Tyrell Smith

Affiliation: former Hamilton High School running back, class of 2014.

Interview date: Sept. 5, 2016.

FA: I’m with former Hamilton High School running back Tyrell Smith, a member of the first team that lost to Chandler as well as the teams that won a state championship in 2012 and went to another in 2013.

When did you first find out about the rivalry, and how did you react to it?

TS: I think my first time finding out about the rivalry was around my eighth grade year and going into Hamilton [the next year], I got to see them playing for the championship and it was the year that Kyren Poe caught the ball in the back of the end zone to beat Chandler. That was when I really got my first taste of how the rivalry actually went.

FA: Hamilton has been seen as this powerhouse program in the state. Do you agree?

TS: There were championship expectations and undefeated expectations for every level of team that we had, from my freshman year all the way up [to varsity]. We also had the highest expectations, always wanted to win. We never really expected anything less than a championship.

FA: Being nationally ranked every year, going and playing in Ireland, how did that go towards building Hamilton’s reputation?

TS: That was actually really fun. Ireland was a great time, and it was a really cool experience to go out there and do that. Unfortunately, we did lose out there but we did wind up winning state that year. It kind of evened out for us, but it kind of put a chip on our shoulder after we lost that game in Ireland. We knew we shouldn’t have lost, but we came back to Arizona, handled our business and made it to the [championship].

FA: Do you feel that there were other teams trying to knock you guys off a pedestal other than Chandler?

TS: I think everyone was coming for our heads, to be honest. There were some of those teams that didn’t have a lot of talent on them, but everyone was always putting up a fight. Some teams, they were nervous and all and you could tell when we had blowout games, teams just weren’t ready to play us. I feel like everybody was coming for our head, just trying to take the powerhouse down.

FA: Did that add any extra pressure for you guys?

TS: For me, it almost helped. I like that pressure of when we’re playing a Chandler-Hamilton game in the semis. I liked the pressure of having the team lean on me and stuff. I liked it. I took it as a challenge.

FA: Do you think that feeling has changed? Or are other programs just reaching that level?

TS: I don’t know. I just think Hamilton doesn’t really change up anything. I feel like these other programs are just starting to come up. Hamilton’s been running the same traditional plays every year, but these other programs have been adjusting. You’ve seen that Chandler’s now beaten us multiple times — even my year, they beat us — and it was pretty shocking when that happened. You can definitely see how the other schools are coming up and evolving, too.

FA: How important has tradition been to Hamilton’s program especially considering that it’s always been successful?

TS: I feel like the tradition is good. As far as how they play the game, play-calling and stuff maybe could be a little bit different. I think some players are just getting faster, and with that offense and players getting so big, maybe they could switch that offense around or something. Instead of just running the I-formation and veer all the time, all these other teams are coming up with some exotic plays. Now, the tradition is almost — in defense of the play-calling — kind of fading away. We’ve kind of got to separate ourselves and get better with that.

FA: What do you make of what Steve Belles has been able to accomplish during his time at Hamilton thus far?

TS: I think he’s done a good job at just continuing tradition. He went 57–0 or something at some point and kept the teams winning all the way up until my sophomore year when they had my first loss against Desert Vista in the championship. I feel like even after that, we still stuck with the tradition. The tradition is still strong, and they definitely enforce it over there. These other schools have just gotten more talent coming in, too, so it’s a lot more competitive now.

FA: What’s it like growing up and through that Hamilton program, and what makes it stand out from others?

TS: They really, like really focus on being a team. They want to win championships over there, so that’s what they’re instilling into everybody’s head. Even in your freshman year, you want to out and win a championship or you want to go into the playoffs. As a freshman, you’re looking up at the seniors like, ‘That’s where I want to be. I want to have a ring. I want to have a championship.’ So you kind of get that same vibe all the way from when you’re a freshman all the way up to your senior year. You just have that want for a championship.

FA: What were your first impressions of being able to play in that atmosphere of a Chandler-Hamilton game?

TS: My freshman year, it felt like Chandler was just another game on our schedule. We got a win, which was okay but to me, I started to see it while playing on varsity, playing in that real rivalry. It’s really exciting. It gets your blood pumping, everything is just going, the crowd is wild, there’s 10,000, 13,000 fans there at the game and it’s just like you feel like you’re at the top of the world at that point. It’s a really cool experience to be able to go through and to be able to play against those guys. The rivalry is so big, and the amount of people that come out just to see that game, it’s just really cool.

FA: How much did you guys talk about the streak, if at all?

TS: Yeah, when we lost the first time my senior year and we lost [the streak], it was like a low blow for us. We were not expecting to lose that game. It just felt like a fluke game. We came back in the semis and ended up winning, but it definitely had a huge effect on us. All the alumni from Hamilton before were like disappointed and stuff, so it kind of made us feel pretty bad about it. But we ended up finishing that season strong. We didn’t win the championship, but it was still [a big deal]. Now, you’re seeing that Chandler is winning every year and so now it’s not really a surprise anymore. But at first, when that first happened it was definitely a hit.

FA: That night when they did beat you for the first time, it was a seemingly defensive struggle through the first three quarters. How hard was it out there, and what changed in those final minutes?

TS: I think we played a pretty game all the way up until that fourth quarter. I don’t know what really happened, but the defense finally let them down the field and then I had a fumble. That was still kind of on my mind, even when we came back from that [to take the lead]. They got down the field quickly to score another touchdown, and I think after that everything just kind of fell apart. We really weren’t expecting them to come back and do that, so that was really tough for us.

FA: Chandler took the lead right after that fumble with about two minutes left, but you drove back down and Elijah Williams scores a touchdown on a fluky, tipped pass. Did you feel pretty confident at that point, just considering the history there?

TS: We did. We all thought that it was over at that point. I wasn’t worried that they would march back down and score because we were the №1 defense. I was definitely thinking we were good, there’s no way this guys can drive down on us. There was no way. It happens, and it’s just like, wow, it was unreal. It was so crazy that it had happened to us and that we had lost the game. After they scored, we thought that yeah, it was over. We hoped we could be able to march down the field again, but the first play we got the chance, [they pick it off for] another touchdown. It was just a wrap after that.

FA: Did that loss linger for you guys at all? I know you guys still managed to run the table, though.

TS: We were still so focused on getting to the championship. I felt like that game was a fluke, so — it was tough taking that loss, but I just felt like in the end we just had to focus on the rest of this season and make sure we win the rest of our games no matter who we play. It did affect us when it first happened, because when it first happened it felt like nobody wanted to play football anymore. It was rough, especially after not losing to them in 14 years. It definitely helped us put a chip on our shoulder on our way to the playoffs.

FA: You guys are slated to face them in the state semifinals, and it’s originally supposed to be slated for a Friday but gets pushed to Monday with rain. How difficult was it to make that adjustment and remain focused at that point?

TS: Looking back on it, it was actually really different. I’m definitely not used to playing on a Monday. Monday is usually just like your groggy day, but the stakes were so high so it kind of like kept you alive for that time period. We knew we were going to play Chandler. There was no room for letup even with that little weekend when we couldn’t play. We still came in for film on Saturday and stuff, so nothing could really change. It just felt a little different playing on a Monday night. It felt like the NFL with some ‘Monday Night Football.’

FA: Obviously, the conditions for that game weren’t great. How did that play into your advantage at all?

TS: I definitely believe that, because I slipped once or twice in the game but we were definitely preparing to play on a sludgy field all week. We all knew it was going to impact [the game], so we even wet up our field a little bit just so we could get the feel of the sloppy ground and loose grass and stuff. We were prepared going into what we did, but it was even messier than I had expected, that’s for sure. I remember after, my jersey was completely brown, but I didn’t have much trouble planting so it kind of worked out in my favor.

FA: Through three quarters, it seemed a lot like that first game. It was low-scoring, the defenses were dominant. Did the previous game against them creep into your mind at that point?

TS: The fact that we lost was the only thing on my mind. I was like, ‘We’re not about to come back out here and lose this game, especially because this is for the semi and going to state. We’re not about to be embarrassed like that and we don’t want to lose twice.’ That was kind of what everybody on the team was thinking, and that was really what helped us even get the win, because it was a tough game. But we knew what the win entailed.

FA: Chandler takes the lead but you guys get the ball back at around the 50 after the kickoff. Did Sam Sasso, coach Belles or anyone say anything before that final possession?

TS: Belles told me just to hold onto the ball and do your thing. He kept feeding me the ball the rest of the game, and we just marched down the field and punched it in with I want to say like 30 seconds left or something like that, maybe even less. Just that last drive for us was really good.

FA: Do you think it made a statement for you guys to essentially run the ball down their throats to seal a win?

TS: Yeah I thought it was. We didn’t throw the ball, like at all, and I started to notice it. Coaches kept telling me that I was two, three carries away from tying Terrell Suggs for all-time carries in a game [at Hamilton], so I was pretty excited about that. At the same time, I was just really looking forward to the win, and that’s really what just drove me all the way down the field. I wanted to win. I wasn’t trying to lose. I’m a competitor.

FA: You punch it in on fourth down. How big of a redemption was that for you, considering your fumble that regular season game?

TS: It was huge for me. Every time I’m inside the 10-yard line or something like that in the red zone, near the goal line, I’m trying to get in there. I knew it was fourth and one, and I knew I was about to be in that end zone and winning that game for us. I had to put on for the team. Coach Belles called my number, and that was a wrap.

FA: What’s going through your head on a carry like that?

TS: To keep my feet moving. I know how they are with forward motion being stopped, so I just wanted to keep my feet moving and keep pushing [forward]. I was right at the goal line, and it was just that second effort that just pushed me in. I was just keeping my feet moving that whole time.

FA: Did you think at all about that fumble in the first game?

TS: No, I wasn’t thinking about that at all.

FA: How big was the chance to get revenge?

TS: [Beating them in the semis] was one of the biggest moments in our football careers, I would say, just because we had lost that first game and we wound up just taking that game as a regular season game that doesn’t matter anyway. [We thought that] if we would see them in the playoffs, that’s when it’s really going to count. It felt good to really get that revenge on them, for sure, because we didn’t want to just have that loss on our belt from Chandler and then not see them in the playoffs. It was really nice to be able to play them for that second time in the playoffs.

FA: Chandler has taken the reigns a bit in the rivalry, but do you think it’s even possible to ever consider Hamilton an underdog after their history?

TS: I think so. Chandler’s been becoming sort of the powerhouse, and there’s been a few teams out there as well that have been recruiting players or getting players to go to their school. I feel like Chandler’s had more players going to their schools and that’s based of their championship win and stuff. I feel like that’s probably a good thing. Hamilton can be considered an underdog at this point, even with all the wins. I know we’re a powerhouse. We can say that we’re a dynasty school, but as far as now in this day and age, we’re definitely looking like the underdogs.

FA: I saw that Hamilton’s 2016 motto is “Restore the Order.” What do you think that symbolizes?

TS: I think they’re trying to get back on the same track that we were on. We had it where the Desert Vista game [in 2012] was like the first loss of our actual win streak, and then we had that first loss to Chandler. From that point, Chandler started winning, other people started winning championships and now I feel like they’re trying to get back to their dynasty of Hamilton.

FA: Where do you think the national or state profile of this rivalry is right now?

TS: As far as competitiveness, the way the games have been going I don’t think the rivalry is as big as it used to be now that Chandler has been winning a few. I feel like it was a lot bigger before, just because the games were closer and we had always beaten Chandler. Now that Chandler’s gotten a win, I feel like they’re just sitting on their high horse not really thinking about the rivalry as much. It’s still there, but just not as much as it used to be, for sure.

FA: Since this rivalry has been shown on national TV and stuff, do you think it’s considered a national rivalry?

TS: Oh yeah, definitely. I feel like, as far as national, this rivalry should be televised for sure. It’s just usually a good game with them, and the rivalry’s been so strong for so long as well.

FA: What makes Chandler-Hamilton different than other games?

TS: The atmosphere in that game is absolutely nuts. We played at Chandler, and Chandler was sold out. We played at Hamilton, and then Hamilton was sold out. It felt like it was in college, playing on TV and on a big screen. It was really cool. Even from going to that state game, just the rivalry alone brought out 10 to 15 thousand people, tops. It was just absolutely nuts, the amount of people we had at that game. It was so loud, and it was just surreal. It was really crazy.