Saint Stephen’s Demetrius Davis flies under the radar for Falcons

Demetrius Davis darted across the field as Fred Billy rolled out of the pocket and launched his pass downfield.

Davis caught it, then turned upfield for a long touchdown reception against rival Bradenton Christian.

It was one play among many the Saint Stephen’s senior has churned out as an under-the-radar playmaker for a Falcons team aiming to repeat as Sunshine State Athletic Conference champions.

“Because we have a handful of kids that are very explosive, he’ll get missed,” Saint Stephen’s head coach Tod Creneti said. “Then all of a sudden, he’s running across the field wide open and we know it’s money in the bank.”

While most defenses prepare each week to stop Billy and the Brown twins – Chase and Sydney – from the big plays, other Saint Stephen’s players often go unnoticed.

Davis is one of those players, and his knack for succeeding in any role is traced back to the way he was raised.

“They hold him to a high standard, they’re very supportive of him and I think you sort of see that expectation, ‘Hey, there’s no quitting here,’ ” Tod Creneti said.

Beginning his high school career at Southeast, the 5-foot-4 Davis transferred to Saint Stephen’s and played running back as a sophomore.

Last year, Chase and Sydney Brown relocated to Bradenton and joined the Saint Stephen’s team.

That created a stockpile at the running back position, but it also created an opportunity for Davis.

Asked to pick up a new position, Davis didn’t hang his head. He worked harder and slid into the slot as a receiver, where he gets some plays running the ball and other plays catching passes.

“It didn’t really matter where they played me as long as I played,” said Davis, who is averaging 34 yards per catch this season.

In the past two seasons, Davis has touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams. He’s returned an interception and a kickoff for scores, while amassing receiving and rushing touchdowns.

Through it all, he’s flashed the speed that’s increased through track and assistant football coach A.J. Brown’s guidance since his arrival as a sophomore.

“When I first came here, I didn’t have any stride at all,” Davis said. “I was taking little baby steps my first year running track. He told me I needed to open up my stride. So I basically had to start from scratch knowing how to run.”

A member of the boys 4x100 state champion relay team, there isn’t a challenge Davis isn’t willing to accept and succeed at.

For example, he tried the high jump last year as a junior just because, at 5-4, he’s not viewed as someone capable of leaping high.

Except, he can and did so to prove the naysayers wrong.

The latest challenge is continuing the Falcons mission to be better than they were last year, where they won the SSAC title.

The title defense starts at home this Friday when Spring Hill Bishop McLaughlin comes to Bradenton to face the Falcons (6-0).

“These are kids, even while they’ve been achieving at a high level, they have been hungry for more and better,” Creneti said.

Before the game begins, Davis will be present for the coin toss as one of Saint Stephen’s captains. Getting selected through a team vote before the season was a shock to Davis, who said he didn’t expect it after being at the school for only a few years.

Yet Davis, whose role with the Falcons is similar to how Ryan Taylor was used in Manatee High’s 2011 state championship offense when Saint Stephen’s assistant coach Cord Graham was still with the Hurricanes, was picked as a captain this year.

“It feels good knowing that there’s guys here that look up to me and expect big things from me,” Davis said. “I like being a leader and helping other people.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2017 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Saint Stephen’s Demetrius Davis flies under the radar for Falcons."