Five games into the season, Region 1 high school football teams are finally ready to get into the meat of their schedules. 

League play starts on Friday in Region 1, with Davis and Farmington in action across rival opponents. Davis had a strong non-region showing, going 4-1 overall. Farmington picked up its first victory of the season last week. 

Davis 

Since a season-opening 38-14 loss to state power Lehi, Davis has been dominant. The Darts have pulverized opponents by an average score of 55-9 during their four-game winning streak. Last Friday, Davis was at it again, routing Taylorsville 44-7 in a contest that was all but over at halftime. 

Davis scored 14 points in the first quarter and 28 more in the second quarter to take a commanding 42-0 lead into the locker room. Once more, quarterback Tradon Bessinger was unstoppable. The junior tossed six touchdowns passes in the first half, taking him to a state-leading 24 TDs on the season. The signal caller has thrown just one interception. 

In one of the most eye-opening stats you’ll see on the football field, all six of Bessinger’s completions went for scores, totaling 154 yards. He connected in the end zone with Bode Sparrow three times (47 yards, 16 yards and 18 yards), Easton Frasure once (38 yards) Jaxton Itaaheau once (25 yards) and Tyson Baggett once (10 yards). 

The Darts mostly ran the clock in the second half, with its only score coming courtesy of a two-point safety with 9:43 in the third quarter. Davis’ only surrendered score was a Taylorsville TD in the final minute of the third quarter when it was already 44-0. 

Owen Talbot added 64 yards on six carries. Siona Faeamani and Paxton Siddoway had sacks for the Darts. 

Davis’ opening Region 1 game is this Friday at Weber. Davis defeated the Warriors 45-26 last season. 

Farmington

The Phoenix enter league play with some momentum. 

After dropping its first four games, Farmington used stellar defense to power it to a 17-3 victory at home over Mountain Ridge last Friday. Now 1-4, the Phoenix open Region action at Syracuse on Friday. 

In this low-scoring affair, the only points the Phoenix allowed came on a 22-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. Before this, Farmington took a lead it would never relinquish when Lucas Peterson scored a TD on a 6-yard run. 

Up 7-3 with 4:38 left in the game, and with the contest in the balance, Jaxon Beynon converted a 32-yard field goal to make it 10-3. In the final minute of the game, the Phoenix put Mountain Ridge away when Peterson rumbled 67 yards for a touchdown run. 

Peterson had a big day. 

The senior running back rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries. Travis Hoopes added 45 yards on eight carries and had a team-high five catches for 63 yards. Jett Salmon paced the defense with eight tackles and a sack. Afu Fiefia picked off a Mountain Ridge pass in the win. 

Bountiful

In Region 5, teams are already two games into league play. The Redhawks are tied for second with a 1-1 mark. They also have a 4-1 overall record. 

The Redhawks bounced back from a loss to Viewmont the previous week to run past Bonneville 35-19 on the road last Friday. Bountiful scored in every quarter, outpacing Bonneville 14-6 in the second half after a 21-13 lead at the break. The Redhawks never trailed and got solid contributions from players on both sides of the ball.

Quarterback Emerson Geilman had two touchdown passes, both in the first half. He hit Brock McSwain from 3 yards away in the first quarter to open the scoring. Later, with less than a minute to go before halftime, he completed a 40-yard TD pass to Britton Tidwell. Geilman also used his legs to secure points for Bountiful. With 4:29 to play in the second quarter, he crossed the goal line on a 2-yard run for a score. Siaki Fekitoa added a 3-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, making it 28-13 after the successful extra point. 

The defense sealed the victory. 

With 9:15 to go, Winston Robinson made the lead insurmountable when he intercepted a Bonneville pass and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown. Up 35-13, Bountiful allowed an inconsequential touchdown with 1:42 left in the game. 

Geilman showed off his dual-threat abilities in the game. The senior rushed for a game high 92 yards on 11 carries and completed 21 of 33 passes for 288 yards. Tidwell was his favorite target, as the wideout grabbed six passes for 141 yards. Eight other players caught passes for Bountiful. Aisake Willis was the top tackler for the Redhawks with eight. 

Bountiful hosts Northridge this Friday. 

Viewmont

The Vikings were off to a hot start to the season but saw their four-game winning streak come to an end at home against Northridge last Friday. Viewmont fell 24-13 to drop to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in Region 1 games. 

Northridge held Viewmont’s offensive attack in check most of the game, as the Vikings had just 84 yards rushing. Titan Longson was 16 of 30 passing for 182 yards on the day. The Viewmont quarterback threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Kingston Mickens with 1:13 left in the game. An unsuccessful two-point attempt left the Vikings down 17-13. The Vikings had a chance to win the game when they had the ball back in the final seconds, but Northridge ran an interception back for a touchdown, erasing any hopes of a Viewmont comeback. 

Jordan Jones had a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter for the Vikings. He also had two catches for 15 yards. Mickens led the way in receptions and receiving yards with seven catches for 76 yards. Blake Moore led an active defense with 13 tackles, while Hudson Holbrook had 12 tackles and a sack. Ezekiel Cook had six tackles and two sacks. 

Viewmont travels to Woods Cross on Friday to tangle with the Wildcats. 

Woods Cross

The Wildcats got their first Region 5 victory in a big way. 

Woods Cross crushed Clearfield on the road, 48-7, amassing 382 yards on the ground. Five different Wildcats had touchdown runs, and Viliami Tapa’atoutai paced the team with 14 carries for 89 yards. He was one of five players to rush for at least 41 yards in the win. 

Quarterback Jesse Simmons completed six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, a 24-yarder to Ricky Sanchez just before halftime to give the Wildcats a big 28-0 lead. In addition to a pair of touchdown runs in the second half, Woods Cross scored on the defensive side of the ball. Halfway through the third quarter, Shayden Gerratt responded to Clearfield’s only score of the game when he returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown. 

Woods Cross is now 1-1 in league play and 3-2 overall.