess helping the Huskies win the Class 6A state title back in May.
He's ready to put an end to the doubt about his talents, or lack thereof on the football field.
“I feel like I am trying to go out there and prove everyone wrong," Cholowsky said. "A lot of people think I’m just a baseball player and that’s all I can do, but I am going to show them I can play football too.”
For the first time in three years, Hamilton will have a new quarterback under center after starter Nicco Marchiol graduated and now plays football at West Virginia.
Over the past couple of seasons, Cholowsky absorbed all he could during his time as the backup and is now ready to step up.
“Seeing everything that he did and trying to add it to my game, was huge for me these past two years," Cholowsky said. "Plus baseball has helped with my footwork when it comes to the game of football. Just playing shortstop and coming over here, the drops, the rollouts, everything, I mean my footwork definitely transfers over to football.”
Regardless of which side you root for, both men and their teams have their eye on the grand prize which is reclaiming the Open Championship after Saguaro won it last season.
“You’ve got to take it game by game, week by week, you go 1-0 every day and if we do that, we’ll be the kings again," Raiola said.
One thing is for certain, 2022 should give fans a lot of highlight plays and touchdowns to cheer about with these young men under center.
Sports
Watch more of the latest sports videos on the 12News YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe!