Basha shuts out Chandler to reach first state championship game

Eric Magana and Chris McDonald didn’t need to say any words. As soon as the two men — Basha’s athletic director and head football coach — made eye contact near midfield Saturday night, they embraced, sharing in the satisfaction of all McDonald’s team had accomplished over the previous two hours, beating Chandler, 13-0.

“It just means a lot,” McDonald said. “We've come a long way.”

When McDonald was hired in Feb. 2018, the Bears were coming off consecutive three-win seasons. A playoff appearance was, at least in the short term, the ambition. The notion of reaching the school’s first state championship game would have seemed unattainable.

On Saturday, that’s what happened. Next week, the Bears — led by quarterback Demond Williams and an uber-talented group of upperclassmen — will face Saguaro for the fourth Open Division crown.

More:Devon Dampier rallies Saguaro late to shock No. 1 Liberty to reach Open state final

Here are four takeaways from Basha’s win:

Put Basha in with the elite

Last year, in McDonald’s fourth season, Basha made a significant stride. They went undefeated in the regular season and reached the Open Division for the first time.

Still, they remained a half step behind Arizona’s elite programs. The Bears were good, but in a 38-20 quarterfinal loss to Liberty, they showed that they weren’t quite on the level of Hamilton, Chandler, Saguaro and Liberty.

From the jump, this season has been different. Playing in the Premier Region — the state’s best — the Bears bounced back from an October loss to Liberty by beating Hamilton and Chandler in their next two games. But to be an elite program, you have to beat schools like that in December, on the biggest stage, when everything is on the line.

Now, Basha has. So, what’s the difference from last year to this year?

“I just think maturity,” McDonald said. “It's another year. These guys have an entire year of working together. Chemistry comes from blood, sweat and tears in the weight room and up in camp and running and doing all that stuff. That's where chemistry comes from.”

Basha shut down Dylan Raiola

Raiola, Chandler’s quarterback, may be the top prospect in the class of 2024, according to 247Sports. But on Saturday, he was completely flummoxed by Basha’s defense.

“We just needed to put pressure on him,” McDonald said. “… We just knew that we had to get after them. We can't give a kid like that time. He's got an extremely strong arm, he's well versed in the game of football, he's got athletes on the outside. We just needed to attack.”

Basha set the tone early on, forcing a strip sack of Raiola on Chandler’s second drive. Although Raiola didn’t turn the ball over again, the Bears continued to pressure him all night, preventing him from going through his reads and using his prodigious arm talent to hit receivers downfield.

Raiola, though, also had struggles of his own doing. On one third quarter play, he bailed out of the pocket with a receiver open in man coverage for a potential touchdown. On another, he underthrew a deep post that could have gone for six. And on his final pass of the night, he overthrew Jaxon Branch, who was open for a first down that would have given Chandler a chance to make it a one-score game.

The result was the Wolves’ first shutout since 2011.

Williams steps up

On the flip side, Williams was able to command Basha’s offense with aplomb. He used his legs all night, most notably on the game’s only touchdown. Late in the first quarter, he pulled a read option, tore through Chandler’s defense and dove for the right pylon at full stretch.

Those type of plays cause Chandler problems all night. On one third quarter play, Williams scrambled up the middle for 17 yards on third-and-21, turning a sure punt into a convertible fourth down. A few plays later, the Bears kicked a field goal to go up by two scores.

“Chandler's got a fantastic defense and we needed to keep the ball in (Williams’) hands,” McDonald said. “We needed to let him run the football. (Running back Deshaun Buchanan) and him, we knew it needed to be a two-headed monster with those guys.”

Basha’s killer drive

With 10:16 to play, Basha got the ball back at its own 25 following a Chandler punt. Undoubtedly, the Bears were in good position. The game, though, was far from over. Just last year, Chandler erased a two-possession fourth quarter deficit in the Open semifinals.

Basha ensured its season wouldn’t meet the same end as Liberty’s did a year ago. The Bears used 14 plays to methodically drive down to the Chandler 20-yard line. Nearly all of them came on the ground, through a combination of Buchanan and Williams’ legs.

“We knew we needed to get outside on them,” McDonald said. “They were packing the box, they were bringing pressure up all gaps, A through C. And we knew we needed to get around.”

The field goal that culminated the drive was largely immaterial. The 6:57 that lapsed off the clock, though, was invaluable.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Basha shuts out Chandler to reach first state championship game