4A high school football: Red Devils ride sophomore's arm to final

SPRINGVILLE — When you're labeled as "a gamer" early in your career, you're time in the spotlight is eventually going to come — and probably sooner than later.

Such is the case with Springville sophomore quarterback Steve Bate. Five games into the season, with the Red Devils sporting a 4-1 mark, coach Scott Mitchell felt something was lacking in his team's offense. Despite the fact that the Red Devils had lost only once under senior Aaron Gray's leadership, Mitchell thought his offense was capable of a little bit more.

"We were winning games, but the offense that we know and the offense that we wanted was not consistently happening," Mitchell said.

So when Gray was a little banged up prior to Springville's game against Uintah, Mitchell turned to Bate, his junior varsity quarterback and a kid who had shown more improvement over the past year than any other player in the program.

"We've always felt that he was going to be a good player and that he was going to be a gamer, and the type of player that would stay cool in pressure situations and make plays for you," Mitchell said. "And when he stepped in for us at quarterback, there was a noticeable difference in our offense."

Bates, in his first varsity game against the Utes, cemented his spot as a starter by throwing for five touchdowns. The following week he tossed four more TDs against Maple Mountain.

His real coming of age, however, came against Spanish Fork, where the Dons changed their defensive schemes a little in hopes of confusing Springville's young quarterback. The Dons took a two-touchdown lead into halftime, but Bate came out in the second half and adjusted to Spanish Fork's adjustments and led the Red Devils to the come-back win - a victory that basically earned Springville the Region 8 title and a favorable bracket in the state playoffs.

"I think we gave him the job at the right time and allowed him to get his feet wet before that game with Spanish Fork," Springville offensive coordinator Ed Larsen said.

In seven games as Springville's starter, Bate has thrown for 18 touchdowns and has the Red Devils in the 4A state title game on Friday against three-time defending champion Timpview. He doesn't have the strongest of arms, but throws a very accurate ball. Most importantly, he makes good decisions in an offensive scheme that demands the quarterback to make a lot of calls based on the opposing team's defense.