WOODS CROSS — "If you're going to be the best, you have to play the best," Mitch Parkinson said of Davis' playoff run and upcoming chance at redemption.
The Darts have now earned victories over Alta, Lone Peak, and Copper Hills en route to the 5A state championship game at Rio Tinto Stadium.
They were granted a rematch with Brighton rematch with a 1-0 semifinal victory over Copper Hills on Tuesday at Woods Cross High School.
Parkinson chipped in the game-winning goal just two minutes into the contest, capitalizing on a bout of chaos in the box. The Copper Hills goalkeeper deflected the first Davis attempt, coming out of the goal on the left side.
Before he was able to recover, John Taylor corralled the rebound and crossed the ball to Parkinson for an open look at the net.
"I happened to be in the right place at the right time," Parkinson said of his game-clinching moment.
The early 1-0 advantage would ultimately be enough for the advancement.
"We didn't want to play from behind," Parkinson said. "We knew we wanted to come out strong."
Though play was fairly even early on, Davis' all-around solid effort stifled Copper Hills' aggressive offense and wore out their defense.
The Darts attacked the net incessantly and sent in several quality attempts.
A free kick from Taylor hit the frame, Tim Bunker sent a close range chip over the goal, and there were a handful of others.
Their incapability to further the lead, however, worried Davis head coach Souli Phongsavath.
"I thought they (failed attempts) were going to come back to haunt us," he said. "I'll give credit to the kids though, they did a great job sticking in there. They stayed strong."
The Grizzlies were unable to equalize as they struggled to find a crack in the Darts' unyielding defensive armor.
Coach Phongsavath commended the overall playoff efforts of his team — a team that experienced some setbacks late in the season, falling to both Layton and Weber.
"I'm so proud of the team for the way they responded," he said. "They are a veteran team … after we lost to Weber, some of them thought, 'we'll turn it on in the playoffs."
The Darts did just that, going through some of the toughest teams in the bracket. Goalkeeper Mitch Jensen has played a crucial role thus far with key saves, including two penalty kicks in the final minute of the Lone Peak quarterfinal match.
The Darts success may have come as a surprise to some — something Phongsavath sees as an advantage.
"I don't think a lot of teams picked us to be here right now and we'll feed off of that."
Parkinson was confident in the Darts' ability to get to Rio Tinto for the second time in three years.
"We always had the dream," he said. "We knew what we had to do to get there and those losses were tough but we knew if we played as a team and believed in ourselves we could come out and do it."
email: jwilde@desnews.com