Down the road, Davis High quarterback Chance Trujillo had thrown for 2,581 yards and 22 touchdowns to lead the Darts’ football team to two playoff wins.

Four years later, the two are teammates playing basketball at Utah Tech, but it’s not the first time they’ve shared the court. The two childhood friends spent each year on the same team but, right as they reached high school, the opening of Farmington High pushed Trujillo into the Davis boundary and the pair became rivals.

Now, they each prep for a road trip back home to Northern Utah as the Trailblazers face Weber State in a game scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at the Dee Events Center.

It’s not been a straight line to St. George for either.

Utah Tech Athletics

Upon graduation, Potter spent time in the area of Fort Collins, Colorado, serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before returning home and suiting up for Utah Valley for the 2022-23 season. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds over three seasons as a reserve for the Wolverines.

But he wanted more than the 14.6 minutes per game he’d had, so he entered the transfer portal.

“A change of scenery and more of an opportunity — I felt like I’d get a bigger role here when I decided to transfer. I already had a relationship with the coaching staff … and that was a big reason I came (to Utah Tech),” Potter said.

He said playing for Jon Judkins provided a “good mix” of a good opportunity, a good coach and a chance to win games.

So far, so good. Potter leads Utah Tech (6-6) at 16.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and leads the WAC shooting 58.6% from the field.

Photo supplied, Utah Tech Athletics

Trujillo’s path was even less direct.

He graduated high school feeling like he was all-in on football, committed to play for New Mexico Military Institute but working on other interest within Utah. But Trujillo had also come alive on the basketball court and sparked Davis to the state championship his senior year. In a quick pivot, he walked on at Weber State for the 2021-22 season.

He planned to work hard as a redshirt and Randy Rahe had said it was likely he could grow into a scholarship. But that changed; having not previously planned to serve a mission, Trujillo felt compelled to do so and spent two years in New York City.

When he got back, he played a year of hoops with one of the winningest teams in Snow College history, and now starts at guard for Utah Tech, averaging 11.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while leading the WAC at 88.9% from the foul line.

Those experiences prepared him, Trujillo said.

First, at Weber State, he cut his teeth against pros like Dillon Jones and Koby McEwen.

“Playing against them every day definitely got me better … got introduced to what it takes to play at the Division I level, the explosiveness, the athleticism and everything,” Trujillo said.

New York City helped him, too, despite his initial fears that stepping away from sports would end his career.

“Aside from the spiritual aspect, just setting daily goals and doing everything in your power to achieve them; the power of mindset, the power of diligence,” he said. “Working. You’re up at 6:30 every single day until 9 p.m., talking to thousands of people, getting rejected; the mental toughness you have to have out there, it’s something you can’t really experience anywhere else.

“Those two years, there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t have a moment where I’m taken back to New York or reminded of something hard I had to get through that motivates me.”

This summer, Potter and Trujillo realized they were both looking for a new place to play and, Potter said, somewhat decided together to reunite at Utah Tech.

Trujillo said it’s good to play with a back-to-the-basket threat like Potter.

“Not only a great person and one of my close friends, but I feel like we have a certain kind of chemistry,” he said. “Off the pick and roll, things like that, we just kind of know what we’re going to do and we play into each other’s strengths.

“Dominant left shoulder-right hook … It’s just really smooth, the way he plays,” Trujillo concluded about Potter.

Potter said it was weird to become rivals in high school but he’s glad to be on the same team again.

“He’s someone who works as hard as about anybody I’ve ever played with before,” Potter said about Trujillo. “He’s just a tough guy who’s going to have your back. It’s great to have him as a captain here and … it’s a lot of fun to just talk about the good old times we had in elementary and junior high playing together.”

THE MATCHUP

Weber State has been less consistent since junior sharpshooter Viljami Vartiainen left the lineup due to a knee injury. WSU blasted Oral Roberts 92-66 but since has taken lopsided road losses to St. Thomas and Utah Valley, and squeaked out a 64-60 road win over lowly Kansas City.

The Wildcats are 4-6 against Division I opponents and have strength in a balanced attack, but struggle to get most of the main rotation firing together like they did at home against Kansas City, Campbell and Oral Roberts. At Utah Valley, forwards Edwin Suarez and Nigel Burris did a lot of the heavy lifting; at Kansas City, it was center Malek Gomma doing it all; and at St. Thomas, it was guards Jace Whiting and Trevor Hennig carrying the load.

Vartiainen is expected to miss the rest of nonconference play.

As for the Trailblazers, they’re 3-6 against Division I opponents. Utah Tech has only faced about two teams with similar profiles to Weber State, both at home: a 68-63 loss to Portland State and a 77-69 win over UC Riverside.

“I think we’re all starting to jell together,” Potter said. “Where we had so many new players … I think we’re all starting to come together.”

Stats say the game might be a grind. Both teams are top 30 nationally in defensive 3-point percentage against Division I opponents while, offensively, WSU is 239th at 31.8% and Utah Tech is 328th at 28.7%.

Potter leads a strong interior attack offensively for the Trailblazers but UTU is 297th in defensive rebounding. Weber State’s strength on the glass — the team is 98th in offensive rebounding, with Suarez 55th nationally in offensive rebound percentage and Gomma 71st — may find avenues to excel.

Per Ken Pomeroy, Weber State is favored by six points at 68% probability.