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SPRINGVILLE — "Wake up!" was the singular message and rallying cry from Springville head coach David Valeti to his team — tied 17-17 with Skyline — at halftime Friday, according to star running back and the coach's nephew Vita Valeti.
Vita and the Red Devils responded by scoring 28 unanswered points and shutting out the No. 17 Eagles in the second half to show they were more than deserving of the No. 7 ranking they received this week. Friday was also David Valeti's birthday; he received the gift of a runaway win and 2-0 record to start the 2022 season.
Vita Valeti put up four touchdowns in the game, including one off a pass from BYU quarterback commit Ryder Burton, in a dominant performance from the Red Devils at the line of scrimmage and beyond. The junior running back and his backfield buddy, Sifa Kolomalu, broke tackles left and right all night in what ended up being a physical demonstration more than anything in a top-20 matchup.
"It's a good test early in the season," David Valeti said. "Really challenging them to step up and be who we are: a physical run team that can throw it a little bit, too."
The test for the Red Devils was more than apparent in the first half as Skyline seemed to rattle Springville early with a fumble recovery on the Red Devils' second play of the game.
The Springville football team sings Happy Birthday to head coach David Valeti and gives him a nice shower after the dominant 45-17 win over Skyline. pic.twitter.com/IlD3PRXDnG
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) August 20, 2022
Burton had an up-and-down first half, showing his Division I upside with a 40-yard bomb to Luke Nadauld to go up 14-7 with 2:15 left in first quarter, but also throwing an interception at the end of the first half to allow the Eagles to tie the game with a field goal.
Skyline quarterback Josh Calvert seemed to have an answer for each of Burton's blows in the first half, assisted by fellow senior and running back Porter Brockman. Calvert had two touchdown passes in the first 15 minutes of game time but was unable to finish any of his drives in the second half.
"As a defensive guy, I was a little frustrated at the half," David Valeti said. "We blew a few coverages early, which, I mean, if they're gonna beat us, we want them to beat our guy, not blow up coverage. So again, I challenged them at halftime and they answered the bell."
Springville stuck mostly to the ground game in the second half and got Vita Valeti near the 200-yard rushing mark and also a touchdown on the ground from tight end Walker Deede to seal the game with two minutes left to play.
After a back-and-forth game, Springville takes its first two-score lead, 31-17, on this Vita Valeti run with 1:05 left in the third. #Springville#Skylinepic.twitter.com/dD5pfrfYhp
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) August 20, 2022
The Red Devils travel to Bountiful next week, while Skyline will take on Idaho's Post Falls in Middleton, Idaho.
