The spark that lit a fire for the Chandler Wolves Friday night was running back Ca'lil Valentine.

Eight hours before kickoff, Valentine announced via Twitter that he was offered by Arizona State, making the Sun Devils his fifth offer. With ASU interim head coach Shaun Aguano in attendance, the junior running back proved his mettle in the biggest game of the year so far in Arizona.

The elusive back finished the night with more than 200 all-purpose yards and a receiving and rushing touchdown, helping Chandler avenge last year’s Open loss to Saguaro with a 31-21 home win.

With the attention centered on the No. 1 player in the 2024 class, Chandler quarterback Dylan Raiola, Valentine gave life to a slow starting Chandler offense with multiple impressive runs to extend drives. Down 14-0 early, Chandler answered with 31 unanswered points.

One of the things that stood out about Valentine's performance was his initial burst through the line of scrimmage, making defenders miss. He also exploded through contact and hit the correct holes with force.

As an example, Valentine exploded for a 79-yard touchdown run on Chandler's first play of its first fourth quarter drive to extend its lead by 17 points. The long play silenced the Sabercats’ crowd.

Valentine gave all the credit to his improving offensive line.

"It was all through my linemen,” Valentine said. “Without my linemen practicing and getting better weekly, I'm not doing it."

This game meant a lot to Valentine, who didn’t play in last year's Open Division state championship due to a wrist injury.

"It's good to have him (Valentine) back this season at 100%,” Raiola said. “He's elusive in the backfield, and to have a kid that can hit long runs at any point in time, it opens up the pass game tremendously."

Valentine and the Chandler Wolves (4-0) will look to remain unbeaten next week against Red Mountain.