Basha throttles Chandler to claim 2nd Open State Title in 4 seasons

The Basha Bears left no doubt they were the best team in Arizona this season as they defeated the Chandler Wolves 34-7 in the Open Division championship game to conclude the 2025 AZ high school football season. 

Basha wanted to be aggressive and make a statement on their opening drive.

They got near midfield and were put into a fourth-down situation.

The Bears opted to go for it, but the plan backfired as they could not convert, and Chandler took over on downs. 

After the great stop by their defense, Chandler's offense stalled and couldn’t move the chains. 

For both teams, their defenses played great in the first quarter. 

That was until Basha went down the field first and scored late in the first quarter. 

It was a 7-play 62-yard drive that was capped off by Basha’s junior quarterback Jake Rogers running and diving into the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown. 

Rogers is the backup quarterback for Basha, but he said it doesn’t matter who goes down, that everyone on the team is always ready to step up to the plate.

“We have so many guys on the depth chart,” Rogers said. “No matter what happens, everybody is ready on this team.” 

Only a few plays later, the Bears' defense got a positive play of their own. 

They forced a fumble that was recovered by 3-star junior defensive end Caleb Jordan to end the first quarter. 

Riding the momentum, Basha added to their lead after forcing the turnover. 

The Bears wasted little time in the second quarter to score as Vanderbilt signee Mason Lewis ran for a 10-yard touchdown. 

After Lewis got it done on the offensive end, he then turned around on defense and forced a fumble to give his team the ball right back. 

The Bears seemed like an immovable force as they went down the field and scored again.

One of the crucial plays of the drive came when they went for it on fourth down, and senior running back Joshua Gaines was able to get past the sticks for a first down. 

Basha ultimately had to settle for three points as junior kicker Mikey Barth hit a 22-yard field goal.

It looked as if Chandler was going to be able to get on the board before halftime, but it was spoiled by Southern Utah signee Kaden Williams, who snagged an interception in the end zone. 

At halftime, Basha led 17-0 over Chandler and held all the momentum in Mountain America Stadium. 

Basha head coach Chris McDonald sent a clear message to his team before the championship game. 

“The message all week was, everybody wants to play Basha until you play Basha,” McDonald said. “We told our kids to stay off social media and to let other people do the talking. We will do the talking at 6 pm tonight.” 

The Bears came out with the same mindset and momentum in the third quarter.

One of the best plays of the game for Basha came when Rogers connected with Iowa State signee Kash Brock for a 57-yard catch and run.

Basha would once again settle for a field goal as they couldn’t find the end zone. Barth would go on to drill a 28-yard field goal to add onto the Bears' lead. 

In the middle of the third quarter, Chandler finally put a drive together.

3-star junior quarterback Will Mencl marched his team down the field, determined to get on the board. 

It ended up being Mencl who scored for Chandler as he scrambled in the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown to get the Wolves on the board for the first time in the game.

Just when things started going well for Chandler, Basha got down the field once again in a hurry.

Making another big play was Rogers finding Brock, who made a diving 44-yard catch to set the Bears up near the end zone again. 

Then, in what seemed like deja vu, Lewis scored his second touchdown of the game in the same fashion as his first one, as he scored off a jet sweep from nine yards out.

Transferring from Casteel last season, Lewis fit in with Basha right away and played a big role in the Bears winning the title. 

“I’m so proud of myself, so proud of my team,” Lewis said. “We worked for this, I’m proud.” 

Basha would then go on to seal the game as they forced a turnover on downs and scored just a few plays later.

The final dagger was when Rogers connected with junior wide receiver Christian Diaz for a 6-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach and make Basha the new champions. 

The road to winning the title was impressive for Basha. 

They routed a red-hot Williams Field team in round one, then, in the Open Division semi-finals, took down the reigning back-to-back Open Division winners in Liberty. Then, cementing their place in history books, they dismantled Chandler.

For Basha, it was no shock that they could get back to the Open Division championship and win it this season. 

“I knew this entire season they were going to play with a chip on their shoulder,” McDonald said in regards to if he was surprised that his team made it back to the biggest stage. “It wasn’t a surprise.”

Top Performers

'26 ATH Mason Lewis (Basha): 2 fumble forces, 1 fumble recovery, 1 PBU, 5 tackles (4 solo), 2 rush TDs

'26 WR Kash Brock (Basha): 2 rec, 101 yards

'27 QB Jake Rogers (Basha): 17-24, 242 yards, 1 TD

'27 DE Caleb Jordan (Basha): 1.5 sacks, 1.5 TFLs, 1 fumble recovery, 1 QB hurry

'27 DE Cau're Smith (Chandler): 1 sack, 2.5 TFLs, 9 tackles (3 solo)

'27 P Ryan Zima (Chandler): 5 punt, 213 yards (42.6 avg, long 51)