On Friday, 8/19, I watched from the sideline as Westview came out to southeast Chandler and beat the Basha Bears, 54-36. Westview came in ranked #10 in our preseason media poll, while Basha was ranked 7th. Basha also came in ranked higher in the STATE FORTY EIGHT Power Poll, but that didn't matter to the Knights, who proved Ralph Amsden's prediction of a Basha win incorrect.

7) Westview QB Ryan Martinez , 6-1, 175 (2017)

I was expected Martinez to have a minimal role in the traditional Wing-T offense. I was dead wrong. He showed off his arm with pinpoint accuracy, and his legs by tearing apart the Bears' defense. His 27-yard touchdown run in the second quarter helped break the game wide open.

6) Basha WR Terrell Brown, 6-4, 175 (2017)

He had a couple of dazzling catches that caused audible awe from the crowd. 5 catches for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns is impressive on paper. But, seeing Brown used his size to his advantage over smaller corners in person showed me why he has several D1 scholarship offers. When Kelley and the Basha offense needed a big play, they looked Brown's way, and he delivered.

5) Basha RB/DB DeSean Goodman, 5-10, 170 (2017)

He helped jump start the offense for the Bears, and was the main reason the team got back into striking distance. He was electric taking carries, and catching passes out of the backfield. The first play of the second half from Goodman was a kickoff return for a score, which gave the Bears the life they needed to keep fighting.

4) Westview RB Efrain Arechiga, 5-10, 175 (2017)

He didn’t have the crazy numbers that his teammate Tyler Vasko had, but Arechiga was effective all night. He scored two touchdowns in the victory, and he took advantage of the defense when they were too focused on his backfield partners.

3) Westview DL Previn Loyd, 6-2, 195 (2017)

Loyd was a force against the Basha offense. During Basha’s first possession, he picked up a fumble and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Then, during the next possession, he gets a sack. Loyd would be involved in plays all night, forcing Ryan Kelley to leave the pocket or get rid of the football earlier than he would have wanted.

2) Basha QB Ryan Kelley, 6-4, 195 (2017)

Although he faced lots of pressure, his display of arm strength and decision making showed why he's considered to be the top QB in the state. Hardly ever made the wrong decision. Kelley had 3 touchdowns total Friday night (2 passing, one rushing).

1) Westview RB Tyler Vasko, 5-7, 200 (2017)

Westview’s RB has an incredible game Friday night. 314 rushing yards, 468 total yards, and 4 touchdowns in the win over Basha. Every time this man touched the football something positive happened. He was patient, he made people miss, he chipped away from the defense and waited for them to make a mistake.

The versatility of the Westview offense. Sure, certain plays kept working over and over and over again, but the Knights weren’t one trick ponies on Friday night. They did play action, they ran the ball on the inside, and the outside. The most impressive thing of the night was how much they scored and how quickly they did it. 54 points in a football game is impressive. 54 points, and most of the damage is done on the ground is pure dominance.

Basha High School was a great environment on Friday. The student section showed up in full force. Only complaint was that there weren’t enough Westview people there to witness a performance they'll be talking about all week, but it is a VERY long drive so it’s understandable.

Tyler Vasko was so impressive. I can’t say it enough. It was one of the best performances I’ve seen in person. He nearly had 500 yards in total offense by himself. There will be teams this year that won’t even get 500 yards of total offense in a single game this season. He got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and I look forward to seeing him play in the future.

Basha had a rough first half. They seemed to be beating themselves up. Bad penalties, unforced errors, turnovers, and the inability to get defensive stops got them in a hole they had to work so hard to get out of. If they played closer to even in the first half, they probably would have won the game.

Basha’s penalties. Every time it seemed like they were getting momentum, like the tables were beginning to turn, the yellow flag would be thrown in the air against them. They were obvious penalties too. Inarguable. They will have to improve their discipline if they want to achieve some of their goals this season.

I really liked Terrell Brown’s game. He is long and athletic with really good hands. If he can create some more separation from his defender, I think he was the ability to have a monster season. It helps when you have a really good quarterback too, but I think Brown’s ability to make the tough catch will get Basha out of a lot of jams in 2016.

Westview (1-0) @ Brophy College Prep on September 2

It will be important for Westview Knights to keep sprinkling the passing game into their team as the season goes on. It will help them when they are trying to step on the throat of their opponents and not let them back into the game like the second half of the game against Basha. It will also be important for the pass rush to close in on the quarterback and not let him break containment. While the rush forced Kelley to hurry at times, he also was able to break free and make a lot of plays in space.

Basha (0-1) @ Pinnacle on August 26

Basha cannot afford to have another slow start on defense like they did against Westview. They have to tackle better, and not allow the Pinnacle playmakers to be able to play around in space. This is what happened in the game Friday and the Knights made them pay. Basha’s offense will be able to find it’s way, but the defense cannot allow another game like this or they will have slim chances of winning.