After a wild first half that ended on an incredible play by receiver Carter Ochoa to get into the end zone for a 27-21 Chandler lead, Basha showed why it is the No. 1 team in Arizona high school football.
The offensive line took over, despite some snapping issues. The defense asserted itself, taking advantage of Chandler losing starting quarterback Will Mencl to an injury in the second quarter. And the team surged through a week filled with grief, after the death of a player's father.
Basha (No. 1 in Republic's Super 10) found a way to grind out a 38-27 6A Premier Region football victory Friday night at Chandler.
Chandler coach Rick Garretson figured coming into the game his team would have to win out to have any shot at the eight-team Open Division playoffs. At 5-3, the Wolves' run of Open appearances might be over, especially if the AIA computer keeps placing three 5A teams into the Open eight ratings.
Chandler won the first two Open state titles in 2019 and 2020, finished runner-up in 2021 to Scottsdale Saguaro, and bowed out in the semifinals in 2022 and in the first round last year.
This would be the first year since the birth of the Open that Chandler won't make the big bracket. It can make a 6A title run in what could end up being a pretty difficult bracket if Peoria Centennial makes a late-season surge.
Basha (7-1), the 2022 Open champion, cemented itself firmly in the Open, beating its two toughest Premier Region opponents -- Hamilton and Chandler.
"This was a big game for Chandler," Basha coach Chris McDonald said. "There was a lot riding for them."
Everybody could see that, the way the Wolves played in the first half. It lost a fumble on the opening kickoff return, which Basha quickly cashed in with a 25-yard Roberts TD run.
But Chandler answered, behind Mencl's 55-yard scoring pass to Jai Jones.
Basha then lost the ball on the kickoff return, and Chandler quickly punched it in to go up 14-7 on punishing runs by tailback Tristan Halsana that led to Mencl's 1-yard scoring run.
A long return by Gio Richardson set up Basha to even it on Vehrs' 3-yard pass to tight end Mason Culmer.
The teams traded touchdowns again -- Halsana scoring on an 11-yard run, and Brodie Vehrs running three yards for a touchdown.
But with 37 seconds left in the half, instead of sitting on it and being happy to be tied with Basha heading into the halftime, Garretson punched the accelerator.
With six seconds left from the Basha 31, backup quarterback Dominic Carmigiano, in for the injured Mencl escaped pressure and found Ochoa all alone. Ochoa had to come back to catch the ball. He then side-stepped a defender into the end zone to give Chandler a 27-21 lead.
The Wolves' excitement was stymied in the second half, when the offense went nowhere and the Bears simply pounded the ball with the offensive line taking control and Vehrs making big runs to extend drives.
"We knew we could come back," Vehrs said. "We were beating ourselves. Honestly, my freshman year I played here (at Chandler), so this game meant a lot more to me.
"We had a teammate's dad pass. This was more about showing we are a team. We're not individuals. We're going to play as a team. I think we came out in the second half with our mentality fixed."
Garretson knew this was must win to get into the Open. The Wolves were much better than they looked several weeks ago in a loss to Gilbert Highland with Mencl, a sophomore, emerging as a leader on offense.
But losing Mencl, it was tough for the Wolves to rebound.
"Coach Garretson can scheme as well as anybody and they picked us apart in the first half," McDonald said. "We knew we were going to get their best shot."
Basha just wanted to get through a tough week, after a teammate lost his dad. The starting center got injured midweek, forcing all-state lineman Sammy Garcia to play a position he's not used to.
"We've gone through a lot of adversity this week," McDonald said. "Our center is out. And, unfortunately, we had a player who lost his father earlier in the week. It's a lot of somber around the program. I'm just happy they stepped up and did it for one of their brothers."