The Basha Bears improved to 3-2 on the season after a 35-12 road victory over the Red Mountain Mountain Lions, in Mesa on Friday, Sept. 25.
After a slow start to the game for No. 2 Basha (Republic's 6A rankings), a first half filled with penalties and mistakes, the Bears made adjustments at halftime and scored 21 unanswered points to pull away from Red Mountain (3-2).
The first half ended with an unusual score of 7-5, with Basha out front, Red Mountain was unable to capitalize on several Basha penalties and were left with only a safety and a field goal in the half.
Key Plays
With 8:23 to go in the first quarter, Basha gave up the safety to the Mountain Lions after junior quarterback Jadon Jenkins was sacked in the end zone to start the scoring. Jenkins was in the game
for Jake Rogers, who had been starting for Basha. The safety came on the Bears' second drive and was part of a four-drive stretch where they punted twice and missed a field goal.
After a Mountain Lion field goal to make the score 5-0 in the second, Basha went on a 12-play, 80-yard drive to score the game's first touchdown, after Jenkins found junior receiver Makai Nelson for a 21-yard score on a second-and-goal from the 21, with 1:23 to go in the half to make it 7-5.
Basha blocked a Red Mountain punt on the opening drive of the second half and took over at the Mountain Lions' 15-yard-line. They scored one play later when Jenkins found senior receiver Jaden Baldwin for a 15-yard strike to make it 14-5.
After trading punts, Red Mountain scored its only points of the second half, going on a seven-play, 70-yard drive that ended with senior QB Caleb Joe finding junior receiver Ronnie Pierson for a 22-yard score, to cut Basha's lead to 14-12 with 3:29 to go in the third quarter.
Basha then scored 21 unanswered points, capped off by a 4-yard run by senior running back Noah Roberts late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the Bears as Basha's defense clamped down on Red Mountain's offense.
Key Players
Red Mountain junior receiver Ronnie Pierson hauled in the lone touchdown of the game for the Mountain Lions. The catch was his only reception of the contest and it was a tough one near the sideline of the end zone, where he had to toe-drag to complete the catch and score.
Basha QB Jenkins had an efficient night, throwing for 157 yards and three touchdowns on 14-of-16 passes, good for an 87.5 completion percentage, with no interceptions. He averaged 11 yards per completion.
Bears senior receiver Baldwin secured four catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Baldwin averaged 14 yards per reception Friday. Basha senior running back Roberts rushed for 70 yards on 11 carries and scored a touchdown in Friday's contest. Roberts averaged 6 yards per carry.
Key quotes
"It was nice seeing the switch flip, seeing more creases, more gaps, so we can just play our ball," Roberts said. "We were able to get a hat on a hat and just get downhill in the second half."
"It's been a roller coaster ride to start the season but we've easily played the toughest schedule in the state, like it's not even close," Basha head coach Chris McDonald said. "These guys are battle-tested, and that's what's going to help us later."
"I felt like we did a better job tackling the we have in the last couple weeks," Red Mountain head coach Kyle Enders said. "In the fourth quarter they got heavy, brought in two tight ends and wore us down, their running back had a couple big ones on us."
Up next
Basha will have a bye-week before hosting Westwood (3-2) Friday, Oct. 9. Red Mountain will also have a bye before traveling to Desert Ridge (1-4) Oct. 9.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: No. 2 Basha defeats Red Mountain in 6A football battle
