1 / 2

Springville's Lisiate Valeti reaches for the goal line in a high school football game against Green Canyon on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

2 / 2

Springville players take down Box Elder's Judd Howells in a 5A football state quarterfinal game on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.

Marcia Harris, Special to the Herald

❮ ❯

Going into the 5A state football championship game against Orem on Thursday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Springville will lean into its foundation.

That foundation is based on its physical running game and defense, along with solid special teams play. This, along with limiting mistakes and penalties will be key if No. 3 seed Springville (11-1) wants to take home its first state title in 40 years.

“The first thing (we need to do) is play a clean game,” said Springville head coach Dave Valeti. “That’s what we did last week so well. We kept that yellow laundry off the field. We made them (Brighton, which Springville beat 30-24) earn their yards and they earned some, more than what we would like, but we played a clean game between the ears.”

Valeti was quick to mention all three phases of the game will be important Thursday.

“Our team is a very well rounded team,” added Valeti. “Special teams have been amazing all year. Our offense has come around a bit over time, and our defense has been pretty good.”

Special teams did indeed play a huge role in the final parts of Springville’s semifinal win against Brighton. Facing a fourth down just inside Bengal territory with just over two minutes left and leading 30-24, Valeti elected to punt the ball and the punt coverage team downed the ball on the 1-yard line putting Brighton against the wall. Then on the next play the Red Devil defense came through with the clinching interception.

“I thought about going for it,” said Valeti “But we played the percentages and it worked out well.”

Springville might have the most unique offense in the state. One of the biggest strengths of the team has been the offensive line. And when Orem gave the Red Devils their only loss of the regular season, it did cause the coaches to change tactics a bit.

“I’ve got to give (offensive coordinator) Coach (Doug) Bills his credit. He tried what we like to do but it wasn’t quite working. To be honest, the Orem game was kind of the catalyst to our identity.”

Springville has always been known for its bruising running game but instead of relying on the I-formation and two-back sets, the Red Devils have been running a lot more out of the Wildcat formation, utilizing what some old-timers might call a single-wing attack.

Out of the Wildcat, Coach Valeti’s solidly built nephew Lisiate “Rock” Valeti (5-foot-8, 190 pounds), along with 6-1, 235-pound Tua Naufahu, are the main ball carries and the Red Devils will also bring out some extra offensive linemen.

“We had to figure out how to move the ball ten yards at a time and we’re deep in the trenches so let’s use some of those guys,” said Coach Valeti. “Sometimes your sixth and seventh linemen need to be on the field and you need to bring off a receiver or two.”

The Springville head coach truly beams about his offensive line which consists of guards Uili Folaumahina and Daniel Marquez, center Brigham Durfey, and tackles Tate Johnson and Chaste Lamenta. Valeti also singled out center Brigham Penrod who sees the field quite a bit.

It’s not that Springville won’t use its traditional I-formation looks or even some three or four-wide receiver sets. Junior Beckett Burton is the passing quarterback and the Red Devils actually had more passing yards than Brighton last week.

Besides Rock Valeti and Naufahu running the ball, opponents also have to deal with Max (5-10, 210 pounds) and Treyton Harris (6-1, 205) pounding out yards.

Rock Valeti also has played quarterback for parts of three years and can throw it if needed. Coach Valeti even joked that Naufahu bothers him about wanting to pass the ball more because “he’s batting a 1.000” after completing a pass against Orem.

Naufahu is listed as a tight end and he will line up there sometimes with or without extra offensive linemen. All of these different looks keep opposing defensive coordinators awake at night.

Still, Springville’s staple has always been its rugged defense and this year is no different. In 13 games thus far, only three teams have scored more than 20 points which include Alta (21) and in the playoffs Box Elder (21) and Brighton (24). The Red Devils held Provo’s high-octane offense to its season-low of 14 points. Orem scored 17 points against Springville, which was also the lowest point total for the Tigers this season.

There is also the big intangible factor of community that comes from a group of players that have played together for years that Coach Valeti hopes will work to his team’s advantage.

“Honestly, I think that’s probably the biggest thing that we have going in our favor,” he said. “These guys have truly bought in. We have been preaching that all year. Everybody here played here since the sixth, seventh, eighth up through their tenth grade year. We just showed them old pictures when they were young to show them just how far they’ve come.”

“We’re going to lean on that. You hear a lot about team chemistry, but this year it’s really a thing. These guys play hard for each other.”

Beyond that, Coach Valeti is hopeful that the student body and town in general will show up big to support the Red Devils. Valeti is hoping that weather can also be a factor in their favor. With a start time of 6 p.m., temperatures should be in the mid to high 30s and there is a chance for rain.

There is no doubt Orem will want to chuck the ball around a lot while Springville will want to make the game a low-scoring slog relying on that running game with some timely and effective passing. Then have their defense and special teams do what they have been doing all season long.

Additional wisdom on the sidelines: Two former Springville head coaches are also on the staff. The head coach right before Valeti was Willy Child and he coordinates the special teams. Meanwhile, Doug Bills, who spent over two decades as the head coach calls the offense.

Bills was actually the defensive coordinator when Springville won its last state title in 1985.

That team was a bit more wide open offensively than a typical Red Devil team and that’s because a future NFL quarterback in Scott Mitchell was the signal caller.

“I think these kids (the 2025 version) have had to do it more as a team rather than having stars do it,” Bills said. “This team has really bought into the system. Back then we ran the ball a lot but not like we do this year. We’ve had to run the ball and develop kids and bring them along. Now we can throw it a little bit.”

In a more joking way Bills said, “most people get their plays from Madden, I get mine from Otto Graham.”

Graham was a three-time NFL MVP in the 1950’s.

It’s unlikely many Red Devil players have ever heard of Graham but after 48 minutes of play, Springville seemingly finds ways to put more points on the board than their opposition.

The Red Devils need to do that just one more time against the one team that gave them their lone loss.