Ralph Amsden
When Basha took a 21-7 lead into the fourth quarter over Highland, a Highland assistant coach that I was standing near yelled to no one in particular “If they don’t score again, we’ll win this game.” Those types of predictions are bandied about all the time on the sidelines, but this one was particularly jarring when considering just how dominant the Bears had been up to that point. The scoreboard showed a two touchdown lead, but it may have well been a five score margin if Basha hadn’t committed several errors on the offensive end. Lo and behold, Highland stormed back to win 24-21 on a 27 yard Noah Miller FG as the final horn sounded. Basha falls to 4-4, and is at risk of their first .500 or below record in team history as they face a tough Chandler Wolves team at Austin Field on Friday.
Chandler (6-2) dominated their first ever varsity contest with Perry (2-6), winning 56-10, and adding 7 more rushing TDs to their eye-popping season total of 30 (double the amount Perry High has as a team on the season). Bryce Perkins’ 12/15 performance elevated him to the top completion percentage amongst all division 1 QBs (.716), just above Desert Mountain’s Kyle Allen (.711) and Horizon’s Dalton Sneed (.707). Perry hopes to get at least one Section 1 win, as they face Gilbert High, who also 0-3 in the Section.
Gilbert (1-7) was blanked 42-0 by Hamilton (6-2), which was the highest point total of the season for the Huskies. Sam Sasso threw a career high 4 TD passes, two to recently healthy sophomore WR/RB Kyeler Burke. Hamilton hopes to build on their offensive success in this week’s matchup with Highland (6-2), who they beat in the first round of last year’s playoffs. As Hamilton’s coach, Steve Belles is 4-0 all time against Highland, outscoring the Hawks 180-24.
Seton Catholic (7-1) has many around C-Town thinking a championship repeat is a strong possibility after their 56-21 win over Combs (4-4). QB Kyle Johnson continued his red hot efficiency streak at QB over the last four games, with 17 of his 51 total pass completions going for touchdowns. The Sentinels have a winnable game at home against Chino Valley (2-6) this week.
Valley Christian (4-4) got out to an early lead Saturday night against Scottsdale Prep (6-2), but were overwhelmed, 62-25 by an offense that averages 58 points per win. One bright spot for the Trojans was TE/DE TJ Widner (who received offers from University of San Diego and Wagner College last week) getting 2.5 sacks to bring his season total to 10.
