Chase Heflin is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Valley Vista High School for AZPreps365.com

SURPRISE – The stage was set in Surprise, Arizona, as a pair of ranked Division 6A schools from opposite corners of the Valley, No. 2 Valley Vista and No. 5 Gilbert Basha, collided on Friday night. Unfortunately for the hosts, there was no surprise in the outcome as the heavily favored and higher-ranked Bears overwhelmed the Monsoon, 48-0.

The Bears jumped on the Monsoon the from the start of the game, running the opening kickoff back for a 90-yard touchdown. This play would signify the type of night it would be for Valley Vista.

The first quarter was the tale of two teams. The Bears began the game with four straight touchdown drives, while the Monsoon began their first four drives with four straight three-and-outs.

Valley Vista's fourth punt caromed off the back of one of its own players, giving the Bears the ball at the 10-yard line. A Basha touchdown quickly followed.

Finally, with a promising fifth drive of the game, Valley Vista committed a turnover. Junior quarterback Adrian Crespin was intercepted in the end zone. On the following play the Bears scored on a 95-yard rushing touchdown. The route was on. The Monsoon had zero first downs and had negative yardage on offense after the first quarter and trailed 27-0.

After the first quarter, Valley Vista coach Derek Wahlstrom gathered his team in a giant huddle for a pep talk. “I told my players they have a choice to compete on every play," Wahlstrom would later say, "or accept the butt-kicking we are taking.”

The Valley Vista sideline was then ecstatic and made a tackle for loss the following play.

The words from their head coach seemed to hit home for the defense. The Monsoon only surrendered seven points in the second quarter. 

Alas, the same could not be said for the offense, which continued to struggle. The Bear defense was playing press man-to-man coverage on the outside, loading the box in efforts to stop Monsoon senior running back Meven Obregon. The Monsoon offense only had three first downs in the first half, two of which were by personal foul penalties by the visitors.

The struggles were well-documented across the whole offense. The offensive line struggled mightily throughout the first half, being dominated at the line of scrimmage. Valley Vista only had 69 yards of total offense in the first half, 23 yards rushing and 46 yards passing.

The Monsoon changed quarterbacks at the half, with Isaiah Sweeney stepping in for Adrian Crespin.“The thought process was we needed to take care of our starting quarterback," said Wahlstrom in regards to Crespin, who was injured, "who needed to sit out medically, so we did just that.” 

Luckily for the Monsoon, the Basha Bears benched their starters after the conclusion of the first scoring drive of the second half. Throughout the adversity and massive deficit, Valley Vista continued to fight hard for their head coach and teammates. The Monsoon finished with only 102 total yards for the game.

One standout from the game was junior linebacker Jonah Flowers. He was consistently hyping up teammates and the crowd throughout the game. Flowers' play backed up his excitement, recording two tackles for loss and being one of the lone bright spots for the Monsoon.

When asked if he was the emotional leader of the team, Flowers responded, “One-hundred percent, no doubt, I want the team to feed off of my energy.”

Flowers added that he expects his team to have a good week of practice and bounce back. Valley Vista looks to snap its two-game losing streak next week as the Monsoon visits the Westview Knights.