And then there were eight.

Eight teams remain alive in the Class 6A football playoffs, and two of them hail from Davis County. Both Davis and Farmington won its second-rounds matchups last week, allowing the teams to advance one step closer to the top prize: a championship. 

Davis 

Davis’ meeting with Riverton last Friday may go down as one of the most thrilling games in recent memory. In the contest, the two teams combined for 105 points and 1,052 yards. Keep in mind, high school quarters are 12 minutes long, not the 15-minute quarters you see in college or the pros. 

After the marathon game, Davis emerged victorious with a basketball-like 55-50 score. 

Davis scored in every quarter, including tallying 21 in the second quarter. Riverton, meanwhile, had all 50 of its points in two quarters – the second and fourth – and amassed 31 points in the second quarter alone. 

The Darts got off to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, as Josh Barker scored on a 2-yard run, followed by a 20-yard touchdown pass from Easton Baggett to Tyson Elkins. In the second quarter, Baggett was on the receiving end of a TD pass, this one from starting quarterback Jackson Stevens from 91 yards out. That long play made it 21-7, but it was just the beginning of a wild period that saw Riverton and Davis score 52 points together. The two teams scored in bunches, as Stevens connected on two more TD passes in the second quarter. The next one went to Kaden Eggett from 37 yards away, while the final TD pass of the half was an 18-yarder to Eggett. By the time Riverton kicked a field goal to end the half, it was 35-31 Riverton. 

And there were still 24 minutes to play. 

The Darts went up 42-31 when Barker had another 2-yard TD run. This one came midway through the third quarter. It was the only score of a much quieter period. But in the fourth quarter, the two teams tallied 32 more points in the back-and-forth fireworks affair. 

The Darts and Silverwolves traded touchdowns over the final 12 minutes. Every time Riverton scored to make it closer, Davis would answer. Eggett had his third touchdown reception of the game when he snagged a 44-yarder from Stevens with 10:12 to play in the game. After Riverton made the score 49-44, Barker had his third TD run of the game, this time from 6 yards out. Riverton led 55-44 with 4:39 to play. From there, Riverton scored again to make it 55-50, but it couldn’t get any closer. 

There were plenty of eye-popping stats in this high-scoring contest. 

Stevens was brilliant, as he went 24 of 1 passing for a season-high 453 yards. He added four touchdowns. Three Darts eclipsed 100 yards receiving. Elkins had 12 grabs for 173 yards, while Eggett had eight catches for 123 yards to go along with his three TDs. Baggett had four catches for 161 yards and a touchdown, as well as his one touchdown pass. The defense gave up a lot of yardage, but Jacob Faerber had an impressive 17 tackles on the day. Cam Wilson had seven tackles and 2.5 sacks. 

Davis has a tall task this Friday when it plays at second-seeded Skyridge in the quarterfinals. 

Farmington

Back on Sept. 1, Farmington ousted region foe Weber 35-7. Last Friday, in a much more important game, the Phoenix defeated the Warriors by an almost identical score. This time, the Phoenix advanced to the state quarterfinals by prevailing over Weber 36-9. 

Farmington led the whole way and used a well-balanced offense to dispatch Weber. The Phoenix got out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Easton Wight hit Ben Stucki for a 30-yard TD pass. Weber got on the board with a second-quarter field goal, but Farmington responded 2 ½ minutes later when Marcus Miles scored on a 2-yard run. Weber added a touchdown just before the half to make the game a close 14-9 at the break. 

But the Phoenix owned the second half. 

Farmington outscored Weber 22-0 in the final 24 minutes, shutting out the Warriors down the stretch. Travis Hoopes had a 5-yard touchdown run halfway through the third quarter. Then, Hoopes got into the end zone via the air nearly six minutes later when he took a 3-yard pass from Wight in for six points. With 3:20 left in the game, Wight connected with Lucas Peterson on a 13-yard touchdown pass to pad the lead. 

Hoopes led the way with 22 carries for 154 yards and a touchdown. Wight had three touchdown passes and 194 yards through the air on 16 of 29 passing. Zach Quinton had the most catches with five, while Dante Coats topped the team with 50 receiving yards. Ben Stucki had an interception, and Luke Hansen had seven tackles and a sack. 

Next up for Farmington is a game at American Fork on Friday. 

Bountiful

In Class 5A, Bountiful’s season came to an end in the second round of the state tournament. The Redhawks ended the year with a 7-3 record after a 35-25 home loss to Orem last Friday. 

As the No. 11 seed, Orem was the underdog. However, the Tigers notched the upset by outscoring the Redhawks 21-8 in the final quarter. Corbin Cottle had 125 and a touchdown on the ground for Bountiful, while Owen Geilman had 159 yards passing and a touchdown. Defensively, Faletau Satuala had 14 tackles and an interception for Bountiful. The Redhawks picked off four Orem passes. 

See more photos online at davisjournal.com