Boys soccer: Tanner heads winner for Davis in exciting, 4-3 win over Layton
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- Davis High’s Griffin Carmack, left, puts his head to the ball in front of Layton’s Cameron Whitesides (10) during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High keeper Jaxson Yanyecic, center in pink, corrals the ball amid the traffic of teammate Graidy Arnell, right, and Layton’s Joseph Rudolphi during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Luke Jolley, left, hits the grass as Layton’s Joseph Rudolphi (37) reaches the ball during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High players celebrate after a goal against Layton during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Layton High’s Cole Sudduth rears back to kick the ball during a Region 1 boys soccer match against Davis on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Layton High’s Joseph Rudolphi (37) falls off the back of Davis High’s Graidy Arnell (11) during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Titan Jensen (6) boots the ball as Layton’s Trey Olsen (11) follows during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Tyler Roe, right, and Layton’s Davis Madsen (13) battle for the airborne ball during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Layton High’s Wylee Rollins (21) tries to keep the ball away from Davis High’s Graidy Arnell during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Griffin Carmack, left, keeps his balance as he moves past Layton’s Dylan Carlini (19) during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
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- Layton High’s Davis Madsen (13) stretches to challenge Davis High’s Tyler Roe during a Region 1 boys soccer match Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Kaysville.
KAYSVILLE — Henry Tanner is listed as a defensive player on the Davis High soccer team, but results on the field can be misleading.
Tanner, a senior center back, scored two goals in the Darts’ 4-3 victory over Layton on Wednesday, including the game-winner in a back-and-forth Region 1 rivalry.
“I’ve always loved playing defense, but I’m glad to help out on offense,” Tanner said. “I’m a threat on set pieces; that’s one of my roles on offense.”
In layman’s terms, a set piece is when the ball is returned to play after a stoppage, usually in an attacking area — for example, a free kick or a corner kick. A set piece allows Tanner to participate in the play because he doesn’t have to be back on defense.
That was the case when Tanner scored on a header from a Kasen Smith corner kick late in the second half, giving the Darts the 4-3 lead that turned out to be the winning margin.
“It’s something we train for in practice and I’m glad we could execute it well. We expect to score on corners,” Tanner said.
With the win, Davis (12-2, 6-0 Region 1) is one game away from the region championship and swept the two-match series with the Lancers.
“Being undefeated gives us a little bit of emphasis going into the game, then we keep the power rankings in mind,” Davis assistant coach Talon Meyer said. “Not much changes; we’re a good team in practice and that translates to effort on the field. Layton came to play today, so this feels good.”
Layton (5-4, 3-3) got on the board first with a goal in the 16th minute by junior Cameron Whitesides, which was a wake-up call for the Darts.
“It kind of flipped a switch to be down 1-0 to your rivals. We wanted to come out and beat them,” Tanner said. “We quickly got back to even and charged forward from there.”
Less than two minutes later, junior Cooper Harwood got the Darts even and senior Tyler Roe gave them the lead at 2-1 three minutes after that.
Sophomore Tennyson Romero put the Lancers back square at 2-2 with 2:47 left in the half.
(Those times add context, because the clock stopped working in the second half and times for goals scored became estimates.)
Tanner also scored his first goal on a set piece, a free kick from outside the box early in the second half, to give the Darts a 3-2 edge.
“I’ve always been able to hit the ball pretty hard and know as long as I’m on frame, on target with a lot of power, I have a chance of getting it in,” Tanner said.
One more tie at 3-3 came off the foot of Layton senior Kyle Lemburg midway through the half.
So, with knots at zero, one, two and three, momentum shifted as a tide’s ebb and flow.
“You know what you can do; stick to the fundamentals,” Tanner said.
Davis won its earlier game with the Lancers 2-0, and Layton coach Rick Talamantez was looking forward to the rematch.
“In our first game, Davis came after us with a lot of high pressure and we were nervous; today, they allowed us to play soccer. We were calm and patient,” Talamantez said. “These boys wanted to win; they worked hard. … Didn’t get the result they wanted. They desired to not lose.”
Seven goals in high school soccer with an alternating margin led to a lot of excitement for the players and the fans.
“Games like this are entertaining. We didn’t want to get scored on first, but the boys put together a great game and came to play,” Meyer said.
FARMINGTON 3, WEBER 1
PLEASANT VIEW — Masen Keyes netted early in the second half, assisted by Owen Simerick, to get Weber (7-7, 1-5 Region 1) on the board but it wasn’t enough in a home loss to Farmington (9-2, 4-1).
Brett Hein contributed to score reports.
