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Orem's Aisa Galea'i carries the ball against West in the 5A football state semifinals at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.

Marcia Harris, Special to the Herald

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Orem's Lopeti Moala (91) rushes at Timpview's Ian Aloisio in a 5A football state second round game on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem linebacker Easton Kojima (44) moves in to make a tackle against West in a 5A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.

Marcia Harris, Special to the Herald

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Orem receiver Kaue Akana makes a touchdown catch against West in a 5A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.

Marcia Harris, Special to the Herald

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Before the start of the 2025 season, Orem football coach Lance Reynolds Jr. took his players up the canyon near the Provo River for a team building activity.

He called it an “ambush bonfire.”

“Everybody brings something they can throw into the bonfire,” Reynolds said. “It’s something they would sacrifice for the team or something they’ve had to overcome.”

Reynolds said the players bring all sorts of things — t-shirts from their previous school, copies of divorce documents for their parents, you name it.

The idea is to help create a bond and a kinship, allowing the players to show vulnerability and learn something about their teammates.

“That was an activity that had a lot of value for our kids,” Reynolds said. “Sometimes you’re surprised by what you don’t know about your teammates.”

Sacrifice has been a big theme for this year’s Orem team, which has advanced to the 5A state finals Thursday at Rice-Eccles Stadium against Region 7 foe Springville.

“Something we constantly preach and talk about is that a team is more than just a collection of players,” Reynolds said. “To be a team you have to support each other and sacrifice for each other.”

A group of supremely talented players is led by wide receiver/defensive back Kaue Akana, running back/defensive back Aisa Galea’i, defensive end/tight end Lopeti “Juni” Moala and linebacker/running back Easton Kojima. All four of those players could be superstars on one side of the ball but are willing to split their time for the benefit of the team.

Three of those players are transfers: Galea’i from Timpview, Moala from Davis and Kojima from Maple Mountain.

“I’ve played both ways my whole life,” Galea’i said. “I really just want to win and do whatever it takes, even if it means cutting my time on offense to play defense. It takes a lot physically. Sometimes I stay after practice to run so I can be prepared for the games. I’m putting in extra work and extra time in the training room, like icing, rolling out and stretching.”

Galea’i is a University of Utah commit. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior has rushed 39 times for 518 yards (13.3 per carry) and eight touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 146 yards and another score. Projected full time offensively, Galea’i would likely be among the state’s leaders in those categories. He’s also contributed 46 tackles (30 solo) with five tackles for loss and two interceptions on defense.

“One of things kids sometimes struggle with at some point is individual stats,” Reynolds said. “On this talented of a team, we’ve faced that. We’ve talked through it a lot, and they’re on the wrong team if they think we’re going to prioritize individual stats over the team. It’s something the kids have learned and adopted. We have a group that are winners. They know what it takes to compete and be the best. The bottom line is they all want to win more than the individual stats or personal accolades.”

Akana (36 catches, 587 yards, 10 TD’s along with 13 tackles) and Moala (76 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 1 TD catch) are BYU commits. Kojima, who leads the team in tackles with 145 (61 solo) and 22 tackles for loss, comes in on goal line formations and has scored five touchdowns on just 11 carries.

Due to an injury to starting defensive lineman Calvin Gardner, Kojima’s younger brother Boston (6-3, 250) has recently taken on more duties on defense along with his offensive line rotations.

Reynolds said he and coaches have a Zoom call every Sunday evening and how much to use these players both ways is a major topic of conversation.

“It can be a very taxing game if a guy like Aisa plays and starts all the time on defense and then 80% on offense,” he said. “That’s just too much. We’re balancing all the time. We don’t let anybody go both ways all the time. I’ve done this long enough where I know it’s really tough to be able to compete like that.”

Orem edged Springville 17-14 when the two teams played on Sept. 5.

“It can be a little bit intimidating anytime you play someone twice in the same season,” Reynolds said. “That being said, when we look back on the film from the first game, we did not play well. We were super unpolished. I think we have a better chance to play a more polished game this time.”

Galea’i added: “Our mentality going into this game is not to overlook Springville just because we beat them. We have to be humble and know that we both got better during the season. We’ll have to bring our ‘A’ game.”