The state football tournament is in full swing, and a pair of Davis County teams got off to a good start. 

Both Bountiful and Woods Cross won first-round matchups at home to move to the second round. Meanwhile, Viewmont fell in its first-round game, ending the Vikings’ season. In Class 6A, Davis and Farmington each had first-round byes and are gearing up for their second-round games this Friday. 

Bountiful

The Redhawks opened the 2023 state tournament resoundingly, pulverizing 23rd-seeded Cedar Valley. Bountiful, the 10th seed, won going away, 51-7 in a contest that saw the Redhawks outscore Cedar Valley 44-0 after the score was tied at 7-7 with 4:52 left in the first quarter. 

Siaki Fekitoa has three touchdown runs – all in the first 14 minutes of the game, scoring from 7, 56 and 8 yards out. He finished with a monster game of 178 yards on 15 carries. Faletau Satuala added two touchdown receptions, hauling in passes from Emerson Geilman of 61 and 8 yards. His second score came with just four seconds left in the second quarter. After Landon Zayas kicked the extra point, it was 34-7 Bounitful. 

With the game already put away, the Redhawks added 17 more points in the second half. Geilman threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Wilkinson early in the third quarter. With 3:17 to play in the third, Damon Manwill scored on a 3-yard run. Zayas’ short 20-yard field goal with 10:14 left capped the scoring for Bountiful. 

Geilman had 271 yards passing on an efficient 12 of 15. Wilkinson had 100 yards on just three catches. Both of Satuala’s grabs went for TDs. The defense got nine tackles, a sack and an interception from Britton Tidwell. Dawson Allsop, Brigham Morrison, Evan Dehart, Brock McSwain and Jacob Brooks added sacks. 

Next of for Bountiful is a tall task against Granger this Friday. 

Woods Cross

The Wildcats earned the ninth seed at state and hosted 24th-seeded Taylorsville, a team whose only win on the year came by forfeit. 

Woods Cross didn’t show much mercy on the struggling Warriors in the first round on Oct. 20. The Wildcats won convincingly, 52-13. 

The 52 points for the now 7-4 Wildcats were a season high, with 45 of those coming in the first half. Woods Cross was up 31-0 after just 11 ½ minutes of play. During that time, the Wildcats had a 68-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Carter Freestone, a 19-yard TD run by Ben Smith-Mecham, a safety, a 45-yard pass from Lock Smoot to Krew Fornelius and a 1-yard touchdown run by Cash Henderson. 

Everything from that point was academic. 

Charlie Coats made it 38-0 with a 1-yard plunge across the goal line with 8:56 before halftime. After a Taylorsvillle touchdown, Isaac Johnson made a dazzling 76-yard touchdown run. It was 45-7 at halftime. 

Johnson’s 9-yard TD run midway through the third quarter was Woods Cross’ only second-half score, but it the Wildcats had long done enough damage. The Warriors added a late touchdown to make the score a little closer. 

Woods Cross now faces eighth-seeded Brighton on Friday in a second-round road contest. 

Viewmont

The Vikings fell to Maple Mountain 35-13 last Friday in their first-round playoff game. The defeat left the team with a 4-7 mark to end the year. 

Things looked good early for Viewmont. After Kingston Mickens scored on a 45-yard TD pass from Daren Tovey with 1:41 left before halftime, it was 7-0 for the underdog Vikings. But the second half was all Maple Mountain. 

The Golden Eagles scored 28 points in a row, including 21 in the third quarter alone to turn the tables and put the game away. A 34-yard touchdown pass from Carson Tovey to Jordan Jones with 4:15 left, trimmed the deficit to 28-13. But not enough time remained for a comeback. The Golden Eagles tacked on a late TD.

Daren Tovey had 84 yards rushing and 170 yards passing on the day. Backup quarterback Titan Longson came in and completed all five of his passes for 104 yards. Jones had a strong outing, catching seven passes for 105 yards. Mickens added 86 yards on a game-high eight catches. Kellen Wood and Landon Sharp each had eight tackles. 

This week’s other games

Having had first-round byes, Davis and Farmington are in second-round action this Friday. Davis, the fifth seed, will put its nine-game winning streak on the line when it faces Region 5 foe Weber at home. Farmington, the 13th seed plays at Skyridge.