Tasir Davis loves to look sharp on the football field.
He loves to look sharp off of it, too.
That’s why when the Northeast High School senior was forced to the sidelines like the rest of the world during the pandemic, on top of staying in shape for football, he got working on designing clothes.
Now, he’s the president of his own line of clothing, Risat Sivad. The company, which was named by him and his sister, Latiara, is his name spelled backwards and it has a Facebook page where he sells his designs.
“I mostly sell them in the neighborhood, I sell hoodies, shirts, track suits, I’m working on a winter drop right now,” said Davis, who lives in Juniata. “I’m always working on new projects. I hope to drop them by December. I wanted to start a brand because I’m into fashion, I wanted to do something for my neighborhood, something positive. Football wasn’t having a season, it wasn’t there for me.
“I wanted to start a brand, I love making clothes. I did research. I read up on how to start a business. Started in August and I made my own clothes. I was making T-shirts and sweatshirts out of my room. Then I started getting orders, so I found a manufacturer. It’s now my job, but I take school and football very seriously, so I always take care of that first.”
All year, Davis has been taking care of business with the clothing store, while doing the same thing on the football field. On Friday, he made sure that season continued a little longer.
Davis, playing guard instead of his usual center, helped open holes for the Vikings offense in a 38-16 victory over Lincoln in a Public League Class 6A semifinal.
Northeast, which improved to 5-3 with the win, will play Olney Charter next week.
It also ends a great Public League season for the Railsplitters, who didn’t lose a game on the field prior to Friday. They did lose a game by forfeit after they used an ineligible player, but they avenged that loss in the first round of the playoffs. Lincoln is now idle until Thanksgiving when it plays Judge in the annual game.
Davis, a 6-foot-1, 290-pound grunt on the Vikings, certainly goes against the stereotype of big, dumb linemen. In fact, he’s not only a wiz in the business world, he’s very smart on the football field.
Not only is he responsible for opening up holes and protecting the skilled guys, he’s in charge of telling the other linemen what their responsibilities are.
He enjoys being the guy the other players turn to when they need a hand.
“I make the calls for the offensive line, I usually play center, but today I played guard, and I have to see what’s happening with the defense, I read it and make the calls,” Davis said. “Like today, we needed a guard, so I moved over. I still made the calls. I make it my job to know what everyone on the offensive line has to do. That way I can help.
“I love making the calls. I take it really seriously as the leader along the offensive line. I wanted to learn how to do it and the coaches taught me. It’s not that hard, you just have to see how the defense is lining up. I learned a lot by doing it.”
Davis couldn’t be happier with how the senior is playing out, and he’s making sure to appreciate every snap of his final year at the school.
Prior to last year, the Vikings had won five straight Public League 6A championships. That streak was snapped last year because they didn’t play for a championship. The Public League played football in the spring, and had only a regular season schedule.
Davis is making sure his team plays every snap like it’s their last because he knows it very well might be.
“Last year was hard because I know the seniors wanted to win a championship,” Davis said. “They didn’t get that chance and I really felt bad for them. And we’re playing like that. We want to play well every game. Tomorrow, someone on our team could get COVID and that would be the end of the season. We’re being careful and we’re playing for each other.”
Davis hopes football season continues for a while. If the Vikings win next week, they’ll play for the District 12 championship and they still have a Thanksgiving Day appointment with Central. A win in the District 12 title game would send them to the state playoffs.
After that, he hopes to try his hand at wrestling and in the spring, track.
Then he has big plans for next year.
“I want to keep playing football in college,” Davis said. “I want to major in business administration. I have business classes now and I really like it and it will help me with the business I started.
“I’m going to keep up with the business. It’s great experience and I’m proud of the clothing we’re making. It’s something I really wanted to do, and I think it’s going great. I hope to keep doing this. I’m learning a lot. And I’ll know more after I go to college.”
Class 5A playoffs
Frankford continued its winning ways in the playoffs with a 17-0 victory over Martin Luther King in its semifinal game. The Pioneers will meet Imhotep Charter in the championship next week. Frankford improved to 7-1 with the win, and six of its wins have come by shutout.
