Hamilton Cruises Past Basha in MaxPreps National Game of the Week

The biggest game of the AZHSFB 2025 season took place on Friday night.

The #1-ranked Basha Bears faced off against the #2-ranked Hamilton Huskies.

Both teams were undefeated coming into this game, and it was set up to be one of the biggest games AIA football has seen in a few years.

Ultimately, Hamilton took down Basha 28-12 and continues its magical season undefeated.

Before the kickoff even happened, the atmosphere of the game couldn’t be understated. 

The MaxPreps Game of the Week featured a combined 36 players with D-I offers. Both stands and sidelines were packed, and multiple college coaches and scouts attended, including U of A head coach Brent Brennan and ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham. 

Hamilton head coach Travis Dixon was excited about the turnout and thinks it's great for Arizona high school football. 

“This is what you want in high school football, you want to see these things, you want this for these young men,” Dixon said. “We saw a lot of great talent on the field tonight on both sides of the ball.” 

Everyone in attendance was able to see some of the best talent in Arizona go at it.

The first big play of the game came when Hamilton's sophomore 4-star wide receiver Roye Oliver III returned a punt for a touchdown to give the Huskies the first points of the game. 

Early in the second quarter, Basha was able to get their first points of the game. 

After a steady drive that led the Bears into Hamilton’s territory, they had to settle for a field goal after Hamilton junior defensive end Derrick Leblanc Jr. got a sack on third down. 

Basha’s junior kicker, Mikey Barth, hit a 30-yard-plus field goal. 

Less than a minute after Basha got the field goal, Hamilton did what they do best, and that is find the end zone. 

Hamilton's superstar sophomore duo continued to do amazing things as quarterback Jax Sculley found Oliver III on a post route, and Oliver III did the rest and scored a ridiculous 90-yard touchdown. 

The duo has been electric since even before high school with the Chandler Bears. Sculley and Oliver III’s chemistry is some of, if not the best, in the state.

“Me and him have been playing (with each other) our entire lives,” Sculley said. “Our chemistry is insane. I just need to throw him the ball and he’s going to catch it.” 

Basha was once again able to slice into the lead as they had another long drive down the field. 

The drive consisted of big runs by four-star junior running back Noah Roberts and crucial catches by three-star Colorado State wide receiver commit Kash Brock. 

This time around, they got into the end zone as their senior running back Joshua Gaines ran it up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown. 

Right before halftime, Hamilton once again moved the ball down the field. 

The biggest play of the drive came on fourth and three when they decided to go for it. 

It was a quarterback run by Sculley who scampered for four yards and put the ball inside of Basha’s 10-yard line. 

Two plays later, Sculley connected with junior tight end Billy Davis for a 7-yard touchdown. 

With only 30 seconds to go in the half and no timeouts, time was not on Basha’s side.

However, they ended up getting the ball on Hamilton's 35-yard line and gave their kicker a chance to add more points before halftime.

Making it look easy, Barth drilled a 52-yard field goal to make the score 21-12 heading into halftime. 

Unfortunately for Basha three-star North Texas quarterback commit Brodie Vehrs came out of the locker room after halftime in a cast and did not return to the game.

Early in the third quarter, Hamilton's offense once again made a huge play.

Just like they did earlier in the game, and many times before this season, Sculley connected with Oliver III for a 46-yard touchdown. 

That touchdown for Oliver III puts him at 25 receiving touchdowns on the year, which is now the new 6A record.

All the hype around the game and his record-breaking night it was still just like any other game for Oliver III.

“It’s just a normal game,” Oliver III said. “We had confidence during practice. We treat every game the same.”

Hamilton was now up 28-12, but it wasn’t quite over yet as Basha’s defense tried to give their team an opportunity to make a comeback.

Late in the third quarter, Basha’s senior defensive back Kaden Williams forced and recovered a fumble to prevent Hamilton from once again adding onto their lead. 

The next drive for the Bears' defense, they caused another turnover as three-star New Mexico linebacker commit Eli Cramer-Cronin was able to get an interception.

Neither turnover didn’t result in much, though, as Basha’s offense struggled against Hamilton's defense in the second half. 

Sealing the game, Hamilton went for it on fourth and one with five minutes left in the game and successfully moved the chains. 

It allowed Hamilton to chew most of the remaining clock and give them the win over Basha. 

In 2025, Hamilton has once again become a household name. They have had a lot of success for a long time, but this year, people are seeing them as one of the favorites to win the open division, which would be their first state title since 2012.

“I don’t think Hamilton ever left,” Dixon said. “I think we never left, we just got pushed to the side a bit. We’ve been an open team every year since the open started; that’s something people overlook. That’s who Hamilton is.” 

Next up: 8-0 Hamilton will face 1-7 Cesar Chavez. 7-1 Basha takes on red-hot 5-3 Mesa.