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WASHINGTON — After a loss on the road last week, the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs bounced back with a 28-7 win over the visiting Springville Red Devils Friday night.
The first half was a defensive battle and was scoreless until Mustangs quarterback Steele Barben connected with McCord Christiansen for a second quarter touchdown that resulted in a 7-0 halftime lead. But a strong second half lifted to the Mustangs to victory.
Springville struggled in the first half and gave up four turnovers — one lost fumble, one turnover on downs and two interceptions that were both thrown by Lisiate Valeti and caught by Jace Sweeten.
Despite being a huge offensive factor in the game and earning his first three-touchdown game of his career, Christiansen did not hesitate to give credit to his defense.
"Our defense stepped up big time," he said. "I'm so proud of them."
The Mustangs picked up the pace in the second half and scored three more touchdowns, all in the third quarter. Christiansen scored two, one rushing and one receiving, while Barben threw to Malakai Alofipo for the team's final score. Left-footed kicker Ty Ottenschot went a perfect 4-for-4 on PAT attempts to keep the clean sheet.
"We left about 14 or 21 points out there on the field. We could have scored a couple more," Mustangs head coach Wayne Alofipo said. "I'm just proud of how the offense came out and got ahead."
The Red Devils' only score of the game came from a Tevita Valeti touchdown with just seven minutes left in the game. Regardless of what the final score showed, the Springville defense was nothing to scoff at. The team sacked Barben five times and forced a fumble out of him.
The loss is Springville's first of the season to drop the team to 2-1, while Crimson Cliff's improves to 2-1. Both teams will head north next week as Springville travels to Magna to face the Cyprus Pirates, and Crimson Cliffs to Cedar City to face the Cedar Reds.
