For the first time this season, Basha will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They are taking a road trip to challenge the Westwood Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Basha will come into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.
Basha is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Queen Creek, who was ranked 19th at the time (Basha was ranked first). The Bears were the clear victors by a 35-13 margin over the Bulldogs on Friday. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 28-0.
Basha can attribute much of their success to Brodie Vehrs, who threw for 270 yards and four TDs while completing 73.9% of his passes, and Joshua Gaines, who gained 182 total yards and a touchdown. Gaines showed off some serious burst, lighting up the secondary with a catch for 67 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Roberts, who gained 121 total yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Basha's defense and their 4.5 sacks. In that department, Caleb Jordan was the leader with 2.5. Basha got some further help from Anitoni Tahi: he picked up a sack and made five total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Westwood didn't have too much trouble with Desert Vista on Friday as they won 35-21.
Basha better keep an eye on Keshawn Barkus. He was instrumental in Westwood's win, rushing for 289 yards and three scores. They also got a significant boost from Elliot Reed, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 131 yards.
Westwood was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 432 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 188 rushing yards in eight consecutive games dating back to last season.
Basha's victory bumped their record up to 5-0. As for Westwood, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Basha has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 191 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Westwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 319.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Basha against Westwood when the teams last played back in August of 2023, as the team secured a 66-7 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Warriors' Giordan Hanks, who rushed for 123 yards and one touchdown on only nine carries, and also threw for 138 yards on ten of 19 attempts. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Bears to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
