Buckeye Pulls Off Upset of Bears

Photo:12 Caden Dabney caught both touchdown passes, kicked both extra points and added a field goal to account for all the Bradshaw Mountain points in a 28-17 setback to Buckeye

It turned out to be not a good night to visit the windy confines of Buckeye in the west valley as the #16 Buckeye Hawks pulled off a 28-17 upset of the #3 Bradshaw Mountain Bears.

Both teams came out and struggled early to find some consistency. Buckeye had the first opportunity to take advantage of a Bradshaw Mountain miscue when a punt was muffed by the Bears and the Hawks recovered the ball at the Bradshaw Mountain 15 yard line.

The opportunity was lost due to a stingy Bradshaw Mountain defense. Defensive back Caden Dabney was glued to receiver Keoni Ellis and tipped the pass away at the last second in the end zone on a fourth and 11 play to keep the game scoreless.

The Bears took over at their own 16 and would score three plays later. As a receiver, Caden Dabney took a screen pass from quarterback Taye Evans and maneuvered his way through traffic for a 79 yard touchdown.  Dabney extended his extra point streak to 32 to make it 7-0 with 8:01 in the opening quarter.

Buckeye quarterback Mekhi Sharper had thrown six incompletions up to this point, but then completed his next two to get a first down and push the ball to midfield. Sharper used his legs to get down to the Bears 14. Two plays later, Sharper put the Hawks on the board by going up the middle on a 3 yard run to make the score 7-7.

The Bears were moving the ball into Buckeye territory but Evans’ pass was picked off by defensive back Caleb Swain returning the ball back to the Bears 44. The Bears returned the favor on the very next play when Ricky Kuhl picked off Sharper at the Buckeye 49. The offense failed to pick up a first down and Bradshaw Mountain punted the ball back to Buckeye as the first quarter came to an end.

The Hawks were ready to take the lead as they moved the ball to the Bears 17, but an all out blitz paid off as Sharper lost the ball and Diego Galaz fell on it for Bradshaw Mountain.

The Bears offense got going using Jont’e Jones to punish the Buckeye defense and took the lead when Bradshaw Mountain went to the air. Evans rolled out to his right and found Dabney for a second time in the back of the end zone. Dabney added his 33rd straight PAT for a 14-7 lead with 5:43 left in the first half.

The lightning struck when Buckeye came right back when Sharper threw a pass to Maddux Villegas who went 83 yards for the score to tie the game at 14.

Bradshaw Mountain began their drive on the ground but Jones went down on the third play and came out of the game. Sebastian Witkowski stepped up grinding yardage on the ground working back into Buckeye territory. The Bears took a timeout on fourth and three at the Hawks 47. Witkowski took the direct snap and picked up seven for the first down. The drive would stall after a pair of incompletions and a sack as the game remained tied 14-14 at the half.

Bradshaw Mountain took the second half kickoff and moved the ball briefly but had to punt. The Hawks went back to the air and were able to take the lead when Sharper found Ellis on a fade pass play into the corner of the end zone for a 21-14 with 7:47 left in the third quarter.

A promising drive stalled and the Bears settled for a 39 yard field goal by Dabney to  pull Bradshaw Mountain to within 21-17.

Buckeye kept the ball in the air and quickly moved down the field and scored when Sharper hit Ellis on a 29 yard TD pass with 2:52 in the quarter to make it 28-17.

The Bears rolled the dice on a fourth down near midfield and moved the ball into Hawks territory, getting down to the 35 yard line as the third quarter came to an end. 

After getting down to the Buckeye 25 Bradshaw Mountain turned the ball over on downs. The Hawks picked up a pair of first downs before the Bears defense came up with a big stop with nine minutes left.

The Bears started a must score drive at their own six yard line, but the offense was unable to move the ball. Credit the Buckeye defense who did a great job forcing another punt.

Another stop by the Bears defense gave the ball back to the offense at their own 31 with 3:39 left, the Buckeye defense was a wall and the Hawks took over the ball on downs and kept the ball on the ground and ran out the final two plus minutes to secure the upset win.

Buckeye was led by quarterback Mekhi Sharper with 302 passing yards and three touchdowns. The senior also rushed 17 times for 76 yards and a touchdown.

The Bears were led by receiver, defensive back, and kicker, Caden Dabney who had 3 catches for 127 yards and the two touchdowns, two extra points and a field goal. Taye Evans threw for 181 yards passing on 9-27-1 and 2 TDs. Sebastian Witkowski rushed for 100 yards on 19 carries. Jon’te Jones rushed for 83 yards on 13 carries in the first half and did not play again but was seen still in uniform on the sidelines.

Buckeye improved to (6-2) while the Bears fell to (6-2). The loss will surely have an impact on the rankings but Bradshaw Mountain is still undefeated in Grand Canyon Region play. Next up is a home game versus Coconino on Friday at 7pm.

Division 4A Top 10 Review

The Snowflake Lobos took the top spot this week in Division 4A and struggled early with visiting #12 Eastmark Firebirds. The Lobos led 7-3 at the half before breaking it open in the third quarter and went on to win 31-3.

#2 Mica Mountain rebounded nicely after being upset last week with a lopsided 49-0 win at Amphitheater.

#4 Arcadia won their seventh in a row with a 28-10 win at Poston Butte.

#5 Prescott ran through the Flagstaff Eagles 69-41 on Thursday night. Click on link for story at

https://prescottenews.com/2026/10/16/badgers-rush-for-10-touchdowns-in-wild-win-over-flagstaff/

#6 Northwest Christian lost to #8 St. Mary’s 10-9 with all the points being scored in the first half.

#7 Peoria took care of ALA-West Foothills 32-8 at home for their fourth straight win.

#9 Walden Grove fresh off their upset of #1 Mica Mountain returned home to beat Estrella Foothills 35-10. The Red Wolves have now won five straight.

#10 Lee Williams picked up a big win at Coconino 35-21. The Volunteers trailed 14-7 after one, but led 21-14 at the half. Coconino tied it up in the third but Lucas Leist rushed for two of his three touchdowns on runs of 17 and 59 in the final quarter to secure the win.

BUCKEYE HAWKS 28, BRADSHAW MOUNTAIN BEARS 17

Score by Quarters-       1       2       3       4    –    T

Bradshaw Mountain      7       7       3       0    –   17

Buckeye                        7       7      14      0    –   28

Scoring Summary

BM-Dabney 79 yard pass from Evans (Dabney kick)

B-Sharper 3 yard run (Willett kick)

BM-Dabney 25 yard pass from Evans (Dabney kick)

B-Villegas 83 yard pass from Sharper (Willett kick)

B-Ellis 4 yard pass from Sharper (Willett kick)

BM-Dabney 39 yard Field Goal

B-Ellis 29 yard pass from Sharper (Willett kick)

GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS

School- 4A Rank (*)       W-L       W-L

Prescott (5)                     5-0        8-0

Bradshaw Mountain (3)  4-0        6-2

Lee Williams (10)           2-2        6-2

Coconino (13)                2-2        3-5

Mingus                           1-3        1-6

Mohave                          1-4        1-7

Flagstaff                         0-4        0-8

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS SCOREBOARD

Buckeye 28, Bradshaw Mountain 17

Fountain Hills 38, Chino Valley 0

Arcadia 28, Poston Butte 10

Estrella Foothills 29, Deer Valley 28, OT

Greenway 16, Moon Valley 14

Lee Williams 35, Coconino 21

Mesquite 45, Combs 44

Mingus 34, Mohave 12

Peoria 32, ALA-West Foothills 8

Ray 80, Mayer 26

Sierra Linda 54, La Joya Community 14

Scottsdale Christian 28, Camp Verde 14

Snowflake 31, Eastmark 3

St. Davis 62, Bagdad 12

Tempe 58, Independence 35

Walden Grove 35, Catalina Foothills 10

Williams 50, Mohave Accelerated 16

THURSDAY SCORES

Prescott 56, Flagstaff 0