For many sports fans, fall is the most wonderful time of the year. This marks the start of football season, with high school teams getting an early start. 

Locally, Davis County school opened the 2024 campaign last Friday. The first games resulted in victories for Region 5’s Bountiful, Woods Cross and Viewmont. Region 1’s Davis and Farmington came up short in week one. 

Bountiful 

The Redhawks began the season Aug. 16 with a 27-9 win over Herriman. Bountiful’s defense was stout all night. 

The Redhawks allowed just 31 yards rushing and 217 yards overall in the 18-point win. Meanwhile, Bountiful got a big night from running back Siaki Fekitoa. The junior rumbled for 142 yards on 16 carries, adding a 3-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. His TD was Bountiful’s final score of the game, effectively sealing the win. 

Quarterback Emerson Geilman had a standout performance as well. The senior signal caller threw for 226 yards and had touchdown passes to Fekitoa and Britton Tidwell. The completion to Tidwell came midway through the third quarter from 74 yards out. Fekitoa’s grab was a 39-yarder with 4:25 left before halftime. Tidwell had seven catches for 98 yards, while Fekitoa had three catches for 65 yards, adding to his impressive offensive numbers on the day. 

Defensively, junior Dawson Allsop led the way with a dozen tackles. Senior lineman Ethan Higginson had eight tackles and half a sack. 

Bountiful’s next game is Friday at home against Farmington. 

Woods Cross

The Wildcats also played well on defense in week one, duplicating Bountiful’s efforts of allowing just nine points. Woods Cross took down West Jordan 21-9 at home. 

Offensively, the big story for Woods Cross was junior fullback Vilami Tapa’atoutai. He churned out 163 yards and one touchdown on the ground on 21 carries. His 67-yard score with 9:18 left in the game put the Wildcats up 21-3. In all, Woods Cross rushed for 286 yards. 

The defense got 10 tackles apiece from Hayden Thorne and Charlie Howe, with Thorne adding a sack. Shayden Gerratt had six tackles and an interception, while Reece Hammond added an interception. 

Next up for the Wildcats is a game at Kearns this Friday. 

Viewmont

On Aug. 16, Viewmont opened with Skyline and produced an eye-opening 46-0 shutout at home over the Eagles. 

Four quarterbacks saw action for Viewmont, with most of the reps going to starter Titan Longson. The senior didn’t disappoint. Longson completed 22 of 29 passes for 316 yards and five touchdowns. Two of his TD passes went to Drez Jensen, with another going to Ryan Tillman, who totaled 98 yards receiving. Tillman also paced Viewmont with 60 yards on the ground. 

Kingston Mickens picked off two Skyline passes. Jackson Nuttall returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown with just under six minutes to play to cap Viewmont’s scoring. 

The Vikings will look to go to 2-0 this Friday when they face Granger on the road. 

Davis 

The Darts opened with a tough opponent on Aug. 16: state power Lehi. Davis fell behind 28-7 at halftime and couldn’t catch up in a 38-14 loss. 

Davis’ touchdowns came in the first and fourth quarters. Bode Sparrow’s 9-yard reception for a touchdown from Tradon Bessinger with four minutes left in the first quarter put the Darts up early. But Lehi went on a 35-0 run after that. Davis wouldn’t score again until Sparrow’s second touchdown – a 2-yard reception from Bessinger – with seven minutes left in the game. 

Davis struggled to run the ball against a stout Lehi defense. Bessinger had a busy night, throwing 44 passes. The junior had 302 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Jarom Parker led the Darts in tackles with 10. 

This Friday, the Darts host Copper Hills for a chance to pick up win No. 1. 

Farmington

Farmington struggled to a 2-8 record last season. The 2024 schedule began with a tough 38-14 loss to Roy. 

The Phoenix fell in a big hole early, trailing 21-0 after one quarter. 

The Phoenix scored all their points after halftime. The first touchdown came with 9:07 left in the third quarter when Travis Hoopes returned a punt 76 yards for a score. With 3:17 to play in the contest, Will Peterson crossed the goal line on a 2-yard TD run. 

Hoopes had a strong outing for Farmington, rushing for 93 yards on 11 carries. He also added seven catches for 62 yards, both team highs. Meanwhile, Peterson was 17 of 26 for 139 yards passing. 

Farmington travels to Bountiful to face the Redhawks this Friday.