GRANTSVILLE — The Grantsville football team knew it was coming, stepped up, and then snuffed it out.
With just under two minutes remaining in Friday’s game at rival Tooele, the Cowboys had just yielded a 3-yard touchdown run to the Buffalo star running back, Nukuluve Helu, who is committed to sign with BYU. The touchdown pulled Tooele to within 21-20 with 1:37 remaining, but instead of trying to tie it and send it into overtime, the Buffaloes opted for the lead and the likely win by way of a 2-point conversion attempt.
Grantsville coach Kody Byrd had more than an inkling of what was then coming his team’s way.
“We didn’t really change anything defensively, we just challenged our boys, and they stepped up. We just let them know it was do or die and, ‘let’s go’, you know?” — Grantsville coach Kody Byrd
“Their running back is an amazing player — truly one of the best in the state — and in a situation like that you want your best player to make the play, so yeah, we knew what was likely coming on that one,” Byrd said.
This time around Byrd’s defense held strong, stopping Helu short of the goal line to maintain the 1-point lead.
“We didn’t really change anything defensively, we just challenged our boys, and they stepped up,” Byrd said. “We just let them know it was do or die and, ‘let’s go’, you know?”
Grantsville was then able to run out the clock to secure what players, coaches and fans considered a big game, despite it being just the second week of the season.
- Watch replay: Grantsville 21, Tooele 20
The reason for the unique gravity of Friday’s game was the proximity of the two schools, with a lot of familiarity coming as a result.
“All these kids grew up playing against one another — just about all of them, at least,” Byrd said. “So that makes for a unique game and it’s really that way every year with us, Tooele and then Stansbury. There’s a great rivalry every year between all three of us. So yeah, getting a win over Tooele is huge for us.”
Despite Grantsville being smaller in numbers as a 3A program, compared with Tooele’s status in 4A, the Cowboys didn’t necessarily feel like the underdog heading into Friday’s showdown.
“We went up against them quite a bit in scrimmages leading up to the season, so we knew we could compete,” Byrd said. “But we also knew Tooele is a very good team and we’d have to compete as best we could to come away with a win.”
As for the course of Friday’s game, it went back and forth from the opening kickoff with neither team enjoying a decisive advantage.
Grantsville led off the scoring by way of a 12-yard touchdown pass from Logan White to Ammon Bartley. Tooele then responded a few minutes later with Mateaki Helu scoring on an 8-yard run to square the score at 7-7 midway through the first quarter.
The game followed that form up until the Buffaloes’ final touchdown and subsequent Cowboy stalemate of the 2-point conversion, securing a big early season win, not only for rivalry purposes, but for momentum.
“We took a tough loss the first week of the year, so it was big to bounce back before heading into a tough schedule for the rest of the year,” Byrd said. “Our region is a tough one, so hopefully this gives us some good momentum and confidence for the rest of the year.”
As for what’s working for his team, it really isn’t all that complicated.
“We just have a team that has overcome some injuries already and is just a group of kids that really play for one another,” Byrd said. “I know it’s something most every coach says, but that’s really what we have here, and it’s worked well for us and hopefully will for the rest of the year.”