Philip Leavell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Basha High School for AZPreps365.com

GILBERT-- Basha High School proved it could beat quality football teams even when its offense is not clicking. The Bear defense shut out Highland High School in the second half Friday night, propelling the East Valley's newest juggernaut to a 24-13 win on the road over the Hawks.

Heading into its game against Highland, Basha was winning by an average of 36.4 points per game. Out of Arizona's 38 football programs in 6A, the largest class, Basha’s offense topped the list for touchdowns, points per game, and yards per game. The Bears had scored 47 touchdowns in seven games, averaging 47.3 points and 470.7 yards per game.

The Bears’ 24 points against the Hawks was their lowest total this season. The previous low was 37 points against Brophy Prep. Even though the offense did not achieve the standard it had set for itself, that may have had plenty to do with Highland's stingy defense. The Bears' 24 points were the most the Hawks had surrendered this season. Boulder Creek and Pinnacle both scored 22. The Hawks defense had only been allowing 15.2 points per game.

“They did a good job of taking away big plays,” Chris McDonald, Basha head coach and offensive coordinator, said. “We have a lot of guys that can make big plays out here. They did a really good job limiting that and made us earn every yard.”

Coach McDonald slaps skin with sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. before the opening kickoff (Philip Leavell/AZPreps365)

“Way too many mental mistakes tonight," added McDonald, suggesting that the mistakes on offense could be inflated because of the inexperience of their sophomore players in big games. “We’ve got to go back as coaches and evaluate what we did wrong, and we got to go evaluate and fix what the kids did wrong.”

The Basha defense remained solid against a Highland offense that was scoring 28.7 points per game. The Bears forced two turnovers, shut out the Hawks in the second half, and only conceded 13 points. This defense has played well all year, allowing only 89 points through eight games.

“We caught a few breaks and we tackled well,” defensive coordinator Zac Griffin said. “When it came down to it, we have guys like Miles Lockhart making plays on the edges, Wyatt Milkovic making plays at linebacker, and Ty Robinson and Jack Bleier making plays up front. All those guys showed up in the second half and finished the game.”

Entering Friday night's games, AZPreps365’s 6A Division rankings was a roll-call of East Valley programs. The top five, in order, were: Chandler, Hamilton, Queen Creek, Basha, and Highland. With Queen Creek losing to Chandler, the Bears may jump to number three when the rankings are updated on Tuesday. If Basha wins its last two games against Cesar Chavez and Mountain View, it should qualify for the Open Division tournament for the first time. The Bears may qualify even if they lose once.

The undefeated Chandler and Hamilton teams are the heavy favorites to win the eight-team Open Division tournament. In that championship, the top eight teams from 4A through 6A, based on computer rankings, are lifted out of their respective divisions (4A, 5A, 6A) and placed in a separate state championship bracket for the state's truly superior programs. 

CBS-owned MaxPreps.com lists Chandler and Hamilton as its 11th and 16th top teams in the nation. After Friday's games, Basha is the only other team to remain undefeated in the 6A division. It is hard to tell if Basha could compete with the Chandler Wolves or the Hamilton Huskies, but the Bears may have the best chance out of any other Arizona team to pull off an upset. If Basha can limit its miscues on offense and remain stout on defense, the Bears may surprise people.

Basha will look to remain undefeated against Cesar Chavez next Friday.