High school football: Itaaehau sparks Davis to capture Region 1 crown over Weber

Quarterback Tradon Bessinger has been grabbing most of the headlines this season for the Davis High School football team.

He has thrown for over 10,000 yards and 118 touchdowns in his career and this year has the Darts eyeing their first state championship since 2004.

However, elusive playmakers like Bode Sparrow, Isaac Morrison, Tyson Baggett, Makaio Byrd and Jaxton Itaaehau have also been major contributors. It was mostly Itaaeheau’s turn Wednesday night when the Darts wrapped up the Region 1 title with a 41-20 victory over Weber.

Itaaehau scored three touchdowns as Davis grabbed a big halftime lead and turned back the Warriors to claim first place in the regular season finale. A Weber win would have resulted in a tie between the two teams.

“We didn’t want any of that,” said Itaaehau, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior who is listed as “athlete” on the Davis roster. “Coach (Scott Peery) told us all week that the championship was ours to take, and we wanted it.”

Peery said the Darts listed several goals during a summer team trip to Bear Lake.

“There were some individual goals but winning region was at the top of our team goals,” he said. “Winning state is another. We want to bring that trophy up north.”

With seven state trophies and 32 region crowns in their history, the Darts have been a traditional Utah power but haven’t reached the title game since 2009 and lost in the quarterfinals at Skyridge last season. Wednesday’s win moved the Darts to 9-1 overall and should keep them at No. 2 in 6A with the state playoffs starting next week.

Peery said his team is known for starting fast and has kept improving since the start of the season.

Helped by Itaaehau’s 121 rushing yards and 109 yards receiving, Davis scored at will when it needed. Itaaehau finished each of the first three drives – with a pair of scoring runs by Itaaehau and a short touchdown catch from Bessinger.

A 16-yard throw from Bessinger to Sparrow with 14 seconds left in the half demoralized Weber further and the Darts added a 35-yard field goal by Luke Jolley midway through the third quarter to take a 31-0 lead.

“We’re playing a good brand of football,” said Peery. “We were getting the ball to our big-play guys all over the field and, when Jaxton gets it, he’s the fastest guy on her team and he’s tough to bring down.”

Weber finally rallied behind its talented offensive players, Dyson Parker and Carter Payne. Parker had just 32 rushing yards at halftime but finished with 150 – on 25 carries. Payne passed for 149 yards and ran for 53 and led touchdown drives on Weber’s last three possessions.

Davis, however, simply overwhelmed another opponent with its talent. Bessinger completed 26 of 37 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Sparrow had five catches for 90 yards, including a 37-yarder on the Darts’ first play. Baggett added seven catches for 70 yards.

Byrd finished with four carries for 21 yards before being helped off the field with an ankle injury. His departure made Itaaehau more valuable, and he had the most of it.

Itaaehau said he has never scored more than three touchdowns in a game in his entire football career. Near the end of the game, he broke loose on a 42-yard run and, instead of scoring, intentionally fell down at the Weber 3-yard line. The Darts figured to just have Bessinger fall on the ball but Weber called timeout to extend the game.

Davis responded by trying a trick play but Bessinger missed his receiver in the end zone, so they gave kicker Luke Jolley a chance to make a 22-yard field goal.