Davis coaches reminded players at halftime they couldn't afford to let up or lose focus Friday night at Zaepfel Stadium.
After some third quarter struggles, the Pirates took control on both sides of the ball to close out a 41-21 win over Eisenhower, their first rivalry triumph without overtime since 2015. Noah Newkirk threw for 212 of his 231 yards in the first half and a dominant offensive line paved the way for 100-yard games from Davis running backs Lance McGee and LaDainian Dennis.
The win created a three-way tie for the city championship, since West Valley beat Davis 47-42 and Eisenhower beat West Valley 33-7 earlier this season. It's the first time that's happened since the competition for a city title began in 2014.
PHOTOS: Davis defeats Eisenhower 41-21 in football Close Buy Now
Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic Buy Now
Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic Buy Now
Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic Buy Now
Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic Buy Now
Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic Buy Now
Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic Buy Now
Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic Buy Now
Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis defeated Eisenhower 41-21 in football Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Eisenhower's Tyquarious Brown scores a touchdown against Davis Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis' LaDainian Dennis stiff-arms an Eisenhower player while running the ball Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis' Lance McGee scores a touchdown during a 41-21 victory against Eisenhower Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
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Davis' JJ Sanchez intercepts a pass during a game against Eisenhower Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash.
Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic +22 +22 +22 +22 +22
"We went through adversity, people were slowing down, getting banged up, but we just had the right players at the right time and they did their job," Dennis said. "We stayed disciplined, we stayed focused and we kept our eyes on the prize."
He caught Eisenhower quarterback Moses Spurrier's third interception to allow the Pirates to run out the clock on their first conference win, ending a 10-game losing streak in Big 9 play. They held a fourth-quarter lead in four of their five losses this season and the Cadets had a chance to tie the game when they got the ball back down 28-21 late in the third quarter.
Instead, the Pirates defense capitalized on two penalties and forced a three and out, then Dennis ran the ball on five straight plays for 37 yards to set up Newkirk's quarterback sneak for a touchdown. Following a fourth-down stop, Davis needed just three plays to go 57 yards, capped off by McGee's fourth rushing touchdown from 21 yards out.
The standout junior who holds offers from Washington State, Nevada, Memphis and Boise State sprinted 79 yards for a touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage and finished with 141 yards on just nine carries. He also contributed 7.5 tackles and broke up two passes as the middle linebacker for a defense coach Jay Dumas said prepared well throughout the week thanks to defensive coordinator Mark Bradley and his staff.
"The key for the defense this week was the attention to detail," Dumas said. "We did let one go early, but Bradley did a really good job coaching the guys up."
That second-quarter mistake allowed Eisenhower wide receiver Tyquarious Brown to run behind the defense and catch a long pass from Moses Spurrier for an 82-yard touchdown. After a 68-yard touchdown pass from Newkirk to D'Anthony Wiggins, the Cadets closed the gap to 21-14 when senior Caden Sund saw a screen pass coming before Davis even snapped the ball and took an interception back 47 yards for his first defensive score.
But Dumas praised the resiliency of Newkirk, who bounced back from another interception on the next drive to lead a two-minute drill, highlighted by a 45-yard D'Anthony Wiggins reception. The first-year receiver's speed created problems for Eisenhower's secondary all night and another basketball player who came out for football the first time this season, Damien Pimentel, caught four passes for 37 yards.
"I had to work a lot with them in the summer at the park and stuff, just trying to get their routes down," Newkirk said. "Dumas has helped a lot with that and we're showing out here that they know what they're doing and they can execute."
Dumas said he's looking forward to seeing them continue to improve with another full offseason and said Wiggins doesn't yet realize just how good he can be. Some mistakes limited the passing game in the second half, so Davis leaned on an offensive line Dumas said has been a strength all year.
Eisenhower's offense put together one more touchdown drive thanks to penalties and strong running by John Marcus Cunningham and Spurrier, who ran it in from 12 yards to cut the Davis advantage to seven once again. He's scored a team-high seven rushing touchdowns this season and finished with 48 yards on 10 carries to go along with Cunningham's 76 yards and just nine carries.
Flags continued to fly at a high frequency with tensions rising in a game where many of the players know each other well. McGee picked up two personal fouls in quick succession for unsportsmanlike conduct while scoring his final touchdown and following the point-after attempt, resulting in an ejection and a suspension of at least one game.
Dumas said he plans to appeal the suspension to see if the Big 9's top scorer with 19 total touchdowns can return for next Friday's game at league-leading Moses Lake. Davis (1-4 CBBN, 0-6 overall) will finish the season with a Thursday home game against winless Pasco.
Eisenhower (1-4, 2-6) will conclude its regular season by hosting Sunnyside next Friday at Zaepfel Stadium.
Eisenhower=0=14=7=0= -- =27
Davis=14=14=0=13= -- =41
Dav -- Lance McGee 79 run (Neomiah Sanchez kick)
Dav -- McGee 4 run (Sanchez kick)
Ike -- Tyquarious Brown 82 pass from Moses Spurrier (Jordan Rios kick)
Dav -- D'Anthony Wiggins 68 pass from Noah Newkirk (Sanchez kick)
Ike -- Caden Sund 47 interception return (Rios kick)
Dav -- McGee 1 run (Sanchez kick)
Ike -- Spurrier 12 run (Rios kick)
Dav -- Newkirk 1 run (Sanchez kick)
Dav -- McGee 21 run (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Davis, McGee 9-141, LaDainian Dennis 13-100, Damian Guizar 7-63, Newkirk 1-1, TEAM 1-(minus-1). Ike, John Marcus Cunningham 10-76, Spurrier 9-48, Greysen Sartain 6-34, Sund 1-(minus-2).
PASSING -- Davis, Newkirk 15-26-2-231. Ike, Spurrier 6-13-3-120.
RECEIVING -- Davis, Wiggins 2-113, McGee 3-37, Damien Pimentel 4-37, Amiri Benitez-Bess 2-24, Guillermo Garcia 2-11, Aiden Tecomahua 1-4, David Garcia 1-3. Ike, Brown 2-93, Finn Hopkins 2-20, Cunningham 1-11, Sartain 1-(minus-4).