Dominant defense carries Basic to hot start, into rivalry game

That defense is a key reason the Wolves at 5-0 are off to their best start in 15 years.

Basic’s defense has shut out four of its five opponents, though the Wolves as a team have three shutouts. Carson scored on a safety Sept. 2, so that score didn’t occur against the defense.

The Wolves have outscored their opponents by a combined 170-16.

“We have some very good players, but we didn’t know how good we could be,” Basic coach Jeff Cahill said. “Right now with our defense flying around … amazing. And our offense every week, they’re just getting better and better and better.”

Next the Wolves face their top rival, Green Valley, in the Henderson Bowl. This is a Gat0rs team limping along at 0-4 and coming off a 34-0 loss to Arbor View. And the game will be at Basic.

Cahill isn’t assuming anything, however, pointing out the Gators have won the past four meetings.

“We know Green Valley no matter what their record is is going to be our toughest game so far,” Cahill said. “So we’re looking forward to a great ballgame.”

Another word of warning for Basic.

The last time the Wolves opened 5-0, in 2007, they lost their final five games. So as much as the Wolves have accomplished this season, they know much is left to be done.

Setting up showdown

Another team off to a strong start is Arbor View at 4-0, and the Aggies have been as dominant as that record indicates.

Their only close game was the opening 7-0 victory over Snow Canyon (Utah), and the Aggies have since won by margins of 32, 29 and 34 points. Only Mountain Pointe (Arizona) has scored in double digits against Arbor View.

Now it’s off to Desert League play against … Bishop Gorman (4-1). The Aggies don’t exactly ease into that portion of the schedule.

“No, we don’t,” Arbor View coach Matt Gerber said. “We’ve got our hands full next week without a doubt. It’s a game we’ve certainly been looking forward to. We know what’s in front of us.”

Gerber said the Aggies will have to play a near perfect game. Even though they beat Green Valley handily, the Aggies had three touchdowns negated by penalties and an interception in the end zone.

“Those are things against Gorman you certainly cannot do,” Gerber said. “We’ve got some work ahead of us.”

Up next

The schedule heats up with nearly every team in league play, the notable exception being the Green Valley-Basic game.

Faith Lutheran (5-0) will get a true sense of where it stands when Liberty (2-3) visits. The Patriots ended a three-game skid with a 25-18 victory over Kamehameha Kapalama (Hawaii), concluding a demanding nonleague schedule. Gorman and Liberty have dominated Class 5A, but this is a week to see if Arbor View and Faith Lutheran are true contenders or if recent history will hold.

There aren’t nearly as many questions in 4A, where Silverado (4-0) continues to dominate. But Shadow Ridge (4-1) and Basic shouldn’t be completely counted out.

Moapa Valley (5-0) remains the team to beat in 3A, but the Pirates have shown some vulnerabilities. They barely got by Pahrump Valley on Friday, winning 7-6. They also had to scrap to beat Boulder City 26-22 two weeks ago.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.