With a long winning streak and a region title in hand, the Davis football team entered the Class 6A state tournament on a roll. The Darts advanced to the state quarterfinals where it was set to meet a familiar foe.

The matchup was a chance for the Darts to get some revenge. 

Davis went 9-1 in the regular season and won its second-round playoff game (after a first-round bye) over Weber, 17-13 to improve to 10-1. That lone defeat came at the hands of Lehi in the season opener, 28-14. Fittingly, Lehi happened to be the Darts’ opponent in the quarterfinals. 

The two teams were scheduled to meet on Davis’ home field, the same place they did battle on opening night Aug. 11. In that contest, the defending 6A champions from Lehi held Davis to a season low and shut out the Darts in the fourth quarter. Lehi also beat Davis in the 2022 season opener, winning soundly, 48-0. The Darts got the best of Lehi in the 2021 opener, 21-14. 

To get to this point, Davis had to beat Weber for the second time this season. And the second time proved to be harder than the first. Back on Sept. 15, Davis prevailed at home 45-26, using 14 points in the second quarter and 17 in the third to power it to victory. In that win, Tradon Bessinger threw five touchdown passes and accounted for 304 yards through the air. Two receivers—Kash Gates and Bode Sparrow—topped the 100-yard mark in receptions with 156 on 11 catches and 114 yards on six catches, respectively. Gates had four touchdown grabs. In the second-round playoff game, Bessinger and company found the going to be much more challenging. 

Bessinger was 18 of 31 for 170 yards, while throwing a touchdown and two interceptions. Owen Talbot was the start of this game for the Darts. The junior rushed for 109 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. All 17 of Davis’ points came in the second half, as Talbot’s 10-yard run with 8:07 to play in the third quarter and a successful point-after kick tied the score at 7-7. Davis went up 14-7 three minutes later when Bessinger hit Kash Gates for an 8-yard TD pass. Weber tied things up again a few minutes later.

With just under nine minutes in the game, kicker Finn Garff nailed a 25-yard field goal for the game winner. The Davis defense held, sending the team to its 10th consecutive win and a trip to the quarterfinals. 

Defensively, McCoy Frasure had a night evening, racking up seven tackles. Crew Cunningham also had seven tackles, and he add half a sack as well. Juni Moala had four tackles and 1.5 sacks, while Damon Brown picked off a Weber pass. 

If Davis happened to get past Lehi, an even bigger challenge likely awaited. The winner of the quarterfinals matchup was set to reach the semifinals in a Nov. 10 game against the winner of Lone Peak and state power and nationally ranked Corner Canyon. The semifinals and Nov. 17 finals are held at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium. 

Davis has had a slew of productive players this season, with Bessinger leading the way at quarterback. Just a sophomore, Bessinger entered the quarterfinals having amassed 2,627 passing yards along with 29 touchdowns and a 68% completion percentage. Three players topped 50 catches, with Gates pacing the Darts with 65 catches for 797 yards and 12 touchdowns. Sparrow was right behind, totaling 63 catches for a team-high 808 yards. He also had 10 touchdown catches. Tyson Baggett had 51 catches for 557 yards and four touchdowns. Talbot led the team with 490 yards on 97 carries. The defense had several contributors. Senior Carter Dorius was the leader in tackles with 82. Frasure had 63 tackles and three interceptions on the year. Deuce Wright added 66 tackles and three sacks, while Jordan Taula had 64 tackles, a pair of sacks and an interception. 

Win or lose against Lehi, Davis had already put together one of its best seasons. The 10 wins was the most since the Darts went 10-3 in 2009. They also went 9-1 in 2013 and 2015.