SALT LAKE CITY -- On a chilly, blustery day that only the guys in the trenches could love, Syracuse's linemen showed up for Friday's 5-A quarterfinal matchup with their hard hats and lunch pails.
The defense shuttered a West offense averaging over 24 points per game, while the offensive line wore out the mammoth Panther defensive front, springing the Titans for 179 rushing yards on 42 carries.
Ultimately, Syracuse earned a date in the state semifinals against Region 1 rival Fremont with a 10-0 decision over West. The Titans lost a road contest to the Silver Wolves, 15-3 on Oct. 7.
"(The defense) gets the job done when they need to," Syracuse coach Russ Jones said. "They're tough, they keep plugging away at it and they just rally to the football and step up. They just work their tails off and have great fundamentals."
The two squads swapped punts and field position on the first five series, before West had the initial legitimate scoring threat after taking possession at the Syracuse 44. The Panthers moved the ball to the Titan 20, before Syracuse held on fourth-and-one.
The effective Syracuse running and short passing attack early in the game opened things up downfield as Trevor Davis through a rope to a streaking Alex Vanderloo for a 55-yard scoring strike, on its following possession, giving the Titans all the points they would need with 6:37 left until halftime.
West had one more opportunity to close the gap early in the third quarter when Syracuse suffered its only significant miscue. Punting from its own 35, a low snap got away and the Panthers recovered at the Titan 17. However, again the defense came through, earning the ball back when a Alex Espinosa pass fell incomplete on fourth down.
Brock Anderson gave the Titans some insurance points by nailing a 34-yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the third quarter.
Down the stretch, Diante Mitchell picked off Espinosa and the Titan run game bled the clock.
Davis finished 9-for-17 for 107 yards throwing the ball while also rushing for 80 yards. Teammate Mason Woodward ran 20 times for 74 yards.
West's Eric Takenaka was the lone offensive bright spot for the Panthers. The senior tallied 108 yards on 17 attempts. West finished with 179 yards of total offense.
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