Win puts Basic back in postseason

By Jared Harmon (contact)

Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 | 1 a.m.

After a three-year postseason drought, Henderson’s oldest school is back in the playoffs.

With a 47-30 win over Foothill in the Battle of Boulder Highway on Friday, the Wolves moved to a perfect 4-0 in the Southeast Division (6-2 overall), clinching at least the No. 3 seed in the postseason.

Basic coach Jeff Cahill said he was happy to take the win but unimpressed with the way the Wolves played. He said he wants to see improvement before his team closes out the season with its toughest opponents yet -- Del Sol and Green Valley.

“A 'W' is a 'W' but we made a ton of mistakes,” Cahill said. “Foothill played real hard and never let up but we have to be better than this. We need more enthusiasm. We need to play solid football. This could have gotten away from us.”

Despite being ahead 21-17 at halftime, Cahill said two fumbles and several penalties had him unhappy with his team’s performance at halftime. He credited defensive back Anthany Lessier with keeping the Wolves in the game to that point after the senior’s 56-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Lessier’s hot streak would continue as he pulled down another interception, a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

“That (interception) kind of turned things around for us,” Lessier said. “We were down at that point. They really had the crowd behind them and then I jumped up and pulled that ball down. I think it got us fired up and from then on we kept hitting them hard and executing.”

Senior quarterback Robby Faiman had a stellar night completing 10 of 14 for 224 yards with three touchdowns, but no one enjoyed the win more than Basic fullback and linebacker Martell Walker. The senior transferred from Foothill after three years of varsity ball with the Falcons and kicked off the third-quarter scoring spree for the Wolves with a 3-yard touchdown run after teammate Charles Phillips’ 77-yard kickoff return opened the second half.

“It feels so good to get this win and to be a part of a team like this,” Walker said. “The worse thing you can do is get beat by your old team so it felt great to get that touchdown. This is a really good team with a great coaching staff and I think we’re going to keep surprising teams. I knew this was going to be our year.”

While the Wolves can focus on trying the secure the best possible seed for the postseason, the Falcons (1-3, 3-5 overall) are still looking to fight their way into the fourth seed.

Foothill coach Marty Redmond said the Falcons' two lost fumbles and three interceptions helped to negate an otherwise impressive performance from his team that included 219 rushing yards highlighted by 95 yards from senior Algernon Sewell. Quarterback Aaron Dupin also threw for 109 passing yards hitting six different receivers.

“The kids are working hard, they haven’t let up. We just have to take better care of the football,” Redmond said. “We did a lot of good things, but overall we just didn’t execute. We made mistakes and had some special teams breakdowns and we have to do a much better job if we’re going to get into the postseason.”

Jared Harmon can be reached at 990-8922 or jared.harmon@hbcpub.com.