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SALT LAKE CITY — With a 55-50 win over Riverton in the second round of the 6A state playoff last season, quarterback Jackson Stevens had Davis High primed for a showdown with second-seeded Skyridge in the quarterfinals.
On the line was a coveted trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, where Stevens and his Davis teammates would be one step closer to a high school championship.
That quarterfinal matchup didn't go in Davis' favor as eventual 6A champion Skyridge rolled to a 44-27 victory. Jackson threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns passes, and completed 77% of his passes, but Skyridge was simply the better team that night.
Three months later, Stevens enrolled at the very school that ended his dream his junior season.
And so far, that move has been a great fit for Stevens as he leads an undefeated Skyridge (6-0) team in pursuit of its second consecutive state title. On Friday, Stevens threw for 351 yards and seven touchdowns en route to a 48-10 win over region foe Westlake.
"From the very first game, I've loved every minute of it," Stevens said of his time with Skyridge. "We kind of have our goal in mind, and so each games it's been fun to see how much each game we grow with each team we play. Knowing with how good we're playing that it's not even close to our potential as a team, so I guess every week that comes it's more and more exciting to get a new game plan and a new team, and see what we can accomplish. So it's been great. I've loved it."
His head coach, Justin Hemm, has been impressed with how quickly Stevens acclimated to the program and earned the respect of his teammates.
"He came in in January and kind of just went about the process the right way, from workouts to how we approach teammates, and kind of just went in about in a way where you earned the respect of the teammates and those guys around them," Hemm said. "That has, obviously, transitioned and translated here to the season."
The senior signal caller has amassed 2,020 passing yards — that ranks him third in the nation, just behind Corner Canyon's Isaac Wilson (2,260 yards) and Paradise Honors' (AZ) Gage Baker (2,119 yards) — and 25 passing touchdowns, and holds a 129.8 quarterback rating in a much-improved and efficient season.
Much of that success this season led to him earning the honor of being KSL.com's BOLD player of the week. But the personal accolades, Stevens said, come second to the team objectives of winning each game and getting back to Rice-Eccles Stadium.
"Personal accolades will come, but each week my focus is on being the best I can be for Skyridge — team focused," Stevens said. "The wins are the most important thing, so making sure that I'm doing what I need to do every single play to benefit my team the most. Those things are cool and those will come, but, yeah, my main focus is just getting to Rice-Eccles."
For all the team's success this season, in which Skyridge remains a favorite to repeat as 6A champions, Stevens believes his new team has even more to give. Much like he approaches everything in his life, it's a day-by-day, week-by-week process to get better.
"By all means, we haven't been perfect in the game yet," Stevens said. "There's still certain things — little things that we can clean up — that when we face some of these bigger, powerhouse, better teams that if you're not careful, the game can be close or get out of hand, so just continue to perfect our craft as a team and personally, working to get better each week."
It's that type of outlook on the future that has Hemm appreciative of his senior quarterback's work ethic as he leads the team.
"The same process and work ethic that he has on the field, he shows off the field," Hemm said. "He's a 4.0 student, great in the classroom, great ACT, and has that same approach off the field."
Even as Stevens looks to the future, where he hopes football remains in his life's plans — he currently holds an offer from Southern Utah — the focus remains on what's immediately in front of him.
"Stuff like that, I don't really think much about, because if you get too caught up in that, I feel like you're gonna — it's going to be too much of your mind, take your focus away from other things that are truly important," Stevens said. "I don't think too much about it. I mean, obviously, that's my goal is to play college football, and hopefully that gets to happen, and I'd be so blessed to do so, but, yeah, to focus on that, in my opinion, isn't where your head should be at."
"To me, I think he's a Division I football player in all aspects, and the hope is his time comes where some of the offers start to show that," Hemm added. "I can't say enough good things about him — both on and off the field. He's been a great addition, both on and off the field and how he carries himself and conducts himself."
If you'd like to nominate a football player to be the KSL.com BOLD player of the week, email us at onlinesports@ksl.com and tell us why.
