The Basha Bears are back in the Open state championship game for the second time in three seasons.  
ALA Queen Creek was once again so close, but just short .

Basha (12-1) held off a late rally from the Patriots for a 40-35 win in a thrilling Open semifinal contest Saturday night at Dobson High School.

It was Basha's third straight playoff Open win over ALA-Queen Creek, who's playoff heartbreak is not unlike Brophy Prep's vex against Mesa's Red Mountain and Mountain View. 
The Patriots came up 24 yards short, when quarterback Britt Dewitt was sacked on a fourth down play with under 30 seconds left. 

The Bears controlled much the game by taking advantage of three ALA-QC turnovers, but the Patriots kept up, as quarterback Britt Dewitt showcased his talent against his junior counterpart Brodie Vehrs. 
Dewitt threw for 387 yards and flve touchdowns, three of which went to senior Kingston McCabe.  
Vehrs was calm and cool operating the Basha offense, throwing for 276 yards and two scores, The Bears 1-2 running back punch of Noah Roberts and Joshua Gaines kept the state's best defense off balance for much of the game. 
"I'm so proud of this team and our kids," Basha coach Chris McDonald said. 
"ALA is a problem every year for us. But our kids fought and executed for 48 minutes. We've played a tough schedule and I think that really helped us tonight."

Liberty (12-1) blew out Hamilton with ease in the other semifinal game. The Lions are shooting for their second consecutive Open title. 
(Liberty) is talented and well coached," McDonald added. "It's gonna be a battle."

It was a year ago when Basha lost on the same Dobson field to Centennial. The Bears hadn't forgotten. 
""We actually watched that loss before we got on the bus tonight," McDonald admitted. 
"It was a tough loss, and so many kids from our current roster remembered."

Roberts and Gaines each had rushing touchdowns in the first quarter after ALA QC fumbles. Dewitt and receiver Boe Sparks hooked up for passing scores of 25 and 27 yards. 

A Mikey Barth field goal gave Basha a 17-14 lead later in the second quarter. Dewiit then engineered another Patriots drive deep into Basha territory before the game's most pivotal play. 
A Dewiit pass was tipped and intercepted by Basha, and Vehrs took advantage. He drove Basha 72 yards and capped the drive before his 24-yard scoring pass to Roberts. The Bears took a 24-14 lead to the half.

Dewiit threw two more scoring passes to McCabe in the second half, but Vehrs kept the Bears ahead with a touchdown pass to Dash Blake

But Dewitt and McCabe continued their magic. They hooked up again from nine yards to make it a five point game (40-35) before the Patriots ran out of gas on their last drive. 
 

"We made some mistakes but it's a satisfying," Vehrs said afterward. "(ALA-QC) is always relentless. We need to get ready now for next week. M"