No. 13 Davis Darts Claim Region Championship Over Rival Syracuse Titans
Oct 12, 2023, 9:17 PM
(Photo courtesy of Mariluz Cook, KSL Sports)
(Photo courtesy of Mariluz Cook, KSL Sports)
SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 13 Davis Darts defeated the No. 11 Syracuse Titans, 22-10, to claim the region championship.
Last year, Syracuse hosted Davis and won 48-6. In 2021, the Darts beat the Titans on a last-second hail mary.
Both Davis and Syracuse were motivated to beat the other side and end the regular season on a high note.
The Darts are Region 1 champions. 🎯@CuseTitans_FB 10@DavisDartsFB 22#GameNightLive #KSLGameNight @JeremiahJensen @SSylvester55 @mariluzcook pic.twitter.com/tWwRs2EjRi
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 13, 2023
First Half
Davis started with the ball in front of the home fans and pieced together a pretty good drive.
In the red zone, the Titan’s defense stepped up and forced a fourth down. It came down to inches, but Syracuse forced a turnover on downs.
On the Titan’s first offensive play, they threw an interception. Davis regained possession on the 35-yard line.
Syracuse forced another fourth down in the red zone but the Darts were able to get the first with a run up the middle.
Unable to find the end zone, Davis settled for a 27-yard field goal and put it through the uprights to take a 3-0 lead.
Davis forced a quick fourth down. Syracuse ran a fake punt but couldn’t connect on the pass and turned the ball over on downs.
Before the end of the quarter, Davis’ Bode Sparrow caught a deep ball to set up a rushing touchdown by Owen Talbot.
🎯🎯🎯
End 1Q @CuseTitans_FB 0@DavisDartsFB 10 #GameNightLive #KSLGameNight @JeremiahJensen @SSylvester55 @mariluzcook pic.twitter.com/f0A5JWPtIU
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 13, 2023
The Darts led 10-0 at the end of the first.
Syracuse opened the second quarter with a 42-yard deep ball that put them in scoring position.
Wide receiver DJ Mayes rose up and pulled down a touchdown reception on third down. The Titans quickly answered and got on the board.
On one drive, Mayes added over 50 yards and a touchdown to his stat line.
Davis’ Isaac Morrison returned the kickoff out to the 40-yard line.
Both sides brought the defensive intensity to end the half and forced quick drives from the opposing offense.
Davis’ Nick Johnson intercepted Syracuse on a tipped pass as the Titans looked to score on the Darts side of the field.
With less than a minute in the half, Davis capped off a big drive with a touchdown pass to Kash Gates.
The Darts went into the break with a 16-7 lead over the Titans.
Two-score game at the break.
HALFTIME @CuseTitans_FB 7@DavisDartsFB 16 #GameNightLive #KSLGameNight @JeremiahJensen @SSylvester55 @mariluzcook pic.twitter.com/6wyyLaYlF6
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 13, 2023
Second Half
The trend of defense continued in the second half.
Neither the Darts nor the Titans were able to get much going in the third quarter.
Running a no-huddle offense, Syracuse found some momentum and marched into the red zone.
The Titans fumbled on a snap and nearly lost possession but running back Ethan Larkin was able to dive on it.
Syracuse couldn’t score six but made a field goal to lower the lead to six, 16-10.
12 minutes left to play after a scoreless third quarter in Kaysville.
END 3Q @CuseTitans_FB 7@DavisDartsFB 16 #GameNightLive #KSLGameNight @JeremiahJensen @SSylvester55 @mariluzcook pic.twitter.com/w0CRgCVka5
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 13, 2023
Davis knew that they had to either take a lot of time or score to give themselves a cushion. They were able to do both.
The Darts took six minutes to march down the field and Owen Talbot capped off the drive with his second touchdown of the night.
Davis led 22-10 with five minutes left in the game.
Syracuse took a few shots but Davis’ defense ultimately held up and got the ball back.
The Titans got the ball back one more time but couldn’t make anything happen.
Davis beat Syracuse, 22-10, in the week ten Game Night Live.
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