For a half of Basha's Central Region title showdown with Mountain View it didn't look to be a game. Basha rolled to a 17-0 lead at intermission. Mountain View's offense was stuck in neutral.

The second half, however, evened things up and proved a game worthy of region-title warfare. Basha watched its 17-0 lead melt into a 20-20 tie with a minute left, but the Bears managed a 61-yard, game-winning drive in 40 seconds to edge the previously unbeaten Toros, 27-20, at Jesse Parker Stadium. Basha won its fifth game in a row to move to 5-2 and Mountain View is 6-1.

Basha freshman running back Caleb Jones scooted 10 yards for the game winner with 22 seconds left. Another freshman - quarterback Demond Williams - put the Bears in position to win with a 36-yard completion to his favorite target on the evening, senior Trent Pennington. Williams heaved a bomb down the right sideline and connected with the well-covered Pennington for a first-and-goal at the 10. Williams, who completed just better than 50 percent of his passes (13 of 24 for 157 yards) made his completions count in tough situations.

"I kept thinking about Wednesday's and us working on the two minute drill, couldn't quit thinking about the two-minute drill in practice," Williams said. "Trent Pennington is my man."

Pennington caught six passes for 93 yards, including on the receiving end of the first of two Williams' first-half TD passes that staked Basha to its 17-0 advantage.

Basha, despite its go-ahead score with 22 seconds left, was not off the hook. Basha's kickoff went out of bounds giving Mountain View possession at the 35. The Toros rejuvenated run game in the second half wasn't an option with so little time left, but they moved the ball 25 yards on a couple completions plus an additional 15 yards via a Basha penalty. That set them up at the Basha 21 with 6 seconds left. Two passes from quarterback Zac Majorczak to the end zone failed to connect, the last one picked off by Basha as time expired.

From a nine-game losing streak that dated back to seven last season and the first two this season to a region title five games later, this COVID season has been quite a ride for Basha.

"We started 0-2 and I didn't expect we''d be in the hunt for the region," Basha coach Chris McDonald said. "At the end I felt confident because we have some guys on kick return that can make things happen. We got to start at the 40 and then we made plays. We played a great first half, and made plays when we had to in the second."

Mountain View, which managed 10 yards rushing on 12 attempts in the first half and 83 total yards, got back in the game grinding out better chunks of yardage on the ground. Junior running back Reese Marziale was the workhorse. He finished with 19 carries for 120 yards, nearly all of it in the second half.

Throw in some strong runs by sophomore Dalton Gillette and the Toros scored on their three possessions heading to the game's final minute. The drives covered 68, 66 and the game-tying march an astounding, 91 yards in 21 plays. It took 8 1/2 minutes off the clock in the and tied the game at 20. Marziale scored on two short runs and Gillette on one. Marziale's second TD tied the game at 20. The extra point if successful would have put Mountain View up 21-20, but the try was a sliver wide left.

Both teams have big games next week in their regular-season finales. Basha is home hosting Val Vista Road rival Perry. Mountain View tries to rebound at home against 7-0 Corona del Sol.