First rule of high school football in Arizona: never bet against Demond Williams Jr.

Second rule: never count out ALA Queen Creek.

Those two collided on the field Friday night and something had to give. Eventually, it was Williams who worked his wizardry like so many times before this season and beyond.

With 6:39 left to play and the game tied at 31, Williams led the Bears on an 80-yard drive capped off by a touchdown pass to Darron Dodd from 11 yards, as No. 2 Basha held off No. 7 ALA Queen Creek 38-31 in a quarterfinal Open Division thriller at Basha.

Williams was masterful all night, and nearly perfect. The Arizona commit completed 27 of 30 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns, while running for 109 yards and another score on the ground. Dodd caught the first and last touchdowns of the game, the latter of which came on a fourth down with 1:35 left to play, providing the difference in the game.

“It’s not even surprising at this point,” Basha coach Chris McDonald said afterward.

“Demond Williams is the best football player in the state of Arizona. We’ve been in this situation so many times, and (Demond) has come through time after time.” 

The final drive included four completions and fourth down conversion by Williams on a three yard run to keep possession, which was crucial as ALA QC had a mountain of momentum after mounting a furious second half comeback.

Deja Vu

It was the second straight season Basha (10-1) had to fend off ALA QC in the opening round. Last year, the eventual state champion Bears got by 31-25.

“I have to give ALA credit, they played hard and kept coming after us,” Williams said afterward.

“We’ve been in a lot of these games this year. It’s just trust in God, and I feel like he’s always going to be behind me no matter what.”

Williams’ only mistake was an ill-advised pass thrown under pressure and picked off by ALA’s Jonah Shaver in Basha territory midway through the fourth quarter. The Patriots (9-3) tied it up a few plays later on a short run from Diego Morales, tying the score and setting the stage for Williams.

“Even when I had the hiccup and threw the pick, I made sure I prayed about it, and just went out there and flushed it out.”

By halftime, the Bears had a near stranglehold on the Patriots with a 24-7 lead. After ALA QC tied the game at 7 on Enoch Watson’s 15-yard pass to Taylor Searle, Basha’s offense stayed in high velocity while its defense put the clamps on the Patriots.

Much was made about the absence of defensive back Miles Lockheart’s absence. The future Ohio St. Buckeye was serving a one game suspension stemming from an ejection in week 10. But after the Patriots first drive, Basha’s defense was ironclad, forcing ALA QC to punt on four of its next five possessions, even into the third quarter after momentum had swung. 

Offensively, Basha built its halftime lead on a four yard run by Williams and a seven yard touchdown strike to Gio Richardson just before the half. Timothy Tynan added a 22-yard field goal in between.  

ALA QC: Special Team

Before the packed crowd had all made its way back to the seats for the second half, ALA-QC revived the game with some special teams trickery. After Brody Michael scooped up the kick, he lateraled back across the field to Taylor Searle, who caught it at the 18-yard line before finding space and weaving through Basha defenders all the way to the endzone. The score was suddenly 24-14 and ALA-QC had life. 

Williams and Basha went back to work right away before the Patriots defensive finally found a way to stop Basha’s offense: by taking the ball away. A pass to freshman Noah Roberts was headed for a big gain, but was stripped of the ball before going down. ALA QC took over, but Basha’s defense forced another punt to stop the bleeding. Williams then connected with Mason Arhin on a perfectly placed, 39-yard touchdown pass. Arhin appeared to juggle the ball before regaining possession and salvaging the touchdown.

Enoch Watson used his legs and will to get ALA QC back in the game with a 17-yard run late in the third quarter. A successful onside kick set up Sam Hunsaker’s 37-yard field goal to make the score 31-24 before the Patriots tied the score later.

“(ALA) is a heck of a team,” coach McDonald added. “They beat us with their special teams tonight.”

For Patriot coach Ty Detmer and his team, it was a far more painful loss than the previous two Open DIvision first round losses.

“This one feels different,” Detmer admitted.

“We came to win and we played to win. This team and this game symbolized our season and I’m proud of them for most of that. Unfortunately as in a lot of games, we tend to be a second half team. Tonight we did the same thing. We made the adjustments and fought back, but we were playing a heck of a team and a heck of a quarterback in Demond.”

4th and Williams

Friday night was Williams 44th varsity start as the Basha quarterback in four seasons. It was also the Bears fourth consecutive Open Division playoff win. Basha will meet up next week with No. 3 Centennial in a semifinal contest at Dobson High.

“No matter who we play or where, we’ve always got a chance with Demond,” McDonald added.

 

Ben Stapley is a staff reporter for AZPreps365. Follow him on 'X' @AZPreps365Ben. For human interest story ideas, contact him at bstapley@azpreps365.com