Prep football: Winning up front, Fremont outshoves Davis 19-10 for second region win
Masters hauls in 2 TD passes; Turnovers hurt Darts early
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- Fremont’s Zach Masters dives out of the reach of Davis defensive back Connor Brown (11) and into the end zone for a touchdown on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Owen Simkins (20) fights for yards against Davis players Jarom Parker (10) and Bode Sparrow (2) on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Davis defenders Juni Moala (91) and Cole Clark (33) take down Fremont quarterback Manase Tuatagaloa (5) on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Davis receiver Bode Sparrow (2) rises for a catch over Fremont’s Orion Patten (22) on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Ridge Lindley (47) tries to sack Davis quarterback Tradon Bessinger (4) on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont tight end Zach Masters breaks for the end zone against Davis on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Davis quarterback Tradon Bessinger throws a pass against Fremont on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont tight end Zach Masters celebrates as he scores a touchdown against Davis on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont and Davis battle in a football game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Davis receiver Tyson Baggett (1) runs as Fremont’s Krew Hasell (33) arrives for a hit on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont quarterback Manase Tuatagaloa steps into the end zone for a touchdown against Davis on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Plain City.
PLAIN CITY — Doing your homework has its benefits.
That’s Fremont junior running back Cade Hadley’s key takeaway from Friday’s 19-10 win over Davis at Moyes Stadium.
A week after Davis struggled to stop Weber’s Dyson Parker traffic his way up and down the field, Hadley quickly flipped on those game highlights in preparation for what the Silverwolves (5-2, 2-0 Region 1) used to weigh down the Darts (5-2, 1-1) all night long.
Despite all three of Fremont’s scores coming between senior Zach Masters and starting quarterback Manase Tuatagaloa, Hadley was quick to point out his offensive line’s weeklong dedication to the Davis scouting report.
“After watching their game last week, we knew we could run on them,” Hadley said. “I thought we had a great game plan coming in and our O-line did an amazing job of winning those matchups. I can’t give enough credit to them.”
While Fremont didn’t capitalize at every juncture — even chalking up a seemingly costly fourth-quarter turnover — the Silverwolves rotated multiple backs alongside Hadley and rode three turnovers by Davis quarterback Tradon Bessinger to victory.
Bessinger, who threw for nearly 300 yards the week before, and the Darts had little cooking from the game’s first drive. Fremont held the Darts to begin the night and converted the stop into the game’s first score minutes later on a 12-yard strike from Tuatagaloa to Masters with 5:32 to go in the first quarter.
Davis junior Juni Moala noticed something was off during his team’s pregame routine.
“I feel like we came out and we warmed up slow,” Moala said. “We came out when we were down and we picked it up too late. They came out and were ready to play — they outplayed us, that’s what that was.”
Davis managed its way into enemy territory on its next drive but Bessinger fumbled away possession on a hard hit by Fremont senior Ridge Lindley that saw teammate Brant Koford fall on the loose ball near their own 36-yard line.
Fremont left the first quarter without another score but sniffed out another Davis opportunity when Bessinger, on first-and-goal at the Fremont 9, threw a hard ball that bounced off his intended target and into the hands of Fremont senior corner Orion Patten.
The Darts kept the Silverwolves sputtering in the second quarter even after the big takeaway. With a bit more than two minutes left in the half, Davis jumped ahead 7-6 on a 37-yard pass from Bessinger to sophomore Jaxton Itaaehau.
Tuatagaloa marched the Silverwolves back into the red zone but Jordan Larkin missed a short-range field goal as the first half expired.
Still, the Silverwolves leaned on what studied best that week: winning up front.
Getting the football back to begin the second half, Fremont washed out its poor first-half finish with a lengthy scoring drive, capped on another connection between Tuatagaloa and Masters for a 16-yard touchdown and knocking out nearly six minutes of game clock in the process.
“We knew it was going to be a tough win,” Hadley said. “They’re a really good team so we knew we’d have to work hard. We’ve worked hard at practice all week. … These boys up front, they worked crazy hard.”
Bessinger and senior Owen Talbot managed the Darts into another first-and-goal opportunity, but Fremont seniors Nash Bailey and Owen Simkins brought the pressure when it counted. The duo helped stir Davis’ intended touchdown into a 26-yard chip shot from kicker Finn Garff.
With the Silverwolves up 12-10 by the start of the fourth quarter, Davis’ defense desperately needed a break. Bode Sparrow answered, picking off Tuatagaloa and setting the Darts up near midfield for their comeback drive.
Davis inched to the Fremont 36-yard line but marched no further as senior Fremont linemen Lindley and Kaden Sepulveda brought the goods on second-and-6, and later helped force Bessinger and the Darts to go for it, unsuccessfully, on fourth-and-11 from Fremont’s 41-yard line.
The turnover on downs, coming with over seven minutes to go, generated a critical fourth-down touchdown run by Tuatagaloa on the consequent drive.
Regrouping quickly, Davis cleared much of the field in as little as two minutes and threatened to score late, but Bessinger coughed up his third turnover when Fremont’s Slade Parker picked off Bessinger with only 3:16 left.
Without the time to stall Fremont, the Darts endured their first loss since Week 1 vs. Lehi. The defeat is another reminder that physicality is half the battle, Moala said.
“They were stout,” Moala said. “They were lower than us. They were getting a better push. But we just got to keep going. We were playing with our emotions a little bit but I feel like if we come out next week and we pick it up, we’ll be able to keep going, too.”
Fremont’s 4-1 mark in the turnover margin helped overcome Davis’ slight 345-294 yardage advantage. The Silverwolves held the Darts to 27 net rushing yards on 14 carries.
Tuatagaloa rushed for 58 yards and Hadley 56 for Fremont. Tuatagaloa threw 9 of 19 for 128 yards, and Masters had three catches for 57 yards. Krew Hassell tallied nine tackles.
For Davis, Bessinger finished 19 of 35 for 318 yards. Itaaehau caught five passes for 113 yards and Sparrow had five for 101. Moala led the Darts with 14 tackles.
Fremont hosts Syracuse and Davis welcomes in Layton next week.
BOX SCORE
Davis 0 7 3 0 – 10
Fremont 6 0 6 7 – 19
SCORING LOG
FIRST QUARTER
5:32 – Fremont touchdown: Masters 12-yard pass from Tuatagaloa. Two-point attempt no good (FHS 6, DHS 0)
SECOND QUARTER
2:12 – Davis touchdown: Itaaehau 37-yard pass from Bessinger. PAT good. (DHS 7, FHS 6)
THIRD QUARTER
6:23 – Fremont touchdown: Masters 16-yard pass from Tuatagaloa. Two-point attempt no good (FHS 12, DHS 7)
3:59 – Davis field goal: Garff 26 yards (FHS 12, DHS 10)
FOURTH QUARTER
4:47 – Fremont touchdown: Tuatagaloa 4-yard run. PAT good. (FHS 19, DHS 10)
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
