Last week was a big one for Region 1 football teams, as league play got underway. This week, the Region 5 battles will begin. 

In Region 1, both Farmington and Davis started off with victories. For Davis, it was a good sign, especially considering how the Darts struggled to begin the season. Farmington, meanwhile, enters this week with a perfect 4-0 record. 

Davis

The Darts are starting to turn their season around after a forgettable start. Davis failed to score a point in weeks one and two but are now on a two-game winning streak. 

Last week, Davis knocked off Layton 26-23, as kicker Gage Butler drilled a long 49-yard field goal with just eight seconds to play. The winning kick was especially noteworthy considering he had missed an extra point earlier and that quarterback Jackson Stevens had kicked a field goal in the first quarter. 

The game was a back-and-forth affair throughout, with Davis leading 10-3 at halftime. Layton outscored Davis 7-0 in the third to tie things up at 10-apiece. There was plenty of action in the fourth quarter, with the two teams trading scores. Camden Wilson had a 13-yard run for a touchdown early in the fourth to make it 16-10. Layton answered less than a minute later with a TD, but Davis responded with a 2-yard touchdown run from Kai Byrd. Layton’s final TD came at the 3:19 mark to tie the score at 23-23. This set the stage for Butler’s long field goal. 

Byrd led the Darts with 50 yards on the ground on 16 carries. But it was Stevens who put up huge stats: 38 of 48 passing for 335 yards. Two Dart players had double digits in catches, with Tyson Elkins having 11 for 123 yards and Easton Baggett tallying 13 catches for 91 yards. Crew Cunningham was the top tackler with eight. 

Davis can make it three wins in a row when it hosts Alta for a non-region contest on Friday.

Farmington

The Phoenix are still rolling along with an unblemished record this season. Now at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in Region 1, Farmington has allowed just 31 points in its four games. 

Farmington’s latest conquest was a 35-7 rout over Weber at home. Much of Farmington’s damage came in the third quarter when it scored 22 points. That put the Phoenix up 35-7. Jed Judkins put the Phoenix up 7-0 just a minute and a half into the game when he returned a blocked kick for a touchdown. Weber tied things up with just under four minutes to play in the first quarter. 

But Farmington didn’t allow a single point the rest of the way. 

Mitch Nielsen had three touchdown receptions, the first coming late in the second quarter from 15 yards out on a pass from Easton Wight. With Farmington leading 13-7 at halftime, Ben Stucki caught a 15-yard TD pass from Wight in the first minute of the third quarter. Then Nielsen had TDs two and three later in the quarter. The first was a 25-yard pass from Wight, and the second was a 35-yard run. Wight had 312 yards on 14 completions. Nielsen had four catches for 160 yards to go along with the three touchdowns. Stucki had 90 yards on four catches. On the ground, Boston Reinhold had 14 carries for 75 yards. Judkins and Luke Hansen were prolific on defense with 13 tackles. 

Farmington can go to 5-0 when it travels to Clearfield on Friday. 

Viewmont

The Vikings are no longer among the state’s undefeated teams. Last Friday, they fell to Provo 35-28 ending a three-game winning streak. 

Viewmont struck first and led 7-0 early. Then, after falling behind 12-7, the Vikings reeled off back-to-back touchdowns to take a 21-12 lead. By halftime, it was 28-18 Viewmont. 

But the second half belonged to Provo. 

The Bulldogs outscored Viewmont 17-0 in the final 24 minutes to drop Viewmont’s record to 3-1. The Vikings host Bonneville in the Region 5 opener this Friday. 

Bountiful

The Redhawks got back on the winning track after two straight losses. Bountiful took care of Skyline 16-14 in a low-scoring battle to move to 2-2 overall. 

Bountiful started off strong, holding the Eagles scoreless in the first half. In the second quarter, the Redhawks scored 13 points. First, Faletau Satuala caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Owen Geilman. With just 12 seconds left in the first half, Geilman hit Kaden Mertz for a 2-yard score. Skyline didn’t get on the board until the 2:40 mark of the third quarter. Bountiful sealed the win when Ben Smith connected on a 49-yard field goal with 2:04 left to make it 16-6. Skyline added a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 1:04 left to play. 

Bountiful hosts Woods Cross on Friday. 

Woods Cross

Also at 2-2 are the Woods Cross Wildcats, who posted a 45-21 win over Logan last Friday. 

Playing at home, the Wildcats scored in every quarter and got a strong outing from their running game. Woods Cross rushed for five touchdowns and a total of 231 yards. Quarterbacks Lock Smoot and Bradley Bailey combined for 156 yards on 8 of 13 passing. Jacob Howes had two catches for 52 yards and caught a 59-yard touchdown pass from Smoot in the third quarter. Howes also had two rushing touchdowns as well as a 33-yard field goal. In the game, Woods Cross scored the first 31 points and was in command all game long. 

The Wildcats can get to 3-2 this week when they meet Bountiful. 

See more photos at davisjournal.com λ