Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Koy Davidson of Fort Dodge scrambles with West Des Moines Valley's JahKari Clark during Friday's Class 3A semifinal round.

DES MOINES — Fort Dodge senior Koy Davidson suffered a compression fracture to his T4 through T8 vertebrae during his semifinal match at the state wrestling tournament on Friday, and the senior star has been ruled out for the championship round tonight.

After the thrilling showdown at 144 pounds with JahKari Clark of West Des Moines Valley, Davidson learned of the injury.

“Koy is obviously crushed,” said FDSH head coach Bobby Thompson. “Nobody wants to go out this way. He’s an ultimate competitor and it shows after what happened in that match. It’s just devastating.

“This is a tight group of kids that have been there for each other through the ups and downs. I’m sure it’s really devastating for all of them to hear, too. But we love Koy and his safety is the number one priority.”

Davidson, who won the semifinal match to reach Saturday night’s 144-pound championship, has won 145 matches in his career. The Oregon State University recruit was just the sixth Dodger to become a three-time finalist in school history.

Davidson was scheduled to wrestle top-seed Justis Jesuroga of Southeast Polk in pursuit of his second state championship.

In the match with Clark, the rivals got into a wild scramble as Davidson was trying to avoid a takedown.