Basha vs. Red Mountain Football (Replay) 9-21-18

The Basha Bears played spoiler on Friday night when they defeated host, Red Mountain 24-17 on their Homecoming night.

The home team Mountain Lions took the lead early and looked unstoppable on offense. Quarterback Darren Smith started the game completing his first 8 passes and the running back duo of Deonce Elliot and George Ramirez found holes early. The Mountain Lions took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter after Ramirez found the end zone on a short run.

Basha would answer quickly. Camden Mateen returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

Red Mountain came out and continued running the ball effectively – moving the chains and eating up the clock. Basha would not run an offensive play until the 2nd quarter. In that 2nd quarter, Red Mountain came away with 2 interceptions, holding the Bears offense to 3 points. The Mountain Lions would go into halftime leading 17-10.

After an extended 20 minute halftime – the Basha defense and Senior Ty Siffermann would shine. The Bear’s defense would bend but never break as they shutout the Mountain Lions in the second half, limiting them to a long field goal attempt that came up short as their only real scoring opportunity in the second half outside of their final drive.

The story of the second half was Siffermann. The senior do-it-all player, who is committed to play baseball at Grand Canyon University, literally did it all on the field. He finished with 12 receptions, 118 yards receiving, threw for a 26-yard touchdown pass on a gadget play, kicked a 42-yard field goal and came away with a 4th quarter interception.

Basha took the lead late in the 4th quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run from Quarterback, Gabe Friend, giving the bears a 7 point advantage. On the ensuing drive, with the Mountain Lions threatening, Siffermann makes an acrobatic interception. The turnover forced the allowed Basha to milk the clock, giving Red Mountain 2 minutes to answer. But the Bears defense held strong even as the Mountain Lions got into the red zone. They were able to pressure the Quarterback and force a turnover on downs to seal the victory.

Red Mountain was led in rushing by Elliott who finished with 25 carries for125 yards and a touchdown. BYU commit, Carter Wheat finished with 8 receptions for 68 yards.

Each team will play at home next Friday when Red Mountain hosts Skyline and Basha host Hamilton.

GameTime: Season Preview and Schedule.