The Division VI state playoffs got underway Saturday night with very little drama in the first round. No. 9 Glendale Prep beat No. 8 Salome 42-36 in a slight upset but the other three games went according to seed.

No. 6 Gilbert Christian beat 11 Ajo 64-22, No. 7 Mogollon got past No. 10 Williams 14-12 and No. 5 St. David defeated No. 12 Joseph City 58-14.

Joseph City started out the year 5-2 but two straight losses dropped the Wildcats to a 12 seed. That meant a six-hour trip to face a team averaging almost 500 yards a game on offense including a junior quarterback who is threatening to set a new career 8-man passing record for Arizona.

Travis Davis has already surpassed the 2,000 yard mark for this season and he is sitting at 4, 621 yards in his career. If you add in the 253 in unofficial yards gained against Joseph City Saturday night, then Davis is nearing 5,000 with at least one more game to go this year.

Brian Chason of Tucson Christian threw for 6,408 yards from 1982-85. If Davis continues on his pace, he should break the record somewhere around six games into his senior year.

"If they give us running lanes then I prefer to run," Davis explained. "If they give us open looks then I prefer to throw," he added.

"We needed this win. It was good for our team. We are like a family and we all play for each other."

Davis also has over 1,000 yards rushing this year which is far more than he has ever gained. His previous high was only 171 yards last year.

Senior Mitchell Mayberry finished with just under 100 yards on the night but none of those were as his exciting as his 65-yard dash on the first play from scrimmage to give St. David an 8-0 lead (Davis hit Austin Bryant on a 2-point conversion).

After a St. Joseph punt, Davis hit senior Logan Brubaker on a 45-yard scoring strike to make it 16-0 after another 2-pt conversion. The score was 52-6 at the half and the rest of the game was played under a running clock.

Mayberry rushed for two touchdowns on the night and junior Curtis Mayberry also had one. Davis collected a rushing touchdown and threw for four more. His main target was Bryant.

Bryant finished with 131 yards receiving and two touchdowns.  Brubaker had a touchdown reception, as did junior Anthony Brady. Curtis Mayberry had 58 yards receiving.

On defense, Davis had an interception as did Brubaker. Johnny Schmidt had an interception and a fumble recovery while Ryan Trejo made a big return on a blocked field goal attempt.

The Tiger defense was stingy. Senior QB Hayden Hendricks threw for 102 yards with sophomore Matthew Fields collecting 86 of those but the team finished with under 150 yards of total offense compared to 435 from St. David.

The Wildcats were excellent on kick returns with Troy Poudrier returning one for 55 yards and Fields scoring on a 60-yard return.

Junior Aaron Johnstun intercepted St. David late in the game and he returned the pick 43 yards to make the final score 58-14 after Hendricks hit Koby Smith on a 2-pt conversion.

St. David is now 7-2 and will travel to Bagdad (8-1) next Saturday night in quarterfinal action. The Sultans gave Pima (9-0) a run more their money in a 40-38 loss in late September while Pima took care of St. David 75-34 one week ago.

Joseph City finished their year 5-5 under first-year coach Eldon Larsen. The Wildcats won three straight state championships from 2009-2011 under legendary coach Eldon Larsen. In all, Larsen led the Wildcats to eight titles starting in1997.

But Joseph City suffered a losing season (4-5) in 2013 and missed the playoff last year.

"We had a good year," Larsen said on his first squad.

"They are a good group of kids and they have played hard all year. You hate to see a group go but I am also excited for next year."

Brett Davis has been coaching St. David since 2009 and has compiled 47-16 record in that time. He made it to the semifinals in 2011. His son Tyler Davis was the QB at that time and Tyler finished with 5,051 yards passing in his career before moving on to play baseball at Eastern Arizona.

"We give each other looks and say things during the game," Travis said on his relationship with his father/coach. "It's all part of the special bond our team has."