COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — If Davis High football players have bags under their eyes and walk around like zombies today, it's probably because they stayed up late Friday watching TV.
And they weren't tuned in to MTV, "The OC" reruns or all-night infomercials.
They were watching themselves on KJZZ-TV's 11 p.m. tape-delayed broadcast of their 28-6 victory at Brighton.
And nobody could blame the Darts for sacrificing a few winks so they could watch their impressive road win, which improved their preseason record to 2-0.
Connor Van Brocklin, Tanner Hinds, Kyle Burk and a host of other Davis receivers and defensive players probably gave the rewind button a good workout. Van Brocklin threw for three touchdowns, Hinds had one TD reception and an 85-yard return to paydirt, Burk rushed for just under 100 yards, and the Dart defense forced five turnovers and put on quite the show for those watching in person and at home.
And, yes, the Darts were looking forward to the rare TV time.
"Oh, we're staying up...," said Davis coach Ryan Bishop with a big grin. "That's our first win at Brighton (in a long time). It feels great. I'm proud of the kids."
As for the Bengals, nobody would blame the Bengals from erasing this loss — their second-straight low-scoring defeat this year — from their TiVos either.
If they do view this game, Brighton might especially want to fast-forward through the first quarter. Davis took advantage of incredible field position — all in Brighton territory thanks to a big Zac Borden return, a Marshall Burton interception and a shanked punt — to score three touchdowns in the opening period.
Van Brocklin, Davis' big lefty quarterback, seized the opportunity of starting each drive inside Brighton's territory by throwing three touchdown tosses in that quarter — to Nik Grunniger (12 yards), Hinds (34) and Chase Flint (18).
That makes for some must-see-late-night-TV in Kaysville.
"We were on fire in the first quarter," said Van Brocklin, who connected on his first seven passes and ended up throwing 7-for-13 for 104 yards. "Everything was just rolling perfect for us."
Brighton seemed to get some life after going down by three scores. Quinton Ayres, who had 118 yards rushing, busted free for an 84-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 21-6 at the end of the first quarter. The Bengals then forced two straight Davis fumbles, but they couldn't capitalize. The one that really hurt was when Borden picked off Tommy Thornberg's pass at the 10, preventing Brighton from getting any closer.
Hinds made Brighton pay for kicking away from Borden — and essentially put the game away — when he returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards. The Bengals struggled to get their offense going the rest of the game.
"I think that was the biggest play," Van Brocklin said. "That got us going."
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