Basha Bounces Back with Big Win Over Liberty

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The Basha Bears defeated the Liberty Lions 30-22 to get back to .500 for the season.

Basha head coach Chris McDonald said his team wasn’t going to dwell on the past, but focus on the road ahead.

“We could sit and dwell on the past, or we can focus on the process to get it done on Friday night,” McDonald said. “That’s what they chose to do.”

At the start of the game, it looked like Liberty was going to run away with it.

Only 1:30 minutes into the game, the Lions struck first.

Liberty 2029 quarterback Jason Haines found 3-star San Diego State WR commit Braxton Huynh on a short route.

Huynh then did the rest and made multiple defenders miss, then only saw green grass ahead, and he was gone for a 60-yard touchdown.

Liberty made an opening statement.

It seemed as though the previous weeks didn’t affect the Bears, however, as they marched down the field on their opening drive.

Multiple times during the drive, 3-star Princeton QB commit Jake Rogers used his legs to move the chains.

Capping off the drive, Rogers used his legs again to scamper into the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown.

It was no secret Rogers was beat up during the game, but he fought through it and helped his team when they needed him the most.

“My guys are putting in the work every single day,” Rogers said. “They’re doing it all for me so I gotta give it all back to them.”

With one quarter down, the game was tied at 7 apiece.

Early in the second quarter, the Lions took back the lead.

Haines launched the ball deep to Huynh for a 40-yard gain to set the Lions up near the goal line.

A few plays later, 2027 running back Jayden Sanchez was able to punch in a 2-yard rushing touchdown.

Late in the first half, Basha cut into the lead.

The Bears put together a nice drive to get into field goal range and let one of the best kickers in the country put it through the uprights.

3-star ASU kicker commit Mikey Barth drilled a 34-yard field goal to cut the Lions' lead to only 4.

Rounding out the first half, both teams committed turnovers.

For Liberty, 2027 defensive back Kaden Miller snagged an interception and gave the Lions great field positon.

However, Basha came through with a turnover of their own to get the ball right back.

Only two plays after Liberty got the interception, 2030 defensive back Ahmad Jones got Basha the ball back and snagged an interception.

The game then headed into halftime with Liberty leading 14-10.

Basha took the second half by storm and took the game away from Liberty.

The Bears started with the ball in the second half and got right down the field.

Rogers launched a deep ball to 2028 wide receiver Tristan Sailer, who had a massive catch and run to put Basha deep into Liberty territory.

Following the big play, Basha gave the rock to 3-star Texas RB commit Noah Roberts, who was able to score a 2-yard rushing touchdown.

Basha took their first lead of the night, and they never gave it back up.

Feeding off the momentum of their offense, the Bears' defensive unit came through with another huge takeaway that led to six points.

Screaming off the edge, Penn linebacker commit Barry Adams forced a massive fumble that was recovered by 3-star Utah defensive back commit Taylan Patterson.

Patterson proceeded to score off the recovery and give Basha a 10-point lead.

The momentum kept rolling for Basha in the fourth quarter to close the game out.

In the fourth quarter, Basha tacked on two more field goals and caused another turnover to put the game out of reach.

Getting the third takeaway of the game for the Bears was 2029 defensive back Jayden Jamerson, who came away with a massive interception.

During the fourth quarter, Barth hit a 25-yard and a 55-yard field goal to give the Bears a 30-14 lead with only three minutes left in the game.

Liberty was able to score one more time in the game as Haines connected with 2029 tight end Jayden Sellers for a 10-yard touchdown.

It was too little, too late, though, as Basha held firm on their lead and secured the 30-22 win.

The Bears are now back in the win column after losing the previous two weeks.

Basha 2027 4-star ASU OL commit Jake Hildebrand said they have to keep the momentum rolling.

“We’re going to keep this momentum going for Red Mountain,” Hildebrand said. “Then we’re going to use our bye week to get everyone healthy, so we’re ready for the second half of the season. Then make a run for the playoffs.”

Basha has to keep stacking the wins now.

They have made it a point to focus on themselves and getting better every week.

When they do that, the wins will come naturally for Basha.

“You don’t focus on who you’re playing; you focus on yourself,” McDonald said. “The chips fall where they fall. Score takes care of itself if you’re taking care of business daily.”

Next up: 2-2 Basha looks to keep things rolling when they take on 3-1 Red Mountain. 3-1 Liberty look to get back in the win column when they take on 1-3 ALA Queen Creek.