Basha rolls over Brophy to keep momentum going

This is the Basha team everyone envisioned before the season. 

After starting the season 1-2, with a tough loss to Orange Lutheran (California) and then getting blown out by Phoenix Pinnacle, the hype around the Bears seemed to quiet down. Basha entered the season as the favorite to repeat as Open Division state champions and were ranked No. 11 in the country by USA TODAY. But those two losses appeared to dampen the enthusiasm around the team.

Since then, Chandler Basha has rattled off five straight wins and looks every bit like the team that generated so much talk in the offseason. No. 4 Basha (AIA/Max Preps 6A) dominated visiting No. 7 Phoenix Brophy Prep 42-17 on Oct. 23 to improve to 6-2 on the season.

“It for sure hurt that we lost those two games early on,” said Basha senior running back Noah Roberts, who had two touchdowns in the win against Brophy. “It humbled us. It really made us hit the reset button and reflect on ourselves. Now, you see we’re picking up steam.”

Basha coach Chris McDonald said the early-season losses were a moment for introspection.

“The big thing that we talked about was having a mirror moment and it started with me and myself taking accountability for things,” McDonald said. “We're playing a schedule that a lot of teams aren't playing, but really it was all front loaded."

He added: “I am proud — and we're not done yet — of how they've handled adversity. Being told the whole offseason how good you're going to be and all this other stuff, then things don't go the way that you expected. And here we are.”

Brophy jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the second after a scoreless opening frame. Then, Basha took over.

First it was a 12-yard run from senior quarterback Jake Rodgers to tie it with 8:22 left in the second. After Basha forced two punts, Roberts put his stamp on the game. A 40-yard run from Roberts, a Texas commit, put Basha deep into the red zone. The next play, Roberts punched it from seven yards out to take a 14-7 lead with 2:32 remaining in the second.

A quick three-and-out from Brophy’s offense on the ensuing drive gave Basha the chance to score right before halftime and the Bears made quick work of it, going down the field in seven plays in less than a minute – aided by a two Brophy penalties – and extending the lead to 21-7 on a nine-yard touchdown run from Rogers.

Brophy added a field goal just before half to cut the lead to 21-10.

Basha wasted little time coming out of the half, with Roberts delivering the effective knockout punch on a 70-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage to make it 28-10 with 11:13 left in the third quarter.

Basha added two more touchdowns in the game, both from senior wide receiver Jaden Baldwin, a 30-yard touchdown reception in the third and a six-yard run early in the fourth.

The Bears are gelling at the right time, with the playoffs starting in three weeks. 

“We’re all together,” Roberts said. “We all got one mission, one goal, and that’s to run the table and go to the state championship. We all got the same mission. We’re all on the same page.”

For a team loaded with early enrollee and Division I athletes, it would have been understandable if they just focused on their upcoming college careers.

“They love each other,” McDonald said. “We've got 14 kids that could be thinking about the next chapter in life. We're really going to have — I don't know how many — six, seven, eight kids that are going to graduate in two months. It would be very easy to think about that. But here they are trying to leave a legacy. And that's what it's about.”

It’s a tough loss for Brophy (5-3), but the team remains in position to capture what they set their sights on. The Broncos are tied for first in the 6A Central region.

“We still have our goals in front of us,” Brophy coach Jason Jewell said. “Our goals are to win the region. Right now, we’re in the pole position. We have Saguaro and Higley. We win those two, we’re going to be region champs. Then we’ll make the Open Division play-in if we do those things. And those are some of our goals, win the region, get in the Open and win an Open game. We can still accomplish that.”

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @RLSscribe.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Basha rolls over Brophy to keep momentum going