As the calendar has now turned to October, it’s just about time for high school playoff action for fall sports teams. 

In football, Davis County teams have three regular season games scheduled in October. Bountiful in Region 5 and Davis in Region 1 have posted enough wins to earn high RPI rankings. The Redhawks and Darts hope to maintain or improve those marks to secure a first-round playoff bye and second-round home game. 

Bountiful

The Redhawks got through September with an overall record of 6-1. They were 3-1 in league play with the team’s only loss coming to Viewmont in the region opener on Sept. 6. Bountiful closed out the season with October games at home against Box Elder (Oct. 4), at Roy (Oct. 10) and at home against Woods Cross (Oct. 17). The game against Roy would be a big one, as the Royals were ahead of Bountiful in the Region standings heading into October with a 4-0 mark. 

Bountiful has used a strong offense this season. The Redhawks are averaging 30.5 points per game and 36.3 points in region games. The Redhawks routed league foes Bonneville, 35-19; Northridge, 42-14; and Clearfield, 41-0. 

Running back Siaki Fekitoa has been a terror on offense. The junior rushed for 586 yards on 98 carries through seven games. He had five touchdowns on the ground during that span and added two receiving touchdowns to go along with 13 catches for 124 yards. Quarterback Emerson Geilman, an experienced signal caller, is having a strong season. The senior is completing nearly 57% of his passes for 1,260 yards and 11 touchdowns. He threw just one interception through the end of September. His favorite targets have been Connor Clark and Britton Tidwell. Clark had 20 catches for 303 yards and three touchdowns through seven games, while Tidwell grabbed 18 passes for a team-high 334 yards and three scores. 

The defense hasn’t been shabby either. 

The Redhawks are allowing 15.6 points per game. Dawson Allsop was the leading tackler in the team’s first seven games, racking up 41. He also had three sacks, good enough for second on the team behind Josh Liljenquist’s four. Winston Robinson had a pair of interceptions and 23 tackles. Kicker Landon Zayas has had a nice season. The junior has converted six field goals. 

Bountiful was third in the Class 5A RPI rankings heading into October. That sets the team up nicely for the postseason if it can continue its winning ways. 

Davis 

In Region 1, the Darts were 5-2 overall and 1-1 in league play through September. Davis held the No. 5 spot in the RPI rankings at that point. 

Davis had a tough outing on Sept. 27 in the second region game of the season, falling at Fremont 19-10. Before that, the Darts had been averaging 45.5 points per game. Davis had non-region wins of 56-15 over Copper Hills on Aug. 23, 40-14 over Mountain Ridge on Aug. 30, 80-0 over Kearns on Sept. 6 and 44-7 over Taylorsville on Sept. 13. 

Quarterback Tradon Bessinger has put up video game-like numbers. 

Through September, Bessinger was leading the Class 6A and was second in the state in touchdown passes with 28. The junior has seven TD passes against Copper Hills and six against both Kearns and Taylorsville. Fremont held him to one. Bessinger was also completing 66% of his passes for 2,055 yards with a 16.6-yards-per-completion rate. 

Several players have contributed in the receiving department. Bessinger has connected with Tyson Baggett 32 times for 507 yards and eight touchdowns so far. Bode Sparrow and Owen Talbot each had 27 catches through seven games (475 yards and 238 yards, respectively). Jaxton Itaaheau had 21 grabs for 532 yards during this span for an incredible 25.3 yards per catch. The leading rusher heading into October is Talbot, who carried 49 times for 274 yards and four touchdowns. 

Defensively, Cooper Harsin’s 53 tackles paced the team through September, while Ethan Lockwood added 48 stops. Sparrow had five interceptions to lead the Darts. 

Farmington, Woods Cross, Viewmont

Though Farmington, Woods Cross and Viewmont aren’t as highly ranked in the RPI ratings, they still have time to make a move and improve their playoff positioning. 

Farmington held the No. 10 spot in 6A as of Oct. 1, which would give it a first-round bye but a second-round road game if the playoffs were to start now. Viewmont isn’t too far down the rankings. As of Oct. 1, the Vikings were eighth in Class 5A. Woods Cross was 15th. 

Farmington began October with a record of 2-5 (1-1 in Region 1). The Phoenix started 0-4 but won two of their next three games. 

Viewmont was 2-2 in league play and 5-2 overall. The Vikings won more games in August and September than they won all of last season when they finished 4-7. Quarterback Titan Longson has been a big reason for the team’s success. The signal caller has completed 61% of his passes for 1,687 yards. He has also tossed 26 touchdowns, best in Class 5A. Three Vikings had at least 21 catches through seven games, with Kingston Mickens scoring 10 receiving touchdowns and amassing 538 yards. 

Woods Cross, meanwhile, was 2-2 in Region 5 and 4-3 overall as October started. The Wildcats had offensive outbursts against Kearns in a 63-13 win on Aug. 23, against Clearfield in a 48-7 victory on Sept. 13 and against Viewmont in a 50-34 shootout win on Sept. 20. The Wildcats are a run-oriented team that has gotten a lot of production out of junior running back Viiliami Tapa’atoutai. He rushed for 854 yards through seven games, good enough for eighth in the entire state up to that point. He had 271 yards in the win over Viewmont and 193 over Bonneville on Sept. 6.