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Davis Journal

Three local football squads undefeated in region play

Sep 15, 2022 02:22PM ● By Josh McFadden

Local high school football teams are in the middle of their seasons, vying for positions in post-season playoffs. Photo by Roger V. Tuttle

T

here’s still lots of action left, but early in the region portion of the high school football schedule, some local teams are faring well. Farmington and Davis in Region 1 and Bountiful in Region 5 are unblemished in league contests as this week begins. 

Farmington

The Phoenix have arguably been the most impressive team in Davis County. Farmington enters this week with a 2-0 mark in Region 1 and a perfect 5-0 overall. Through five games, the Phoenix have outscored foes 182-44. Last week, Farmington blew past Clearfield 42-13. 

The Phoenix actually started off slowly against the Falcons, trailing 6-0 after one quarter. But the team exploded in the next 12 minutes, reeling off 29 points in the period while keeping Clearfield off the board. Zach Quinton first hauled in a 14-yard pass from Easton Wight. Next was a thrilling 65-yard punt return for a score by Adam Stucki. Dayton Runyan caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Wight (followed by a successful two-point conversion). Farmington capped off the productive quarter with 22 seconds to play in the half when Mitch Nielsen had a 12-yard touchdown pass from Wight. 

In the third quarter, Nielsen duplicated the last score of the first half when he had another 12-yard TD reception from Wight. That made it 36-6. With 4:13 to play in the third quarter, Wight had his fifth touchdown pass of the evening when he connected with Quinton for the second time. This score was from 30 yards out. Clearfield had a fourth-quarter touchdown, but Farmington had done more than enough damage to claim a lopsided win. 

Wight was 11 of 23 passing for 257 yards to go along with the five touchdowns. He now has 17 on the year. Nielsen had four catches for 99 yards, while Runyan had three grabs for 89 yards. Farmington also picked off three passes and recorded six sacks. 

This week, Farmington hosts Layton to try to move to 6-0. 

Davis

The Darts stepped out of region play last week to win their third contest in a row. Now at 3-2 overall and 1-0 in Region 1, Davis defeated Alta 28-16. 

Davis had a huge fourth quarter to seal the victory. 

Trailing 10-7 after three quarters, Davis scored three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to go up 28-10. Tyce Wilson started the scoring on the first play of the quarter with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Stevens. Three minutes later, Josh Barker had a 1-yard plunge across the goal line. Davis’ third touchdown of the quarter came with 3:32 left to play when Tyson Elkins caught a 10-yard TD from Stevens. Alta had a late touchdown to make the score closer. 

Stevens had a solid night at quarterback for Davis. He had 240 yards passing and two touchdowns as well as a 79% passing clip. Elkins was his favorite target. The senior wideout had 12 catches for 113 yards. Easton Baggett had eight receptions for 81 yards. Jacob Faerber was the leading tackler with 10. 

Davis will attempt to make it four wins in a row this Friday when it plays at Syracuse. 

Bountiful vs. Woods Cross

It was the Region 5 opener last Friday for Bountiful and Woods Cross when they clashed on the Redhawks’ home field. This game was a defensive struggle that saw all of Bountiful’s points come in the first half in a 14-7 victory. Woods Cross, meanwhile, scored its lone touchdown in the third quarter. 

Brigham Black had a 5-yard touchdown pass from Owen Geilman in the first quarter. Geilman then added a 6-yard run early in the second quarter. From there, the defenses ruled. Cash Henderson cut the margin to 14-7 when he took a 14-yard pass from Lock Smoot to the end zone. But the Wildcats couldn’t manage any more points, and Bountiful’s two TDs were enough to hang on for the win. 

Bountiful had just 78 yards rushing, while Woods Cross had 117. Geilman threw for 109 yards, 16 more than Smoot’s 93 for Woods Cross. The Wildcats’ Isaac Johnson was the game’s top receiver with four catches for 60 yards. Woods Cross had five sacks, with Charlie Coats getting two of them. Brigham Morrison had seven tackles for the Redhawks. 

Bountiful is now 3-2 overall and faces Bonneville on the road this Friday. Woods Cross is 2-3 overall and will play at Northridge on Friday. 

Viewmont

The Vikings dropped their second straight game, losing their region opener last Friday to Bonneville, 24-21. 

This back-and-forth affair saw Viewmont score seven points in each of the first three quarters. The Vikings led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter after Kingston Mickens took an interception back to the end zone 35 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings made it 14-0 in the second quarter when Luke Jacobs connected with Mitch Jeppesen for an 81-yard bomb. Bonneville had a field goal as time expired in the first half, making the halftime score 14-3 in favor of Viewmont. 

The Vikings scored a third-quarter touchdown, but the Lakers scored 14 points of their own. It was a tight 21-17 lead for Viewmont heading into the fourth quarter. In the final 12 minutes, Bonneville scored the winning TD, holding Viewmont without a go-ahead score. With the loss, Viewmont dropped to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in Region 5. 

Jacobs threw for 231 yards and rushed for 49 more. Jeppesen had 136 yards and a touchdown on three catches. Landon Jeppeson had seven catches to lead all players. On defense, Dave Tovey had seven tackles and a sack. 

The Vikings will look to end their two-game skid when they play at Box Elder on Friday. λ