High school football: Springville holds off Brighton to advance to 5A championship

With 2:14 left in Thursday’s 5A semifinal between Brighton and Springville, the Bengals had a chance to get the go-ahead touchdown for their first state championship appearance since 2013.

It all got spoiled on the first play of the drive as Springville’s Siaosi Toki grabbed the game’s first interception and secured the Red Devils the 30-24 semifinal win.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight, but we stood our ground and ended up making the play,” Toki said. “We stayed calm. Our coaches like to say, ‘Calm and collected,’ and we did our job.”

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Things looked good for Springville early. Brighton was the first to receive the ball, but a quick three-and-out gave possession right back to the Red Devils, and they went downfield in six plays to take a 7-0 lead.

But the Bengals were quick to clean up their act, as they maintained a drive for over eight minutes and eventually tied things up with a touchdown early in the second quarter.

From there, it mostly stayed a one-possession game. A field goal from Springville’s Ben Smith at the halftime buzzer gave the Red Devils a slim 17-14 lead.

After a high-scoring second quarter that saw 24 total points, there wasn’t much offense to be had initially in the second half.

Both teams favored the run game, and nobody easily found first downs. Finally with only 49 seconds left in the third quarter, Springville took its largest lead of the day when Lisiate Valeti found the end zone on a 21-yard run.

The duo of Valeti and Tua Naufahu was difficult for Brighton to stop, as they combined for 164 rushing yards on 24 carries with three touchdowns.

But as it did just about all night, Brighton answered back early with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Bengals never led, but nearly every time Springville took a lead, they evened it right back.

“We knew what kind of game this was going to be,” said Springville head coach Dave Valeti. “Brighton’s a heck of a ball club. They’re coached so well, and they’ve got some big ol’ dudes. I’m proud of our boys for believing in our scheme and ourselves.”

It kept going back and forth until Brighton’s Kaden Hansen hit a field goal with 2:40 left, but the Bengals still trailed 30-24.

Springville had good field position after a failed onside kick from Brighton, but it couldn’t get the first down and was forced to punt.

That’s when Toki got the game-winning interception on the first play of the Bengals’ drive to send his team to the 5A championship game.

“We knew they had to go to their passing game all year,” Dave Valeti said. “We’ve got guys that can cover, and our guys up front, they did enough. Like I said, my hat’s off to Brighton, a heck of a ball club.”

The Red Devils will see a familiar face in the 5A championship game — Region 7 foe Orem. Springville’s only loss of the year was a close 17-14 loss to the Tigers, and the Red Devils would love to get revenge in the title game.

“We know how good they are, but we also know how good we are,” Dave Valeti said. “Our guys will be ready. We’ll prepare like every other week, and I’d like to say it’s like every other week, but we know it’s for all the marbles.”