The Jones Longhorns came from behind in the second half and handed Chandler a 27-15 loss Friday night.
The loss put the Lions at 3-2 for the year and 1-1 in district play going into this Friday’s scheduled game at Star-Spencer.
Chandler led 14-9 at halftime, but Jarin Greenfield intercepted a pass while Jones quarterback Carson May was under duress and returned the ball to the Longhorns’ 26 with less than a minute gone in the third quarter.
The next play, Chandler quarterback Kaden Jones hit Alec Jackson on a coring pass that made it 15- 14.
That turned out to be the high-water mark for the Lions, however, as May threw for two touchdowns later in the period.
Shortly after, Jones left with an injury and Jackson, a 6-0, 165-pound freshman, replaced him at quarterback.
“Our defense played really well,” head coach Jack Gray said. “They did a good job the whole game. Overall, defense played well, got some stops.
“Offensively, we started slowly.”
We were starting to have some success with the quarterback run game and some boots.
“The freshmen came in and had some success. It’s a hard thing to do to come in against the No. 2 team in the state. That’s a big chunk of adversity thrown at you at halftime.”
Chandler got its first touchdown on a 93-yard drive after stopping Jones on fourth down at the 7-yard line in the first quarter.
Jones got the score on a third-and-five run.