Hamilton Huskies enter SBLive Power 25 after lopsided win over Centennial in Open quarterfinal rematch

The Huskies’ bevy of newcomers combined with a potent group of returning players to help Hamilton turn the game into a rout just before halftime and force a running clock early in the third quarter.

The latest SBLive Power 25 has a new entrant in the No. 25 spot — Hamilton entered the rankings for the first time after dispatching of Centennial 42-0 in a rematch of the teams’ Open Division quarterfinal of a year ago.

The Huskies’ bevy of newcomers combined with a potent group of returning players to help Hamilton turn the game into a rout just before halftime and force a running clock early in the third quarter.

The Coyotes, a perennial 5A power making their 6A debut, hadn’t been shut out by an in-state opponent since Coronado beat them 12-0 in Week 1 of the 1997 season.

A question mark entering the season had been the Huskies' defensive line, but with first-time starters Russell Davis, Grant DeGraffenreid and Chandler Davis doing yeoman work, that allowed senior linebackers Austen Ruddle (12 tackles, three for loss) and Victor Zayas (eight tackles, three for loss) to stuff Centennial’s usually high-power running game.

“If we can defend the run like that, we’ll be OK,” Hamilton coach Mike Zdebski said.

A couple of Colorado transfers — junior quarterback Nicco Marchiol and senior running back Noah Schmidt — also came up big. Marchiol threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Schmidt went over 100 yards in his debut and matched sophomore Deshawn Buchanan with two touchdowns.

“Noah was able to hit the big plays for us,” Zdebski said. “That was what we didn’t know coming in was if he could hit the home run for us. Where we need more production is from our receiving corps, but that’ll come.”

Perhaps it’ll come as soon as this week when the Huskies open Region 2 play against Perry. The Pumas let a fourth-quarter lead slip away at home in a 35-28 loss to Queen Creek. Perry quarterback Dane White passed for two scores and ran for two.

— René Ferrán; photo by Heather Hackett

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