Chandler 30
Chelsea 13
Dec. 14, 1984

Chandler had never won a state title prior to meeting Chelsea in the 1984 Class 2A championship, and that December night almost 27 years ago marked the moment the Lions never had to say “never” again.

On the field at Bixby High School, Chandler culminated its first season under then head coach Carl Moore with an efficient 30-13 finale that allowed the Lions to finally get their paws on a gold ball. And they left plenty of pummeled opponents in their wake to get there, having drilled Purcell 23-6 in the quarterfinals before topping Hobart 16-7 in the semis.

“This is a great feeling,” Moore said after the win over Chelsea.

Early on, it looked a tiny bit dicey for the Lions — but any doubts were soon put to bed.

The Lions fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter as Chelsea covered 68 yards in a dozen plays to put up points on the game’s opening possession.

Chandler was forced to punt on its first possession, but the tide shifted when Chelsea endured back-to-back penalties. This gave way to David Burgess picking off a Dragon pass at the Chelsea 21 and carrying it all the way to tie the score.

Doug Anderson later booted a 25-yard field goal to lift Chandler to a 10-7 second-quarter lead, and the Lions increased that lead on a Tim Tillis 33-yard touchdown reception with 2:01 left in the first half.

Chandler led 17-7 at the break.

Danny Cloud scored on a 53-yard rush just 19 seconds into the third quarter to push Chandler’s cushion to 24-7, and the Dragons put up the last of their points on their ensuing drive. Similar to the first, this drive covered 67 yards in 13 plays.

A late Chelsea threat was averted when the Dragons — after having a fumble returned to them by way of a personal foul flag — turned the ball over on downs inside the red zone. After a set of traded punts, Chandler added the insurance TD on a 24-yard run by Tillis with 2:38 left to play.

Both teams finished the game with more than 100 rushing yards.

Chandler went on to win its second state title in 2005, crushing Davis 40-7.

Note: Trisha Chambers contributed to this report.