A friendly greeting to the visiting ESPN crew: Thanks for coming, visit Temple Square and the mountains, try some funeral potatoes, be careful if you wear navy blue to Rice-Eccles Stadium today and, oh yeah, make sure you grab a copy of Friday night's Class 5A championship football game.
The thrilling, dramatic, nailbiting overtime showdown between unlikely finalists Davis and Cottonwood deserves a spot on ESPN Classic. Now.
It will certainly go down as a classic championship in Utah, especially in Kaysville, where future generations will surely hear tales of the Darts' heart-stopping 50-43 victory over the Colts.
ESPN can only dream tonight's BYU-Utah BCS Buster Bowl will be as entertaining as the show these high school squads put on.
Davis and Cottonwood set nine state records, compiled 986 yards of net offense, scored about every way imaginable (fake field goal, blocked punt, long return, big runs, lengthy receptions, etc.) while putting more points on the scoreboard (93) than ever before in a Utah football final.
Individual numbers were also eye-popping: Davis' Bryan Kariya pounded out 216 yards rushing and four touchdowns in an MVPesque outing; and Cottonwood's junior quarterback, Alex Cate, threw for 463 yards and five TDs, while three Colts racked up more than 100 yards receiving apiece, including 163 for Preston Barlow who also had a TD pass on a fake kick.
And to think Davis only won two games last season and Cottonwood had never been to a title tilt in its 35 years. Yep, classic stuff.
"It's really a shame someone had to lose that game," said Davis coach Ryan Bishop. "I'm just glad our kids prevailed. They fought through it."
That's one way to put it. Another way: They survived.
Davis held a nine-point lead midway through the fourth quarter after Ryan Smoot returned a kickoff 90 yards. It seemed to get worse for Cottonwood moments later. Star receiver Cliff Andersen, who had 113 receiving yards, blew a gasket after an official didn't call his defender for pass interference. Andersen spouted off and was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and then got ejected—and the team penalized an additional 15 years (30 total) — after angrily approaching and bumping into the official.
After failing on a third-and-40 situation, Cottonwood punted but then held firm on defense — and that's when things really got crazy. Defensive back Tyler Hutchins, who'd already blocked a PAT, burst through the line to swat the Darts' punt through the back of the end zone for a safety.
Down 36-29, the Colts then marched back up the field for a potential game-tying score. The drive was highlighted by two passes from Cate to Zach Wade, including a 40-yard bomb and a TD toss from the 14.
But more drama ensued. Cottonwood missed the extra point and trailed 35-34 with less than three minutes remaining. Davis then seemed to clinch its first state crown since 1976 (and seventh overall) when Kariya broke free for a 43-yarder up the gut with 44 seconds left.
Hold the celebration.
Cate brought Cottonwood back with four quick completions, capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass to Barlow on the final play of regulation. Cate then scrambled and hooked up with Wade for the game-knotting two-point conversion toss.
Cottonwood seemed to take that momentum into overtime, sacking Davis QB Zach Olsen on the first play. But Kariya then reintroduced the Colts to the back of his No. 33 jersey as he again erupted through the line and scored a 35-yard touchdown.
On its OT turn, the Colts got down to the 3-yard-line before the Darts defense proved the old cliche true. Davis, which had only allowed one touchdown to Skyline in three playoff wins, stuffed Cottonwood running back Stanley Havili at the line of scrimmage two plays in a row for the victory.
Whew.
And wow.
Olsen, who passed for 113 yards, called it a "dream game."
"I'm so happy. It's the best feeling in the world," he said, adding that he'll remember the game and the season as being one in which he and his best buddies "stuck together in the highs and lows."
"I thought last week (beating favored Skyline) couldn't get any better," he said, "but this exceeds that by far."
And exceeding about sums up Davis' year, which picked up steam mid-season after a big win over Northridge, highlights of which were shown on ESPN.
"This is something I'll remember for the rest of my life, that's for sure," said receiver Tim Grasso. "We were picked near the bottom of our region. No one (could) predict that we'd be No. 1 in the state, but that's what we are."
Cottonwood coach Tom Jones, who guided his Colts to five straight wins including a shocker over No. 1 Brighton in the semifinals, was stunned but proud after the OT defeat.
"It's a disappointment to get into a situation where we're tied up and all of a sudden boom it's gone — to go from a high to a low in a matter of seconds," he said. "(But) Davis is a great football team. They just kept pounding it at us."
E-mail: jody@desnews.com