Defense leads Davis High past Livingston for second WAC win of season
Offense was at a premium in Davis High’s Thursday night Western Athletic Conference game against Livingston, and a few costly mistakes almost cost the Spartans.
The two sides managed just 24 total points and three total touchdowns, but a key defensive stop just before halftime and a second-half takeaway helped Davis secure a 14-10 victory.
The Spartans earned their second WAC win this season, beating a Wolves team that entered the matchup 2-0 in league play.
Davis forced punts on five of Livingston’s nine possessions and the offense capitalized when the team needed.
Sophomore quarterback Caleb Zaragoza completed 11 of 15 passes for 132 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Ezekiel Suarez carried the ball 18 times for 73 yards and caught the Zaragoza touchdown pass for a 62-yard connection.
A bounceback game on a short week
A Thursday night game meant the Spartans were playing on a short week, three days of practice instead of four and for some, a change in routine.
Davis fell 35-0 to Lathrop last Friday night. It could not find ways to stop Lathrop’s offense or score points of its own.
“We knew what we were gonna have to do, the kids understood it. We put ourselves in position but didn’t finish,” head coach Trevor Mew said.
Thursday night, the team responded.
Johan Chaney rushed for a seven-yard touchdown on the Spartans’ second possession and Zaragoza connected with Suarez for the 62-yard score with 3:28 left in the first half.
“For them to understand that it’s not the end of the world, and then come out and put on this performance is amazing,” Mew said.
The defense also bounced back, shutting down Livingston’s veer offense, one Mew said he never has had to plan against before. The Wolves brought the run-heavy playing style over from the Trans-Valley League in league realignment.
They allowed just one first-half touchdown and a second-half field goal.
No defensive stop was more important than the stand they made just before halftime. The Wolves drove 48 yards in 3 minutes, 26 seconds of the half and found themselves on the two-yard line on fourth and goal with two seconds left.
The Davis defense stuffed quarterback Armani Miranda’s run around the left side of the offensive line as time in the half expired. The stop gave Davis momentum and kept it ahead 14-7 heading into halftime.
“That’s huge. That’s something we’re getting better at,” Mew said.
Still room for improvement
While they are happy to walk away with the win, Mew said there are ways he’d like to see the team improve.
The Spartans threw an interception in the first half, fumbled the ball near the end of the third quarter and did not score in the second half.
“We talked about it all week long, we’ve got to start football games fast, we’ve got to finish football games and limit mistakes. And we did not limit mistakes today,” Mew said. “Luckily, our defense played really, really well. It’s frustrating when you have some of those things happening then you realize how young some of our kids are, we’re learning.”
The Spartans put themselves right in the middle of the playoff race with Thursday’s win. They dropped Livingston’s record from undefeated to 2-1 and improved to 2-1 themselves. The Spartans and Wolves are both behind Lathrop, which is 2-0 entering its third WAC contest Friday. Davis plays Beyer on Oct. 11 in its Week 8 league matchup.
“We still haven’t played a perfect football game,” Mew said. “So when these kids get it, we’re going to be OK.”
This story was originally published October 4, 2024 at 10:19 AM.
