“Always. We believe at the start of the game if you go down and score by putting a great drive together against a team, it sets them back from the get-go and gives us momentum. We’re going to take the ball every single time,” Davis quarterback Tradon Bessinger said. “Our team on offense, we go. And when we go, we go very fast and it’s hard to stop us.”

So fast that the Darts opened with a seven-play, 57-yard drive which only took 2:21 of clock for a quick 7-0 lead.

The drive culminated on a contested 23-yard Bessinger to Bode Sparrow touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone.

“Great catch by him; he bailed me out right there. I should have thrown a lot better ball. It shouldn’t be that close. Bode Sparrow, he’s amazing,” Bessinger said.

Davis rode that momentum-creating drive to a three-touchdown lead in the first half, then survived a shootout in the second stanza, capturing a 49-34 nonregion victory over the Sentinels.

Sparrow wrestled the 50-50 ball away from a Mountain Ridge defender to set an aggressive tone for the Darts.

“When we score first, we get so much energy; it’s a big thing for us to start fast. When we do, our chances of winning go way up. That’s our mindset,” Sparrow said. “We had some big chunk plays. We like to hurry. Tradon threw it up, let me go get it and I made a play.”

It worked so well, Davis (2-1) went back to the well a second time on a 1-yard pitch from Bessinger to Sparrow at the 4:50 mark of the first quarter for a 14-0 advantage.

“On the first touchdown, we ran a fade specifically to him. On the second, we didn’t have it set up for him, but it’s the chemistry we’ve built,” Bessinger said. “Everyone, Jaxton (Itaaehau), Tyson (Baggett), Sam (Coleman), Isaac (Morrison), were looking at Bode ‘Like great job Bode. This is awesome. This is what we need from you.’ Whatever helps us win.”

Sparrow had eight catches for 106 yards and the two first-quarter touchdowns.

Boise State commit Bessinger certainly did his part, throwing seven touchdown passes to five different receivers. He completed 30 of 40 attempts for 423 yards.

“I’m just trying to win. Everyone on our team is just trying to win. We don’t have anyone selfish on this team,” Bessinger said. “We didn’t want me running this game because I hurt my neck a little bit last week and I’m a little sore.”

Speaking of last week, the Darts rallied from a devastating overtime loss to Fremont with the two-touchdown first quarter.

“The juice was there after coming off a heartbreaking loss last week,” Sparrow said. “We knew we had to come out and punch these guys; they were coming off a big win against Lehi last week.”

Bessinger agreed, noting a vast improvement in approach from the beginning of the season two weeks ago.

“The mood was different at practice this week. We’re not going to let it be. (The loss) stung. We’re going to think about it,” Bessinger said. “We have a chip on our shoulder now. Everyone is more dialed in. Players, coaches were on the same page this week. Knowing that we’re a lot better team than when we started.”

Switching stations, Bessinger connected with Itaaehau for a pair of scoring strikes in the second quarter, covering 40 yards and 20 yards, and Davis led 28-6 at the break.

Three times in the first half, the Davis defense forced Mountain Ridge (1-2) into 12 or more snaps during a possession, and the Sentinels only had two field goals to show for their efforts.

It took 11 plays on a late fourth-quarter drive before the Sentinels got into the endzone for their final touchdown.

“Coming out of halftime we were up a couple of scores. We were okay with them chewing the clock, making little passes here and there,” Sparrow said.

Sticking with what worked, Bessinger found Itaaehau for a third time on a 13-yard touchdown pass on the Darts’ initial drive of the second half, as the lead grew to 35-6.

“(Itaaehau) the most athletic guy I’ve met. He’s a fighter. He had three this game,” Bessinger said.

On a lighter note, Itaaehau may now be the most popular student at Davis High, as his history teacher told his entire class that if he scored three touchdowns there would be “no quiz, no test,” according to Bessinger.

Itaaehau finished with nine receptions for 175 yards and the all-important trio of TDs.

Bessinger added a 1-yard touchdown to Coleman late in the third period and his seventh scoring toss on a 12-yarder to Baggett midway through the final frame.

It’s Bessinger’s second seven-touchdown game of his career, giving him another line in the UHSAA record book along with the 33 entries and counting of seven-touchdown passing efforts (the state record is 10).

Mountain Ridge quarterback Jaxon Hunt threw three touchdown passes and rushed 31 yards for a fourth score on the night. He completed 35 of 59 attempts for 412 yards.

Grayden Dumas had nine receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Kohen Cunnungham also had nine grabs, 114 yards and a score for the Sentinels.

The second half turned into a wild free-for-all, with defense taking a back seat to seven combined touchdowns.

“Obviously, we need to be better; they had a lot of fourth-down plays they ended up getting,” Sparrow said. “We’ll watch film this weekend and our defense will be much better, especially our secondary.”