Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

high school football:

Still alive: No. 4 seed Basic pulls off another upset, beats Las Vegas to advance to Sunrise finals

2014 High School Football

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

From left, Basic High School football players Chris Flum, Dallon Ellett and Cristian Morales July 21, 2014.

Prep Sports Now

Upsets happen

Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Ray Brewer and Case Keefer look over a surprising remaining playoff bracket before weighing in with their picks.

The Basic High football team started nine juniors on defense this year.

With games against four-time Sunrise champion Liberty, Sunset power Arbor View and high-scoring Green Valley in the initial six games the season, learning on the job often involved some growing pains.

“But we were real close,” Wolves coach Jeff Cahill said. “Watching the film, yeah the scores were lopsided, but we were right there. We were making some rookie mistakes. If we could clean some things up, I knew we’d be able to hang with those teams.”

Not only is Basic hanging with those teams, they are beating them.

The Wolves won their second playoff game today, beating host Las Vegas 42-32 in the Sunrise Regional semifinals to advance to next week’s championship game. There are just four teams left in Southern Nevada’s Division I, including fourth-seeded Basic.

“The kids are excited, man,” Cahill said. “The kids had it in their minds that they were going to win this game.”

Basic has scored 70 points in two playoff games, relying on an improved rushing attack to give the offense balance. Sean White had a rushing touchdown against Las Vegas, Darius Isaia led the Wolves in rushing yards and fullback John Funaki provided a nice change of pace.

“A different guy every week is stepping up. It’s a total team effort,” Cahill said.

Click to enlarge photo

Basic High School's Josh Villaron #27 goes up high after a pass over Green Valley's Nazhi Salih #9 during the Henderson Bowl on Wednesday, October 2, 2014.

Junior quarterback Aeneas McAllister has been steady all season, passing for three touchdowns and rushing for another. Josh Villaros had two touchdown receptions and Brian Evans had the other.

Basic scored 14 unanswered points to open the game and never trailed. Dallon Ellett added a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

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