High school football: Springville wins wild shootout

ST. GEORGE – It was a "case study" of disproportions, but it could be said that the Springville Red Devils certainly made their "case."

Marcus Case, that is.

In a game that proved to be statisticians dream — or nightmare — Springville's Case ran for touchdowns of 12, 65, 53 and 58 yards, electrifying loyal Red Devil fans who were already too hot as Springville outpaced Dixie, 55-48, in the season opener for both teams at Walt Brooks Stadium Friday evening.

It was a rematch, of sorts, of last year's 4A semifinals, which Springville won 29-21. But this year's production featured many new castmembers: Dixie's sophomore quarterback, Blake Barney, for one, who connected 21-of-45 passes for 315 yards, including three touchdown passes of 8 (Kyle Hansen) 71 (Tadd Challis) and 41 yards (Wyatt Gatchell) topped off with his own 4-yard scamper into the endzone.

But the end zone was not Barney's friend on a pivotal, apparently miscommunicated, play late in the second quarter, as he was flagged for an intentional grounding, resulting in a safety and two points for the Red Devils. That mere two points edged Springville ahead, 22-21, a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the game.

With nine seconds left in the half, Springville added a 4-yard touchdown pass from Steven Bate to Jaylon Miyasaki to take a 29-21 lead into the locker room.

The game gave a hint of a high-scoring affair when Dixie's Challis returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, stunning subdued spectators on both sides of the field who only a few moments earlier had observed a minute of silence in honor of Springville's Brandon Curtis, a senior player who recently died from injuries suffered in an automobile accident in the school's parking lot after a team practice. The touching moment of silence seemed to unite both communities.

Challis' touchdown run was only the first of many big scoring plays, including a 35-yard touchdown pass from Bate to Miyasaki, a 35-yard interception score by Springville's Mckay Murphy, and a 102-yard interception by Red Devils' Trevor Church.

Thirteen seconds into the game, Dixie was ahead 7-0. Seventeen seconds into the second half, Springville's Case dashed 65 yards for a score on the first play of the half.

Springville appeared out of reach after Church's third quarter endzone-to-endzone interception, leading 55-28. But Dixie scored three straight touchdowns on an 11-yard run by Justin Cummings, a 41-yard pass reception by Gatchell and a 22-yard run by Cummings.