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Kaysville • Davis High senior Jake Emery's 25-yard touchdown run on the first play of his team's possession in triple overtime gave the Darts a dramatic 29-23 home victory over Syracuse in a 5A Region 2 clash Friday night.

The Darts' defense stifled the Titans on the previous play to regain possession as Jake Hadley raced in from the secondary to sack Syracuse quarterback Ty Metcalfe on fourth-and-13 from the 28-yard line.

The Darts (5-1) and Titans (4-2) traded field goals in the first overtime and both missed long field goals — a 39-yard attempt from Davis kicker Will Ferrin and a 36-harder from Syracuse's Jayden Grose — in the second overtime, setting the stage for Emery's play in the third overtime.

Overtime rules stipulate that each team trade and alternate overtime drives from the 25-yard line. After his defense forced the key stop, Emery stepped in to spell teammate Riley Smith, who totaled 233 yards from scrimmage with three touchdowns in the game.

Emery took the handoff from quarterback Hayden Grange and bounced outside to the right. He followed blocks from his offensive line and outran the Syracuse secondary for the game winner.

"I just saw the [Syracuse defensive end] get kicked out and a pile up," said Emery. "I cut up underneath him. It was great blocking on inside and outside. All the credit to my o-line.

The Titans overcame a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit as Metcalfe engineered two scoring drives and the Titans' defense intercepted Grange to set up the tying score.

Grose booted a 37-yard field goal with 5:51 left in the game, capping a 13-play, 79-yard drive.

On Davis' ensuing drive, defensive back Brennon Jones stepped in front of a Grange pass and returned the interception 25 yards for a touchdown, subsequently nullified by an illegal blocking penalty.

Four plays later, Metcalfe found Dallin Kirkman on fourth-and-5 from the 21 and Kirkman broke two tackles on his way to the end zone. Grose's extra point tied the game with 3:12 left.

The Metcalfe-to-Kirkman connection appeared to give the Titans another touchdown in their first overtime drive. Their perfectly planned throw-back pass to the front left end zone pylon looked to have worked. Kirkman lost control of the slick ball as he dived into the end zone drenched in water.

The official ruled the play an incomplete pass, leading to Grose's field goal.

"I thought our kids battled back and played tough," said Syracuse coach Russ Jones. "They really did.

"We had the one call that we thought was a touchdown. We didn't get it, but that's just part of football."

The Darts controlled much of the first half as Smith scored on a 50-yard run on their first play from scrimmage. The point-after attempt failed.

Grange found him again in the second quarter on a screen pass that went 11 yards for a score to give Davis a 13-7 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, Grange hit Smith again with a screen pass that went 21 yards to give Davis a 20-10 lead.

The Darts have now won four in a row against the Titans. —

Storylines

R Jake Emery races 25 yards for the game-winning touchdown in the third overtime of Davis' 29-23 victory Friday night over Syracuse.

• The Titans rally from a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game with 3:12 remaining.