Prep football: Davis answers Layton upset bid for 31-21 win
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- Davis quarterback Tradon Bessinger (13) rushes between Layton defenders Kanyon Loveland (2) and Corbin Erickson (20) on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Layton.
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- Layton’s Ryan Wensel (7) tries to ward off a Davis defender on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Layton.
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- Linemen from Davis and Layton tangle on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Layton.
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- Davis player Isaac Morrison (18) rises to catch a pass against Layton on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Layton.
LAYTON — They had to play the game, as it was next up on the Region 1 schedule. A red-hot Davis High football team against a not-so-hot Layton squad didn’t look to be much of a contest.
But, let an underdog team hang around for a while, give them some confidence with a break here and there, and suddenly you have a problem.
Davis fumbled late in the third quarter and Layton junior running back Ryan Wensel cashed in the mistake, scoring a 3-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 11:19 left in the fourth frame as the Lancers put the world on upset alert, taking a 21-17 lead.
“We didn’t expect that from them. They put it on us,” Davis sophomore quarterback Tradon Bessinger said. “It’s a rivalry game. We underestimated them and overlooked them. They came out and they balled.”
Not wanting to be the talk of the town over the weekend, the Darts righted the ship and got back on track with touchdowns on their next two chances and escaped with a 31-21 victory over the Lancers on Friday night.
Pumped up after taking the lead, Layton kicker Tayler Egbert sent the ensuing kickoff past the goal line and Davis started at its own 20.
Eleven plays and 80 yards later, Davis grabbed the lead back for good at 24-21 when Bessinger connected with freshman receiver Bode Sparrow on a 22-yard TD in the back corner of the end zone midway through the fourth quarter. Sparrow finished with eight catches for 79 yards.
So it was that two sophomores stepped up in the biggest moment and gave the league-leading Darts (7-1, 3-0 Region 1) the crucial play when they needed it.
“That last drive was composure. We drove down and played like we were supposed to,” Bessinger said. “My dad and coach tell me all the time, in those hard moments, you have to push through it. Don’t let it (pressure) get in your mind. Don’t let your team see panic.
“We said this game isn’t over. We needed to dial in. We just needed to go out and play our game. We haven’t faced adversity in a while and it was good for us.”
Bessinger was 18 of 21 passing for 172 yards and nearly led the Darts in rushing, carrying seven times for 65 yards.
If the Darts needed an insurance policy, the defense gave it to them when Carter Dorius intercepted a tipped pass as Layton (0-7, 0-3) tried to come back.
“Defense has been great all year. They’ve been shutting down teams,” junior running Owen Talbot said. “They’re the heart and soul of this team. We always piggyback off of them. Props to them.”
Four plays after the pick, Talbot gave the Darts some breathing room, slipping through for a 1-yard scoring touchdown and the final points of the 31-21 win.
Talbot rushed 15 times overall, totaling 67 yards and two touchdowns for the Darts.
Trailing 17-7 at the half, Layton came out of the locker room and closed the gap to 17-14 on an epic touchdown march. The Lancers controlled the ball for 9 minutes, 22 seconds and ran 17 plays, including a fake punt, that finally resulted in a 2-yard Madden Sargent to Jaxon Smith TD toss.
Davis then ran two plays (its only two of the third period) and the Lancers recovered the fumble that helped them to the brief 21-17 lead before Davis rallied for the win.
“They came out firing; we kind of came out soft, but we’re coached up well, so we just bounced back and were able to go put some points on the board,” Talbot said. “We do two-minute offense almost every practice, so we don’t get nervous in those situations; we stay calm.”
Both teams scored on their opening possessions but chewed up a lot of clock time in doing so.
Davis went 80 yards on 11 plays and took 4:40 off the scoreboard before Bessinger capped the drive on a 6-yard keeper as the Darts led 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
“No one was open. Coaches tell me, Tradon, you look downfield a lot; trust your legs,” Bessinger said. “It worked out. My blockers were there. That hole was there. It was wide open.”
Layton countered with a nine-play drive that consumed 5:09 on a short 49-yard field and got even at 7-7 when Wensel pushed in from a yard out late in the quarter.
Following an exchange of punts, the Darts scored midway through the second stanza when Talbot closed an 8-play, 54-yard journey from the 1-yard line for a 14-7 edge.
The Darts added a 32-yard field goal off the foot of Finn Garff with 2:03 left in the half for the 17-7 advantage.
With leading playmaker Porter Cannon out due to an injury suffered against Farmington last week, Wensel was the workhorse for the Lancers, lugging the ball 30 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns.