SANDY -- Trying to avenge a 3-2, double overtime loss to Alta in the state 5-A state a year ago, the Brighton Bengals were counting on things being different this year.
What they didn't count on was Davis goalie Mitch Jensen and the Dart defense stonewalling everything that came their way and pulling off a 1-0 championship win Thursday night at at Rio Tinto Stadium.
"They (Brighton) probably had 15 or 16 corner kicks," Davis coach Souli Phongsavath said. "I think you saw our heart right there. We definitely earned this and I can't be more proud of these boys right now."
After the game, the Darts players celebrated long and hard with their fans.
After a shaky end to the regular season (dropping games to Region 1 foes Layton and Weber), Davis got on a roll. The Darts staved off a potent Brighton offense for another state title as junior forward Mitch Parkinson logged the game's only score in the 44th minute.
Brighton hadn't lost a match since March 13 before Thursday and didn't see a shutout all season. Their offense scored 10 goals throughout the playoffs and in the team's first match on March 23 Brighton walked away with a 4-1 win.
Things were different on Thursday.
Each squad picked up a pair of yellow cards in a scrappy contest that exponentially intensified as the minutes ticked away and a sense of urgency crept in.
After playing to a first-half stalemate, Davis (17-3-1 overall) struck early in the second as Parkinson weaved his way through the left side of Brighton's defense and from 10 yards out flicked the ball over the head of a rushing Kolton Savage who was in net for the Bengals.
"It was the greatest feeling of my life," Parkinson said of running past the Davis faithful after scoring. "We knew we had to play an amazing game because Brighton's an incredible team. We knew we had to get in behind them and I was just the lucky one who got to put it away."
Brighton generated several opportunities on late set pieces but were turned away by Jensen's phenomenal effort in the game's waning moments including an acrobatic punch over the net in the 79th minute.
"We stayed composed the whole time and gave them nothing," Jensen said. "We marked everyone because we were not going to lose this game."
4-A championship
* OLYMPUS 3, MURRAY 2: At Rio Tinton Stadium, the Titans won their first soccer title, jumping ahead of the Spartans then matching goals in the second half.
Amer Sasivarevic had two scores for Olympus.
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