QB’s big game helps Basic beat Foothill, win league title — PHOTOS
Basic still had a chance to win the Class 5A Division II Southern League title on the last day of the regular season.
The Wolves had to defeat first-place Foothill by at least seven points Friday night in the “Battle for Boulder Highway” to win the title on a tiebreaker.
Senior quarterback Anthony Vega made sure Basic would clear that margin of victory.
Vega threw three touchdown passes and rushed for three scores to lead Basic, ranked No. 7 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, to a 49-32 home win over No. 4 Foothill.
With the win, Basic (7-3, 5-1) clinched the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye to the semifinals and home-field advantage in the region playoffs. The Wolves will also be promoted to Class 5A Division I next season.
“It feels fantastic,” Basic coach Jeff Cahill said. “It’s been since 2015 when we last had a league title. We knew going into this game Foothill is an excellent team on an eight-game winning streak, and we had to win by a certain amount of points. Our kids came out and played the best game we’ve played all year, and we couldn’t be prouder of the kids.”
Vega completed 21 of 28 passes for 282 passing yards and had 62 rushing yards, including TDs of 9, 5 and 4 yards, against Foothill (8-2, 5-1).
“He’s been super important,” Cahill said. “His growth from last year to this year has been off the charts. I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now.”
Chrey Traylor hauled in 130 receiving yards on six catches, including a 43-yard touchdown for the Wolves. Zuri Whiters added 111 receiving yards on nine catches, including touchdowns of 23 and 6 yards.
Running back Brandon Griffin ran for most of his 112 rushing yards in the second half as Basic led Foothill by double digits and controlled the tempo with its run game.
“It feels great. It’s another game, but this one means something,” Vega said. “We’ve grown. We’ve been through ups and downs. We just pulled through and got the job done when we needed to.”
After the first eight possessions of the game resulted in points, Basic’s defense came up with a key stop late in the second half. The Wolves led by 10 with over four minutes left and forced the Falcons into a three-and-out.
Vega and the Wolves’ offense ran down most of the clock before halftime with a 10-play, 67-yard drive in just under four minutes. Vega scored on a 5-yard run to give the Wolves a 35-18 halftime lead.
“That was huge,” Cahill said. “Our offensive line had some problems last week and we tried to fix those things, and this week they came in and handled business.”
Vega connected with Traylor on the fourth play of the game on a 43-yard score to jump to an early lead. The Wolves added a 9-yard Vega touchdown run, and Demarion Matthews returned an interception for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.
Basic’s defense stopped a Foothill 2-point conversion to maintain a 21-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Foothill quarterback Mason Dew completed 17 of 27 passes for 312 yards and threw touchdowns of 19, 27, 53, 15 and 48 yards.
“I thought we were very physical on both sides of the line,” Cahill said. “… It was just a total team effort. (Foothill) has a great offense and a great quarterback. We were able to hold them to 32. That’s a lot, but they’re a really good team and I’m sure we’ll see them again.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
