Chandler Basha kicked off homecoming weekend one day early by hosting a Thursday night football game televised live on Cox Channel 7.

View slideshow of images from the game

The home team did not disappoint, as the Basha defense keyed a 27-0 victory over Mesa Westwood in a 5A-I nonregion contest.

With Westwood’s offense struggling to find yardage all game long, the Warrior defense spent much of the night on the field. Basha (3-1) took advantage of Westwood’s tiring defense by chewing up 247 rushing yards.

Senior tailback Will Still led the ground attack with 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“It was nice for our defense to get the shutout on homecoming,” Basha coach Tim McBurney said.

“I don’t think (Westwood) had many first downs, and it was important for our defense to play well because we made some mistakes offensively.”

Westwood’s offense was held to three first downs for the entire game, and never threatened to score. Quarterback Marshall Davis had little time to throw the ball, as Westwood (1-3) was held to 51 total yards.

Despite the statistical domination, Basha only held a 13-0 lead at the half. Penalties, combined with a valiant defensive effort from Westwood, kept the score respectable.

“We had far too many penalties,” McBurney added.

Basha quarterback Michael Benjamin was efficient, completing six of his 10 attempts for 105 yards while keeping Westwood off-balance with his quick feet. The junior had one scoring pass that came late in the first quarter, a 6-yard toss to Stefan Fulce.

After a short touchdown run by Will Still in second quarter, Basha led 13-0 and had a shot to increase that lead before the half after blocking a Westwood punt deep inside Warrior territory. Basha, however, was unable to manage a first down from Westwood’s 15-yard line.

“We really had a shot to score some more points in this game,” McBurney said of his team’s miscues, which included a 65-yard punt return for a score nullified by a clipping call.

“A 20-0 lead would’ve been a lot more comfortable going into halftime, but that’s all part of the process during the season is improvement.”