Second-half shutout moves Bears on to semifinals
Junior running back Noah Roberts shined for the Basha offense and the defense made two interceptions in the first half as the Bears held tough when it counted most for a 33-10 win over Williams Field in an Open Division quarterfinal on Friday night at Jim Wall Stadium in Chandler.
Basha advances to the State semifinals with a matchup against Liberty, which beat Red Mountain, 48-23, in another quarterfinal on Friday. It’s the Bears’ fourth consecutive trip to the Open semis. It will also be a rematch of the 2024 championship game (won by Liberty).
The Bears are in the Open for the fifth straight year and claimed the title in 2022. The seniors on this team were freshmen back then and watched the upperclassmen bring the school’s first championship. Now they’re two wins away from getting the second.
Meanwhile, Williams Field’s run comes to an end. The Black Hawks won 5A titles in 2016 and 2019 (under current head coach Steve Campbell) before moving up to 6A in 2020. This year was the first trip to the Open Division bracket in school history. It was also a rebound from a 4-7 season in 2024.
Williams Field was able to sustain most of its drives and ran 62 plays (28 more than Basha). The Black Hawks ran the ball on 47 of those snaps and had the ball for 27 of the game’s 48 minutes.
”They had a good game plan,” Basha head coach Chris McDonald said. “We knew they were going to try and control the clock. We bent all night. We didn’t break. Offensively, we made plays when we needed to.”
The Standouts
Basha RB Noah Roberts
The 6-1, 200-pound junior running back is one of the top recruits nationally in the ‘27 class. After Williams Field took a 7-0 lead, it took just one play for the Bears to get the equalizer and it was a 63-yard run on a counter by Roberts. Once he gets open space, his breakaway speed shows why 36 Division I colleges have extended offers to him. For the entire season, he has shared carries with Joshua Gaines. Roberts had just 85 of the team’s 267 attempts this year (32 percent) in the regular season. That means he’s fresh and it showed as he added on two more scores for the Bears.
Basha LB Marc Duerson
The junior plays the Will linebacker spot for the Bears. That involves a combination of chasing plays from the backside and also dropping into coverage. With a running team, there wasn’t as much coverage needed. Duerson came up with a big stop on fourth down early in the final quarter. Williams Field was on its second straight 10-plus play drive and was down 14 points, necessitating going for it on fourth-and-six from the 14-yard line. Duerson (6-0, 195) brought the pressure forcing a quick throw and an incomplete pass.
Basha LB Eli Cramer-Cronin
The senior linebacker (pictured at the top of the article) celebrated his birthday with an interception in the second quarter. That led to a field goal which completed a string of 24 unanswered points for the Bears. Cramer-Cronin has been a mainstay in the lineup for Basha and had 386 career tackles in his three years on varsity (entering Friday). He is a New Mexico commit and was just named 6A Southern Region Defensive Player of the Year this week.
Basha K Mikey Barth
It’s rare for a kicker to be a standout unless they’re hitting a game-winning field goal. But the job Barth, a junior, does on kickoffs cannot be understated. For the entire season, he has had just one returned. Period. That’s out of 71 kickoffs. Unlike the NFL, high school teams that watch a kick sail into the end zone (or even off the goal post) have to start at the 20-yard line. Those long fields were critical as Williams Field had five drives of at least seven plays. On four of his touchbacks, the Black Hawks crossed into Basha territory. Starting from the 40, those might have been touchdowns or field goals. Speaking of FGs, Barth made his 11th of the season from 40 yards out.
Williams Field RB Courshawn Hill
Given the stakes, and the opponent, it was one of the best rushing performances I’ve seen in 17 years of covering high school football. Basha held seven of its 10 opponents to 14 or fewer points. While they did so again, Hill didn’t make it easy. With an injury to Q Skillings, Hill took on the task of workhorse back. He toted the rock 35 times for 231 yards, including the Black Hawks’ only touchdown on their initial drive. Hill, a senior committed to San Jose State, has that ability to put a team on his back (277 in a win over Saguaro earlier this season). The Spartans are certainly getting a good one.
Every Play Counts
- Leon Bracken and Kentrall Jackson each got sacks on back-to-back plays for Williams Field on Basha’s first drive. That forced a punt.
- A 42-yard pass play from Dominick Barjona to Trey Smith got the Black Hawks in scoring position on their touchdown drive in the first quarter.
- A personal foul penalty on third down gave the Black Hawks a first-and-goal on their opening possession.
- Williams Field crossed midfield in the second quarter and had it at the Basha 40-yard line, but an interception by Kaleb Garcia at the 5 ended the threat.
- Basha quarterback Jake Rogers had consecutive 24-yard passes to Jaden Burrell and Christian Diaz on what was a 95-yard scoring drive.
- Eli Cramer-Cronin made it two straight interceptions for the Basha D with a grab at the Williams Field 31-yard line. The Bears kicked a field goal to increase their lead to 24-7.
- Williams Field was at the Basha 15-yard line with 40 seconds remaining in the half with no timeouts left. The Black Hawks were going to kick a field goal from the 23-yard line, but a penalty backed them up five yards. Faced with a 45-yarder, Campbell opted to go for it. A tackle was made, but a face mask penalty was called. That moved the ball to the 13-yard line and the Black Hawks, on an untimed down because time had run out, kicked a 30-yard field goal.
- Dominick Barjona had a 15-yard run to give Williams Field a first down at the Basha 22-yard line in the third quarter.
- On third down in the drive, Dante Bruley had a sack. The fourth-down pass went incomplete. Williams Field had the ball for 7:15 and ran 13 plays, but didn’t get any points.
- Williams Field had another long drive. The Black Hawks ran 25 plays in the second half (compared to 5 for Basha) with 8:30 remaining in the game. But on fourth-and-six from the 14-yard line, Marc Duerson brought pressure and a rushed pass went incomplete.
Box Score
Bears 33, Black Hawks 10
| WF | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| BASH | 7 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 33 |
First Quarter
WF – Courshawn Hill 1 yard run (Brooks Rodenbaugh kick), 4:47
Bash – Noah Roberts 63 yard run (Mikey Barth kick), 4:32
Second Quarter
Bash – Joshua Gaines 6 yard run (Barth kick), 11:15
Bash – Roberts 30 yard run (Barth kick), 6:39
Bash – Barth 40 yard FG, 2:25
WF – Rodenbaugh 30 yard FG, 0:00
Third Quarter
No Scoring
Fourth Quarter
Bash – Roberts 16 yard run (Barth kick), 3:31
Bash – Safety. Mason Lewis tackled quarterback in end zone, 2:34
Team Statistics
| Williams Field | Basha | |
| First Downs | 15 | 12 |
| Rushes-Yards | 47-269 | 22-159 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 5-15-2 | 10-12-0 |
| Pass Yards | 60 | 186 |
| Total Yards | 329 | 345 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 10-95 | 9-97 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Williams Field – Hill 35-231, Barjona 9-25, Jones 2-10, Joyner 1-3. Basha Roberts 7-128, Gaines 7-38, Lewis 1-9, Liniger 1-0, Rogers 6-(minus 16).
Passing
Williams Field – Barjona 5-15-2, 60 yards. Basha – Rogers 10-12-0, 186 yards.
Receiving
Williams Field – Smith 1-42, Booker 2-10, Tyler 1-7, Jones 1-1. Basha – Brock 4-59, Diaz 2-49, Lewis 1-29, Burrell 1-24, Baldwin 1-18, Roberts 1-7.
Sound Off
Basha RB Noah Roberts on how sharing the carries hasn’t tired him out this season: “For the big games, it leaves me real fresh. I’ve got legs under me so I can play my best in the bigger games.”
Williams Field head coach Steve Campbell on the play of Courshawn Hill and the Black Hawks offensive line: “I think they took a lot of pride in that they were going to play tough-guy football and they did. Every time he ran the ball, he was going to win the contact battle. I can’t be anything but happy with the effort. They were just a little better tonight.”
Basha LB Marc Duerson on how the Bears studied for Williams Field during the week: “We prepared for the pulling guards. They pull one of their tackles and we were really prepared for that.”
Basha head coach Chris McDonald on one of the advantages he noticed with his Bears: “Our kicker was a huge advantage for us. I’ll put him in if it’s 50-plus. Us giving them long fields all night was a big factor.”
Next Week
Williams Field (8-4) completes its first run in the Open Division. The Black Hawks defeated Pinnacle on the road last week to reach the quarterfinals. This group of seniors reached a level the Black Hawks had never been to and the run game was a staple. Courshawn Hill (San Jose State) and Q Skillings (Illinois State) will be playing on Saturdays along with offensive linemen Collin Campbell (Michigan State), Malachi Joyner (Arizona), and Omar Kaba (Idaho).
Basha (10-1) will play Liberty in the semis next Saturday. The neutral site is Corona del Sol HS in Tempe. Liberty (10-1) hasn’t lost to an Arizona team since 2022 and has won the past two Open Division titles. The Lions have held six of their opponents to fewer than 10 points and have become renowned for their defense, particularly along the front seven.
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