3A high school football: Wasatch makes run but falters in second half

For a half, it looked like Wasatch had a realistic shot at shocking Juan Diego and the entire state.

The Wasps hung with the reigning 3A champion Soaring Eagle in the first half of their state semifinal matchup on Thursday afternoon, only trailing by a touchdown at halftime. Quarterback Payton Davis directed two scoring drives, completing 8 of 15 passes for 104 yards. Running back Michael Davis punched in a couple of short-yardage touchdown runs.

But from the time the ball was kicked off to the Wasps in the second half, things went downhill for them. They had to start their first drive at their own 5, and Michael Davis lost two yards on his first carry. Juan Diego went on to pull away and win, 35-14.

"We just didn't take care of ourselves in the second half," said Wasatch coach Steve North. "We were in the ballgame and in the second half we never got on track. Good for them (the Soaring Eagle) because they shut us down a little bit."

The Wasps, down 21-14 at halftime, had two possessions to try and tie it up. Wasatch picked up one first down on its first drive, but a false start penalty was costly and stalled it. The next time the Wasps had the ball, they picked up two first downs but their drive bogged down near midfield when Payton Davis was hit hard on a first down. He then threw two incompletions and Wasatch had to punt.

"We could have done some things in the second half," said Payton Davis. "Our offense didn't roll like it did in the first half. I felt like we played our hardest and you can't ask for much more than that."

Wasatch's offense had the Soaring Eagle on their heels in the first half. The Wasps, who switched to a spread offense before the 2009 season, took advantage of Payton Davis' ability to run and throw. He rushed for 56 yards in the first half to go along with his 104 passing yards.

"I think Juan Diego made some great adjustments at halftime," Payton Davis said. "Our defense wasn't quite able to hold them, but they tried. We just weren't able to pull through."

Despite the loss, it was still a great season for the Wasps. They enjoyed the state's largest turnaround in 2009, improving from a 2-9 record last season to 10-3. Wasatch took second place in Region 10 and was making its second appearance on the Rice-Eccles turf in three seasons.

"We had a great season and they (the players) accomplished a whole lot," North said. "We were hoping we could do a little more. It didn't happen but I'm proud of the kids."

e-mail: aaragon@desnews.com