Davis, Simon will meet in collegiate football opener

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It wasn't so long ago that Trey Davis and Matt Simon were teammates helping the Farmington football program earn its second-ever trip to the state semifinals with a convincing 27-13 victory over New Ulm in the 2003 Class 4A quarterfinals.

Davis, just a freshman on that 2003 squad, helped turn an offensive line that was labeled as a question mark heading into the season into a solid unit as the Tigers went 11-1 before bowing out to Missota Conference rival Hutchinson 34-18 at the Metrodome.

By that time, Simon was already a known commodity. A four-yard touchdown catch against Hutchinson gave the senior 13 scores and an even 1,000 receiving yards on 52 receptions in his final season. He was named all-conference, all-state and second-team all-metro after the season and continued his career at Northern Illinois University in the fall of 2004. Simon saw action in eight of 12 games playing both offense and defense as a freshman in the competitive Mid-American Conference, but had to sit out all of the '05 season after breaking his leg in a pre-season scrimmage.

Meanwhile, Davis was in Farmington helping the Tigers win the first of back-to-back Missota Conference championships. The multi-sport standout also won the state title in the shot put as a junior and finished second as a senior before continuing his gridiron career as a member of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the fall of 2007. The 6-foot-2, 276-pounder watched the Gophers' one-win campaign from the sidelines as a red-shirt freshman, but now finds himself in a battle for playing time in Tim Brewster's second year at the helm.

In the game or not, Davis will see Simon's familiar face on the other side of the football field at the Metrodome Saturday night when the Gophers open the 2008 season, their final season at the dome, against Northern Illinois.

Simon, since recovered from his leg injury, has become the go-to receiver for the Huskies. He caught a team-best 52 passes for 969 yards and five touchdowns last season and served as a bright spot during the team's 2-10 campaign.

Tags: sports, football, davis, simon