I had the opportunity to head out to Basha on Friday night to watch the upstart Bears move to 3-0 with a 35-20 win over Corona del Sol. Basha's offensive line was without big left guard Jonathan Durand, but RB Cole Lundberg was still able to find holes and scored three times in the win. Basha QB Gabe Friend added two touchdown passes, and the Bears defense held superstar WR Ricky Pearsall Jr to just 78 yards on 11 catches. Corona got solid play from several players- QB Ryan Helt put the ball in the air 52 times without a turnover, and senior lineman Michael Hall played with a lot of energy on the defensive side of the ball.

Keep reading for my notes, observations, and photos from the game:

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I know 7 on 7 isn't "real football," but ever since seeing Lundberg play with STATE FORTY EIGHT over the spring and summer, I knew I'd have to get out and see what he could do in pads. He didn't disappoint. He scored three times, including a maximum effort 80 yard run that served as the nail in Corona del Sol's coffin.

Ty Sifferman came into the game with a bum ankle, and left the game early with a bum ankle, but in the time he was on the field, he showed exactly why he's Basha High's most versatile athlete. He might be going to GCU for baseball, but he could just as easily make a name for himself at the next level on the gridiron.

Remember the name Micah Harper. While the entire defense played well against Corona, Micah Harper's defense on the outside is a big reason for Basha's turnaround- especially against the pass. Reminds me a lot of former Desert Vista/Valley Christian DB Alijah Gammage, who is currently a walk-on at ASU.

Ryan Helt has very good peripheral vision, and knew exactly what to do to buy his receivers time and get positive yardage with his feet as a last resort. I didn't get to see him go deep much, but I did see him navigate play after play with 8 Basha Bears dropped back in coverage without tossing a single interception, even managing to sneak a couple of TD passes in.

Ricky Pearsall came onto the game with a ton of hype, coming off his ASU commitment and two monstrous stat-stuffing games. While he was targeted about 15 times on Friday, and had 11 catches, Basha really held him at bay in the passing game by swarming to the ball every time he made a catch. I did get to see him use his athletic gifts on one impressive run, where he took a handoff and was immediately met by about 4 Basha defenders, and he still managed to bounce the ball outside with some next-level acceleration and score the Aztecs lone rushing TD.

Over the 33 games from 2015-2017, Basha gave up an average of 10 points per quarter. In 2018, the defense has surrendered only 33 points in 3 total games. For over a decade people have watched prolific Basha offenses wasted by a porous defense. Now, Basha brings a workmanlike, technically sound offense to the field, and the defense is doing the same. In the end, all that matter is winning- but being able to stop opposing offenses in a region where the defenses are growing increasingly porous could be what gets Basha back in the mix.

I was impressed with the pass rush ability of DL Sean Smeltzer, the energy and tackling ability of DL Chandler Kelly, and the size and pursuit skills of OLB Parker Jacobs.

Corona del Sol watched Basha drop 8 players into coverage over and over and over again, and they never made an adjustment to running draw plays or anything of the sort to establish a running game and keep the Bears honest. When I see a game plan like that work against Corona without them making any kind of adjustment, it makes me wonder why anyone would ever try to do anything else.

If Corona del Sol is going to use their passing game as their running game, throwing 30+ passes of less than 15 yards yards downfield per game, they're going to need to make sure that the receivers are catching passes. Ryan Helt can do so much- unless the rules change and he's able to spray the ball down with stick'em, hitting his wideouts right in the hands should be enough.

Jaron Reval's recruitment. A 6-6, 210 long-armed TE/DE who moves well isn't exactly a dime-a-dozen prospect. Jason Jewell pointed this out earlier this year, and if there's anyone I trust on matters like this, it's Jewell.

Click play below to hear interviews with Ty Sifferman at the 9-minute mark, and Head Coach Chris McDonald at the 12-minute mark.

Basha (3-0) visits La Joya (1-1) on 9/7

Corona del Sol (1-2) hosts Boulder Creek (1-1) on 9/7