From Day 1, every football player from Class 3A, 4A and 5A has dreamt of the same thing — being able to get to The Turf.

Football players throughout the state work tirelessly from the end of one season to the next, hoping that all of their efforts will result in their teams being able to advance to the semifinal round of their respective tournaments at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Dreams became reality for 12 teams over the weekend, as the 3A, 4A and 5A semifinal fields are set.

Wasatch senior quarterback Payton Davis experienced playing on The Turf when his Wasps lost to Logan in the 2007 Class 3A semifinals, and two years later, he'll get another chance to be there.

"Being there, just (gave) me the hunger to get back. It's the greatest feeling to be able to get back and be able to play at Rice," said Davis. "Anything can happen at Rice. We're ready to go and win. We don't wanna settle for just taking fourth — we gotta win the thing."

Wasatch will meet defending champ Juan Diego at 11 a.m. on Thursday in one 3A semifinal, and Hurricane will meet Park City at 11 a.m. on Friday in the other.

In Class 4A, Springville and Dixie will play at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, with Timpview and Mountain Crest scheduled to follow in a highly-anticipated showdown at 6:30. Class 5A juggernauts Bingham and Alta will meet at 2:30 p.m. Friday. Hunter and Davis play in the other 5A semifinal at 6:30 that night.

BENGALS SWEEP BIG SWIM MEET: As expected, Brighton's boys and girls swim teams rolled to victory at the Greg Fernley Invitational last weekend in St. George.

The Bengals, who are the defending 5A champions on the boys side and are the leading contenders on the girls side, showcased their talented array of swimmers to best a field of 19 teams and 846 swimmers.

Star freshman Long Gutierrez helped lead the way for Brighton on the boys side, while star junior Amanda Barrett helped lead the way for Brighton on the girls side.

e-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com