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Orem plays pose with the 5A state championship trophy after beating Springville 42-7 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem's Aisa Galea'i looks up into the stands after the Tigers defeated Springville 42-7 for the 5A football state title at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem's Kaue Akana, who has committed to BYU, poses with the 5A state championship trophy after the Tigers routed Springville 42-7 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Orem students celebrate a 42-7 victory against Springville for the 5A football state championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Aisa Galea'i holds up an Orem flag on the sideline after the Tigers defeated Springville 42-7 for the 5A football state championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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SALT LAKE CITY — Every high school football player dreams of having a state championship moment, a big play that drops jaws and brings fans to their feet.

Orem’s Aisa Galea’i had three.

The Tigers senior had a 60-yard touchdown run on his team’s first offensive play and also produced a 78-yard pick six in the second quarter, but he wasn’t done. To open the second half, Galea’i cruised 94 yards to the house on a kickoff return as Orem won the 5A state title in convincing fashion over No. 3 Springville 42-7 on Thursday at Rice–Eccles Stadium.

His teammates call Galea’i “Ice” but he was red hot against the Red Devils and finished with 242 all-purpose yards on those three touches.

“Jeez, I mean, what else can you say?” Orem head coach Lance Reynolds Jr. said. “Unbelievable. That kid played against my boy in basketball for like seven or eight years. I coached their team so I knew he was an incredible athlete. He has just honed and worked and developed and gained strength and speed, everything he needed. He’s just incredible.”

Galea’i, who has committed to the University of Utah, made himself comfortable on what will be his home field in college.

“It means almost everything,” Galea’i said about winning the state championship. “I’m really grateful for my O-line, my special teams for blocking for me and the rest of my defense for shutting it down today.

The first time the two teams played back on Sept. 5, the Tigers eked out a 17-14 victory.

This time, Orem left no doubt.

“I watched that game film probably 30 times this week,” Reynolds said. “We made a lot of dumb mistakes. I did some dumb things I don’t really do. I was not happy. Tonight I felt like if we went out there and played our game, and stayed inside the scheme, I thought the chips were going to fall where we wanted them to.”

Galea’i took a handoff on Orem’s first play, made one cut and sped through an enormous hole, sprinting up the sidelines for a 60-yard touchdown run and an early 7-0 lead.

His description of that run was simple and could have been about any of his three big plays.

“It was wide open and I just hit it,” Galea’i said.

On their next possession, the Tiger rolled out a 12-play, 61-yard drive that chewed up more than five minutes, getting a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tayden Ka’awa to Mack Ellison for a 14-0 advantage.

Early in the second quarter, Galea’i picked off a Beckett Burton pass and weaved his way through traffic for a 78-yard return for a score and a 21-0 Orem lead. It was the third-longest interception return in state championship history.

Springville had a couple of chances to put points on the board in the first half but couldn’t finish the deal. Some tough inside running by Tua Naufahu got the Red Devils into scoring territory early in the second quarter but Ben Smith missed a 41-yard field goal.

As the half wound down, Springville took advantage of an interception by Brayden Smith to move to the Orem 22, but failed to convert a fourth-and-four.

Springville led Orem in time of possession 16:23 to 7:37 in the first half but was just 1 of 6 on third downs. Naufahu had 74 yards on 10 carries for the Red Devils.

Galea’i gathering in Springville’s second half kickoff and sped through a big hole, outracing two Red Devils to the sideline to complete his 94-yard touchdown and a 28-0 Orem lead.

The Tigers executed a successful onside kick, recovered by Preston Thompson, which led to a 21-yard touchdown run from Beckham Curtis and Orem’s lead ballooned to 35-0 with 8:57 to play in the third quarter.

“Just seeing the offense succeed, we feed off each other right?” Tigers defensive end Juni Moala said. “We make a play, they make a play. We’re going to keep feeding off that energy.”

Springville (12-2) got on the board with 3:34 left in the third, Beau Halverson connecting with Stafford Small on a 43-yard pass play to cut the deficit to 35-7.

Max Stonebraker capped off the scoring with a 25-yard run for Orem in the fourth quarter.

Kaue Akana (seven tackles, two tackles for loss) and Moala (five tackles, one sack) — both committed to BYU — led a terrific Tigers defense that gave up some rushing yards to Naufahu (21 carries, 106 yards) but kept Springville frustrated most of the night.

“That was pure dominance,” Moala said. “I mean, we came out here, we knew they were gonna run. We knew they were gonna play physical, just like last time, and we wanted to come out and do the same thing, if not do it a little bit more.”

Orem (12-2) won its tenth state football title and first since 2020.

“My biggest concern was complacency,” Reynolds said. “I worried that we’d let off the gas a little bit. Every time I turned around, I just kept re emphasizing it, and these guys, they just believed and they locked in. They played well all the way through to the end. So I’m really, really proud of them. Hats off to our kids.”