It was a clash of the titans as Fremont hosted Davis in a 6A showdown inside Moyes Stadium in Plain City.
And in the end, Davis came out on top as the Darts hung on to defeat Fremont, 13-10.
“It was a great game and it’s a great rivalry,” said Davis head coach Trevor Yocom. “Our kids look forward to these games every year and I enjoy it too. Brad and I went to high school together so we’ve known each other for a long time. It’s always fun to see him, but it’s not always fun to coach against him because they always have a great team and it’s always a battle.”
A battle might be an understatement as over the past two years, both teams have knocked each other out of the 6A state semifinals. Fremont won 17-16 in 2023, while Davis got revenge last year with an 11-9 victory.
With all the recent history, Thursday’s game provided extra motivation for both sides in what could likely be another playoff showdown between both programs next month.
Davis didn’t waste any time as the Darts scored two goals in the first two minutes thanks to Rocky Edelman and Luke Donigan. The duo teamed up again a few minutes later to give the Darts a 4-0 lead halfway through the first quarter.
“Davis played a great game and they have a lot of depth and it showed tonight,” said Fremont head coach Brad Searle. “We dug ourselves an early hole and that’s hard to come back from against a good team like that.”
It appeared the game was headed for a blowout, but Fremont didn’t let it happen as the Silverwolves got a goal from Aiden Passey with just 18 seconds to go in the first quarter. This spark gave Fremont some momentum as the Silverwolves scored two more times thanks to goals from Bransen Hiatt and Kaydin Berry to cut the deficit to 5-3 at the half.
Just like they did at the start of the game, Davis started the third quarter scoring two goals in the first two minutes to extend the lead back to four at 7-3.
However, Fremont came clawing back as the Silverwolves scored three times to cut the deficit to 7-6 midway through the third quarter with two scores from Wellyn Price and another from Cameron Sweat.
But that’s as close as Fremont would get as Davis went on another big run as the Darts scored four consecutive goals from three different players (Ashton Wood, William Marsh and Luke Donigan) to pull away. Wood and Edelman finished with three goals apiece while Donigan tied a game-high with four.
“I’m proud of our guys for not only battling against a great Fremont team, but battling the heat as well,” said Yocom. “We have some guys banged and are dealing with injuries, but guys have stepped up and it’s been great to see.”
Fremont was led by Price, who had four goals, with Tyler Widdison adding two as well.
“Losing is never fun, but I’m still proud of our guys,” said Searle. “Between the new high school and graduation, we lost a lot of guys this year and to see them battling was great to see. I told the team afterwards that we didn’t play our best, and we still had chances to win the game. Davis won a lot of the faceoffs, which gave them more opportunities as well, so the fact we only lost by three says a lot about our team and where we can go.”
With the loss, Fremont drops to 5-3 on the year, while Davis remains undefeated at 7-0. The Darts will look to stay unbeaten as they travel to take on Layton next Tuesday. The Silverwolves will look to get back on track as they go on the road and into hostile territory as they face crosstown rival Weber.
