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SPRINGVILLE — Workhorse running back only begins to describe Springville's Tevita Valeti.
Take, as an example, the Red Devils' 48-40 win over Wasatch a year ago.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound rusher usually carries a heavy workload in the team's backfield, but on that night, the load was extra heavy. Valeti carried the rock 58 times for 349 yards and five touchdowns.
With so many carries, he had to be exhausted, right?
Hardly. With each passing down, Valeti seemed to get stronger.
"My coaches always say, it's a mental thing," he said. "When I was playing Wasatch, I was already past the mentality of getting tired. That game, I wasn't tired at all, especially when you have open holes the whole game like my offensive line gave me.
"But it hit me at the end," he added with a laugh.
Valeti carried a heavy load for the Red Devils last year, churning his legs behind BYU commit Dallin Johnson and what he called "the best line in the state" to an unearthly 1,780 yards and 24 touchdowns in 10 games, totaling 2,176 yards and 25 touchdowns for his career while maintaining a 3.3 GPA.
Thanks for the fun visit @uhmanoa 🤙🏽 pic.twitter.com/HA6EEjSSrb
— Tevita Valeti (@TevitaValeti1) April 11, 2023
The Region 9 MVP averaged 167.9 yards on 24.7 carries per game, with eight 100-yard games, three 200-yard games and that monster outing of 349 en route to an 8-2 record and 5-0 mark in region play. Oh, and he also played middle linebacker, averaging 3.1 tackles per game with 21 solo stops.
"He wants to be the guy when the game's on the line, and our guys believe in him," said Springville coach Dave Valeti, his uncle, of the three-year team captain who also excels at rugby and wrestling. "Growing up, I remember his dad yelling at him on fourth-and-eight — and he'd look around and put it on his own shoulders to carry the rock.
"He's quick to hand out compliments to others, but he likes to be the guy who has the pressure on him. He thrives in those situations."
The 17th-ranked Red Devils will continue to rely on Valeti this season, but maybe even more as they break in a new quarterback following the graduation of now-BYU freshman Ryder Burton and three of last year's starting offensive linemen.
But as Springville opens a brand-new football stadium Friday night against Dixie at 5 p.m. MDT as part of a massive rebuild of the school founded in 1902, the Red Devils will do so with heavy hearts and without the presence of a consistent voice on the sidelines.
For the first time in over 55 years, assistant coach Alan Curtis won't be there. The Springville native died unexpectedly in July at the age of 77.
Curtis spent nearly his whole life in Springville, per his obituary. After graduating from Snow College and BYU, he took a job in Omaha, Nebraska, and moved with his young wife, Carol. Five years later, the couple and their young family moved back to Springville in 1972, where he eventually worked for the city for 28 years until his retirement in 2005 and coached football at his alma mater for even longer.
"It's definitely weird," said Dave Valeti, who was Springville's defensive coordinator before taking the head coach job two years ago. "We used to go to lunch every day together, and lunches aren't the same. Practices aren't the same. He always knew when to crack the right joke, and when to crack the wrong joke. The kids are definitely dedicating the season to him. Without trying to cheapen it, we'll keep playing in his honor."
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