Prep football: Davis defense collects crucial stop in rowdy 49-35 win at Syracuse
Bouncing back from loss, Darts outgain Titans in fourth-quarter throwdown
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- Davis High receiver Bode Sparrow hauls in a one-handed touchdown catch over Syracuse’s Bryson Hall (16) in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Syracuse High receiver Kaleb Hall dives for the end zone past Davis High’s Cooper Rigby (5) in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Davis High’s Bode Sparrow, right, makes a grab near the goal line against Syracuse’s Bryson Hall (16) in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Syracuse High’s Kaleb Hall (0) wins a jump ball catch over Davis High’s Bennett Kearl (11) in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Davis High’s Briggs Taylor (21) reaches for a catch as Syracuse’s Isaiah Cazeau (15) races to the play in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Syracuse High defenders Kaleb Hall (0) and Isaiah Cazeau (15) deliver a hit to Davis High’s Jaxton Itaaehau in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Syracuse High quarterback Ledger Wight throws a pass against Davis in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Davis High receiver Jaxton Itaaehau lays out for a catch agiainst a Syracuse player in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Syracuse High receiver Parker Moffat (8) sees in a catch against Davis High’s Sam Coleman (1) in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Davis High’s Briggs Taylor (21) tries to keep his feet during a collision with a Syracuse player in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Davis High running back Kysen Gallegos sees in a reception in a Region 1 football game against Syracuse on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Davis High’s Sam Coleman carries the football against Syracuse in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Davis High quarterback Paden Toula steps into a pass against Syracuse in a Region 1 football game Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Syracuse. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
SYRACUSE — Davis High linebacker Ben Dorius already broke through Syracuse’s offensive line numerous times on Friday night, but at no point did he rest on his heels.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior sniffed out Titans quarterback Ledger Wight before halftime, but a penalty flag for a facemask effectively canceled out his two stops and opened the gates for a Kaleb Hall touchdown catch, pulling Syracuse within three before halftime.
Davis provided its second-half answers in the form of Power Four commits Bode Sparrow and Jaxton Itaaehau, but a third-down sack by Dorius inked the official memo: the Darts, bouncing back from an American Fork loss for a 45-35 statement win on Friday night, still got the goods.
“It was awesome,” Dorius said. “The energy was high; we had a lot of momentum. Everyone was getting hype and collapsing the pocket, keeping (Wight) in there; he kept scrambling, and I just ended up there and ready to go and hit him hard.”
The stop paved the way for a second Itaaehau touchdown rush, as the Utah commit put the final points on the scoreboard ahead of a happy drive home. Minutes earlier, the sideline was all smiles, Davis coach Scott Peery recalled, as the team joined in getting loud for Dorius.
“There’s not a better kid on the planet,” Peery said of Dorius. “Scholastically, as a football player, all of the above. To see him make plays as he does, it’s a lot of fun for him.”
Davis (4-3, 1-1 Region 1) outgained Syracuse (3-4, 1-1) 490-378 in net yards, but Jed Beutler’s 32-yard field goal tying the contest 35-all to begin the fourth quarter put Davis up to the plate with nine-plus minutes of football left.
After opening the drive with a 20-yard loss, the Darts converted on third down via senior Paden Toula (26 of 36 for 401 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Sparrow for a 25-yard touchdown reception. Sparrow, the highly-touted Oklahoma commit, led the field with 167 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Trailing by four in the third quarter, Sparrow reeled in arguably the catch of the week with one hand on an 8-yard toss by Toula.
“I feel like we’ve been improving every week,” Toula said. “That’s a big win, it’s exciting, and we’ll just keep getting better off of it and feeding off of it.”
From the opening kick, Syracuse had the fervor Kaleb Hall and his fellow seniors were searching for in a Region 1 opener.
The Darts handed away an early 7-0 lead on a failed onside kick. Trailing 21-10 midway through the second quarter, Syracuse pieced together consecutive scoring drives via Kao Prom (run) and Hall’s touchdown grab, cutting their deficit to as little as a field goal before the break.
Syracuse, which stopped Davis just once entering the second half, came up with its coveted second break when Hall took down Davis skill agent Sam Coleman short of the sticks. Those chances were like gold, and even after Syracuse converted the hit for the lead, it’d be the last time the Titans stopped the Darts short of the goal line.
“It gets a little tiring,” Hall said. “I take a little bit of a break on offense because I know my team needs me on defense, so I definitely prioritize defense. But a lot of those other dudes, they don’t even take breaks, so props to them honestly. They made a ton of plays tonight.”
Davis met another opponent on Friday, too, as its defense expended multiple penalties for large Syracuse gains on the road. In total, the Darts coughed up 79 yards on six flags.
To watch his defense answer late and deny Wight and the Syracuse offense another shot at the end zone left Peery satisfied with the unit’s ability to adapt and overcome when it matters most — in a region matchup that should be checked off the calendar with permanent marker.
“I challenged these guys all week long; our thing was to answer the call,” Peery said. “They came out here, put a second half together. That was fun.”
Finally grabbing some stops was worth crowing about for Davis. Wight finished with 103 rushing yards and a TD on 23 carries while passing 16 of 30 for 224 yards and the scoring toss to Hall.
With the loss, Syracuse joins the rest of the region in requiring a Davis loss for a chance at the region title with three weeks remaining in the regular season. All but Davis have at least one region loss against them as the regular season narrows down to its final weeks.
“To take region, we knew we had to go through Davis first,” Hall said. “So, losing that game, we’ve gotta now hope Davis loses a game as well to take the region. I think we played really hard, but just didn’t get the result we wanted.”
Davis next looks ahead to hosting Farmington.
“The region games always just have a different feel to them,” Peery said. “The sense of rivalry and proximity. Guys know each other, so it just kind of cranks things up a bit.”
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
