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BOUNTIFUL — It's always a physical matchup when Bountiful and Springville meet, and Friday night's showdown was no different. Tempers flared on both sides throughout Springville's 18-17 comeback win, all the way until both teams went home for the night.
The Red Devils managed to pick up their third win in a row, despite a whopping 14 penalties on the night — several of which were personal fouls that wiped out big plays or granted extra downs to the opposing team. While Springville walked away victorious Friday night, head coach Dave Valeti knew that it was the type of performance that won't slide when it matters.
"Our goal is much bigger than this, and to reach that goal we can't have that kind of stuff," Valeti said. "It's a work in progress, it's early in the season. I just love my guys for fighting though. They never doubted themselves."
That goal, of course, is contending for the 5A title after losing to Lehi in the finals last season. The Red Devils, ranked No. 7 in the KSL.com Top 20+1 poll, have what it takes, especially behind quarterback Ryder Burton, a BYU commit, who threw three touchdowns in Friday's victory.
The game got off to a slow start as part a defensive battle; neither team's running backs could find holes on the ground, and both quarterbacks were constantly forced to scramble in order to evade rushers. Both teams were held scoreless throughout the first 23 minutes of play until the Red Devils punched one in with just under a minute to go in the first half.
It was an impressive drive in which the Red Devils took over after a blocked field goal. Burton started things off with three completions in a row to tight end Walker Deede for a total of 38 yards. Burton was forced to scramble twice on the drive in between first down passes to receivers Will Monney and Hunter Perrero.
Springville eventually found themselves on the 5-yard line, and Burton was able to loft one up to Monney for the first score of the game. The snap on the extra point was fumbled, though, which resulted in a 6-0 game at halftime.
Bountiful opened the second half with the ball, and receiver Sam Stevenson made a big play that got the Redhawks into Springville territory. On the next play, Bountiful running back Kenobi Doctolero ripped off a 43-yard touchdown run to get his team on the board. The extra point split the uprights to give Bountiful a 7-6 lead.
Now fired up with the lead, Bountiful's defense stuffed Sprinville's ground game for a quick three-and-out series. With a short field, quarterback Owen Geilman was able to hit receiver Faletau Satuala in the corner of the end zone for the Redhawks' second touchdown of the quarter.
After a couple more scoreless drives from both sides, tensions were starting to rise. A key turning point in the game was when the officials waved off a flag that came on an 80-yard Springville touchdown pass from Burton to Perrero. The sideline referee initially threw the flag on Burton for throwing a pass beyond the line of scrimmage, but the penalty was ultimately waved off after the referees met together.
The controversial decision was met with boos from the home crowd as Springville failed their 2-point conversion and trailed 14-12.
With both sides now seemingly playing with added motivation, the fourth quarter continued to be a defensive stalemate as Bountiful fought to control its lead and Springville fought to come back. A field goal from Landon Zayas have Bountiful a 5-point lead, but with eight minutes left the Red Devils were still very much in the game.
As the clock ticked down, Burton and the Red Devils offense struggled to make anything happen, though. Incompletions peppered each of Sprinville's drives late in the fourth quarter as the team desperately tried to force the ball into the end zone to no avail.
Facing a fourth down just past midfield, and with a little over a minute left, Burton connected with receiver Trevin Kelly, who was tackled short of the first down marker, resulting in a turnover. Bountiful celebrated, but head coach Jason Freckleton warned his players to not get too excited.
"This game is not over." Freckleton called out to his sideline as the offense trotted out.
Sure enough, Geilman fumbled on a quarterback-keeper and the Red Devils came up with the ball.
With little time remaining, Burton started taking shots towards the end zone again. Springville's Hail Mary was answered when Deede brought down a pass that was tipped into the air, and the extra point put the visitors up 18-17 with 19 seconds left.
"Hats off to Bountiful," Valeti said. "We know how good they are. They came down to our house last year and it was the same type of game: tooth and nail. That's why we like playing them; we want to test our boundaries, especially in the trenches."
Springville's victory vaults them to 3-0, while Bountiful drops to 1-2 on the season.
