Sophomore Kyson Despain Powers Duchesne Into a Showdown With Kanab

This article recaps a segment from The Rush's Friday, Oct. 9, 2026 episode. Watch the full show.

Duchesne sophomore Kyson Despain has already run for more than 1,000 yards, and the Eagles are 7-1 and unbeaten in region play after a 35-3 win at Millard.

Despain said he knew he had to step up after Duchesne graduated a good running back last year, and he gave his offensive line a lot of the credit. Much of Duchesne's offense runs off a power read with senior quarterback Brex Robinson. Defenses key on Despain, which opens the keeper for Robinson, who went 80 yards for a touchdown against Millard while the whole stadium thought Despain had the ball.

Despain praised Jackson Stansfield, who pulls on many of Duchesne's runs. "I always have to follow him up the hole," Despain said, and Stansfield tells him "good job, keep going" after every carry. Stansfield also plays middle linebacker and racks up sacks. Brigg Gardner is the one who picks the team up when it's down and works hard on film.

Despain likes to run through people, though he's working on getting to the open field and scoring. Andy had no complaints. "Just run right over the guy," he said.

Duchesne's only loss was an 18-13 opener at South Summit, when Despain said the team started slow. The Eagles followed it with 69-0 and 73-0 wins. They also beat Beaver 24-15 after preparing to "expect the unexpected," and Despain had 29 carries for 193 yards and a touchdown in a 20-6 win over Enterprise.

Next up is one of the biggest games in the state this week, at home against Kanab. "We just have to be able to stop the run," Despain said.