Arbor View’s Alex Sims, 21, gets to Basic’s De’shawn Eagles, 13, late after making a fine catch with defender Morris Jackson, 34, moving in to help make a stop during high school football on Friday, September 25, 2015.
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 | 2 a.m.
Prep Sports Now
Clear favorites and program bests
Ray Brewer and Case Keefer are back with their weekly discussion of the high school football scene, which is headlined this week by a top-five game pitting Basic against Arbor View. They also wonder out loud if Bishop Gorman, Liberty and Arbor View are fielding their best teams in program history this season.
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No. 4-ranked Arbor View and No. 5-ranked Basic squared off in a game Friday night that was every bit as close as their spots in the top 10 would suggest.
That doesn’t mean it was pretty. Instead of a slugfest, the Aggies and the Wolves engaged in something more like a sparring session with a punching bag.
They just traded off the roles of the attacker and the defenseless object. The Aggies did all the damage in the opening 13 minutes before ceding power to the Wolves.
Arbor View landed the heavier blows during their stretch as the puncher, leading to a 21-14 victory over Basic at home.
“We took a deep breath at the end of the second quarter and we just can’t do that,” Arbor View coach Dan Barnson said. “We’re going to play some really good teams like them and we’re going to have to battle and put teams away when we have a chance.”
It looked like the Aggies were on the verge of putting the Wolves away shortly after kickoff. Arbor View found the end zone on its first three possessions.
Senior running back Curtis Jones raced for a 30-yard touchdown to start the scoring before back spasms caused him to exit the game with eight carries for 73 yards. Arbor View shut down Basic on its next drive, which culminated with senior defensive lineman Harold Bell blocking a punt inside the 5-yard line.
Andrew Wagner bulldozed in a 2-yard touchdown before Bell, who had multiple sacks and tackles for losses on the night, and the defense flummoxed the Wolves again. Basic had a negative yardage total and only one positive play in the first quarter.
The Arbor View offense made use of the defensive efficiency by capping a 6-minute, 73-yard drive early in the second quarter with a five-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Deago Stubbs to make the score 21-0.
“We thought we would just keep scoring,” Wagner said. “But we had a lot of people going both ways so everyone got tired. They stepped up to the plate, showed what a great team they were and started coming back.”
Senior quarterback Aeneas McAllister took Basic out of its daze, breaking loose for a 59-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. The Wolves moved into Aggies territory again before halftime, but Aggies senior cornerback Noah Noce intercepted a McAllister pass.
The Arbor View defense consistently stepped up, but also put themselves in tough situations with constant penalties. The Aggies finished the game with 16 flags for 170 yards.
“We started fighting in our team because all of the penalties and never really got it together,” Wagner said.
The issue reached a zenith when Stubbs, who filled in admirably for Jones with 162 yards on 23 carries, had an 85-yard touchdown run called back for holding early in the third quarter. A couple of plays later, Basic senior linebacker John Funaki picked off a pass and eventually converted his own takeaway into points with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Arbor View fought out of risky positions for the rest of the game. Senior defensive ends Gage Motl and Gary Weaver disrupted Basic’s offense with constant pressure and batted-down passes. Junior cornerback Mike Sims intercepted a pass to end a Basic drive at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Wolves blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt with a minute to go for a chance at a 75-yard drive to force overtime. But after one completion, Wagner snagged the Arbor View defense’s third interception to end a sometimes-frustrating night with a rewarding victory.
“We got ahead and then started giving up,” Wagner said. “It was tough but we overcame it.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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