5 takeaways from No. 3 Basha's stunning win over No. 1-ranked Chandler on ESPNU

Basha's defense kept the nation's top junior prospect from making any big plays in the end and Demond Williams Jr., stole the spotlight on ESPNU with his legs and arm in the school's greatest football win.

The Bears stunned Chandler 14-7 on a big run by Williams in the first half and a big throw by Williams late in the game before an overflow crowd at Chandler's Austin Field and a national television audience.

The Wolves came into the game ranked No. 9 nationally and ranked No. 1 among the top eight Arizona teams likely to make it to the AIA's Open Division playoff.

Here are five takeaways from Basha's first win over Chandler since 2011, a game that now puts the Open Division rankings through the spin cycle:

1. Williams cashes in on ruling

Williams' 49-yard deep ball to Bryson Dedmon was a perfect pass at the most crucial time. With less than four minutes to play and the score tied at 7, it appeared Chandler came up with an interception on a tipped pass. Chandler defenders began celebrating. But the referee ruled the ball had hit the ground. Chandler was flagged for 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. A holding call on Basha, however, backed it up to the midfield.

Hurrying up the line of scrimmage, Williams, seizing the moment, was dialed in on Dedmon down the middle of the field as he ran a post pattern. Dedmon caught it in stride and was tackled at the 1. A couple of plays later, Deshaun Buchanan bolted in for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:12 to play.

"We found a hole in their defense at halftime," Williams said. "We came out and took advantage of it."

Basha got another big play from Williams late in the first quarter after Chandler (7-1) jumped out to a 7-0 lead on running back Ca'lil Valentine's punishing run on a 17-yard pass play that led to his 2-yard scoring run. Williams, unable to find any open receivers, found a seam and took off. He weaved around and down the sideline from his 15 to the Chandler 3 before being pulled down.

"When I broke out, I was trying to high step," Williams said. "It was get out the shoe laces tackle. I don't know what happened. I must have tripped on the turf."

It didn't matter. After Chandler pushed Basha back to the 12, Williams, getting plenty of time to survey the field, found Buchanan, who bulled his way into the end zone for a touchdown that tied the score at 7.

2. Tough competition led to Basha's breakthrough win

Basha (7-1) is now 3-1 against top-100 teams in the nation with the lone loss to Peoria Liberty 35-7 three weeks ago. Basha was humbled by a much more prepared Liberty team, which had its way offensively and defensively. But after a week off, Basha then rallied from a 23-9 deficit early in the final quarter to beat  Hamilton 26-23 on a walkoff field goal by Timothy Tynan.

Basha was a completely different team Friday night, ready for anything Chandler tried to throw at them. The Bears were just as physical, showed great speed and resiliency and the defense was tremendous after Chandler's game-opening scoring drive, sacking Dylan Raiola four times and keeping him from hitting any home runs with his receivers. It was sealed by a big defensive play with D.J. Jaiman, intercepting Raiola's pass that was batted at the line of scrimmage by Boise State-committed linebacker Wyatt Milkovic.

"This is the fourth team in the top 100 that we'd played this season," coach Chris McDonald said. "We're 3-1 against those big guns. We've got Casteel and then Perry and we'll go from there."

3. Basha is built to go all the way

Two years ago, when Williams was a freshman directing the offense, Basha got hot late in the season, only to lose in the first round of the 6A playoffs. Last year, Basha ran the table for the first time in school history, going 10-0, only to lose to Liberty in the first round of the Open playoffs. That team didn't have to face Hamilton and Chandler in the regular season. This team is now battle tested for anything, even a rematch with Liberty.

"We had an opportunity to come together as a team and look at our faults and weaknesses and see how we could strengthen," McDonald said. "This team is a resilient bunch. They understand we have a lot of talent. They also understand that talent alone doesn't win a championship. It's about being a team. I think when you battle really good teams it brings you together. If feel like every week we're getting closer and closer as a team."

4. Grabbing the spotlight

The hype surrounded Raiola, the Ohio State commit, who is ranked the No. 1 overall prospect in the nation in the 2024 class by recruiting sites. It was why ESPNU chose this game to televise. But Williams made the biggest plays. Raiola was good, showing some nifty footwork to buy time. He was able to find receivers in some tight windows to extend drives. But Basha's coverage was tremendous< keeping Chandler in a horizonal passing attack for much of the night, making it tough for Raiola to find an open target downfield.

When Raiola took a shot into the end zone with about five minutes to play, he had a receiver but it was just over the hands of 5-foot-8 receiver Blake Heffron on fourth down.

That led to Basha's winning drive.

On going up against the top-rated 2024 prospect in the nation on national TV, Williams said, "It was just another game to me."

5. No backing off

Basha's schedule gets easier the rest of the way after taking down Premier Region heavyweights Hamilton and Chandler. This should give the Bears a lot of confidence in the Open Division playoffs, and, who knows where they'll find themselves in the Arizona Interscholastic Association's Open rankings on Tuesday? The Bears came in at No. 3 behind No. 1 Chandler and No. 2 Liberty. The Lions won big on Friday over Sandra Day O'Connor, which is ranked No. 10 in 6A and outside the current Open mix.

"We focused on everything but the hype (this week)," Buchanan said. "We focused on the books, Hudl, hitting the weight room hard. It was mentally getting prepared like it's a championship game."

There's much more in the tank, Williams believes.

"That was far from our best football and we know it," he said.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 takeaways from Basha's shocker over No. 1 Chandler