They're only sophomores but they look and sound and play like they're older. They're Chandler Basha's big wave of football players ready to break through to the Open side.

That side has belonged to Chandler and Chandler Hamilton and Scottsdale Saguaro and Peoria Centennial the last two years.

Basha can be part of the eight-team Open Division playoffs this year. And the Bears wouldn't look out of place.

Led by quarterback Demond Williams Jr., the state's No. 1-rated 2024 football prospect by The Arizona Republic, the Bears reached the 6A quarterfinals a year ago.

Now they're ready to be heard, especially after the summer additions of two Chandler Hamilton impact players and another big-time player from Louisiana.

Juniors Cole Martin and Deshaun Buchanan (the Hamilton transfers) and junior Jeremiah Vessel (the Louisiana move-in) with two-year starting junior offensive tackle James Durand and junior linebacker Wyatt Milkovic, with all these sophomores who started as freshman on a 6A quarterfinal team, give the Bears confidence they can run with anybody.

"Do we want to assert ourselves as one of the top programs in the state?" coach Chris McDonald asked. "Yeah. I think any coach and any program would want that.

"We've got a lot of underclassmen who will be playing. But they're good football players. A lot of them played last year as freshman. We've got to raise expectations."

Let's start with Williams, whose father was a talented football athlete at Pima Community College who played cornerback at Michigan State. He's been his son's coach and confidante growing up.

Last season, McDonald had no qualms giving Williams the keys to the offense as a freshman. He's not the biggest athlete but he dazzles. In nine games, the 5-foot-11 Williams passed for 1,814 yards and 18 touchdowns with only four interceptions, completing 64% of his passes. He ran for 239 yards and three TDs.

He guided the Bears to six consecutive wins, before losing to Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor 27-21 in overtime in the 6A quarterfinals. In that loss, he passed for 240 yards.

"I expect to come out and do a little bit better than last year," Williams said. "With the team I have, we can go the distance."

Durand is like the grizzled veteran now and he's only a junior. He started on varsity two years ago when the Bears went 4-7, suffering 42-0 and 49-0 losses to Hamilton and Chandler on successive weeks.

"When we come out to the football field, there's no age difference," said Durand, a Power 5 football recruit. "I think that we're going to be a team that can compete. Whether we win or not, I still think we're going to be a team that can compete with the top."

Sophomore wide receiver Bryson Dedmon is ready to be a primary target after catching 10 passes for 117 yards in the five varsity games he played.

Sophomore defensive back Miles Lockhart, who could be used more on offense this season, had 64 tackles and an interception on varsity as a freshman.

Sophomores Jack Bleier (linebacker) and Mason Arhin (wide receiver) are also rated among the top 50 2024 football players in Arizona by The Republic. They both should have an impact on the course of this season for the Bears.

"We're going to be a lot better than last year, I feel like," Lockhart said. "Especially with the new transfers coming in. I think we have the best secondary in the state."

Martin wasted no time in asserting himself as a leader.

Martin, rated by The Republic as the top 2023 recruit in Arizona with 30 Power 5 offers, doesn't hold back on how good he feels this team can be.

He has been pushed by Louisiana move-in Jeremiah Vessel, who runs under 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash and has been on the radar among SEC schools since last year.

"With Basha, I'm loving the school, I'm loving my teammates," Vessel said.

Vessel said it's been competitive every day with Martin, Buchanan, Lockhart and others on the field, locking down receivers.

"We're all competitive," Vessel said. "We argue a lot. But we're just making each other better at the end of the day."

Martin loves the competition at Basha.

"We got a lot dudes over here all working," Martin said. "The competitive mindset over here is crazy. In practice, we give it 100%. We don't hold anything back. We're full go. We already brought the mindset that we're trying to get to the championship. How to get to the top."

Martin believes in this defense.

"I'm 100% confident this defense will be the best in the nation," Martin said. "The secondary is unmatched. We're going to work."