Gaines and Riley: Youth Football is Where It All Started
The two Boise State running backs were teammates well before Boise - it goes back to playing for the 12-and-under Moreno Valley Falcons
Chris Kutz
Boise State running back Sire Gaines will run through you like an angry Bronco. His backfield colleague, Dylan Riley, will run past you like a Bronco on an open range.
The two are both in their second years at Boise State. But their years together goes farther back than that, and their styles have stood the test of time so far.
The Southern California natives were teammates on the 12-and-under Moreno Valley Falcons in the Inland Empire back in 2018.
MoVal was, and still is, one of the best teams in the region. Even as a youth program, future Division I players come through its teams, including Gaines, Riley, Penn State cornerback Daryus Dixson at Penn State, among others.
“The Falcons were the best team in the area, like the best team in California, period. Everybody knew of the Falcons,” said Gaines, who is from Perris, Calif. “So when I went over there, I felt the instinct of competition, competition, from the youth to the older kids, the coaches, just everything.”
The earliest memory the two have together is an angle tackling drill during an early practice for MoVal.
“He's the ball carrier and I'm the tackler,” said Gaines. “And I remember him coming at me, running, and I missed the tackle on him. And ever since then, I just knew, okay, I know I got another good running back next to me.”
Gaines and Riley rarely left the field with the Falcons that year. Offensively, they played in a two-running back system, mostly in a split back formation. On the defensive side, Gaines was the “Mike” linebacker while Riley was an outside linebacker.
“I would be the three back, he'll be the two back, or I'll be the two back, he'll be the three back, and we’d run 24 Lead, 24 Cross Puck, 28 Toss, 38 Counter,” said Gaines. “He knew that when he runs behind me, all he has to do is all gas because I'm just going to lay out the first person I see.”
“He was running through people's faces and doing the same thing that he's doing now,” said Riley about Gaines. “Every play was a good play.”
For Gaines, he could see something different in Riley - well after their tackling drill experience.
“We were both at linebacker and were playing against the Lake Elsinore Thunder down at their house,” said a recollecting Gaines. “And it was just play after play after play that the running back kept going to Dylan's side... the dude just kept running at him, one on one, boom. Next play, one on one, boom. And that's really what my memory was of Dylan, knowing that he was a football player. Like, he was just one of those guys.”
After the one season together in youth football, their lives remained intertwined. Their freshman year of high school was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020-21. Riley played at Valley View High School that year while Gaines was at Orange Vista. Both played for their respective varsity teams, which were housed nine miles apart.
In a season shortened to only four games due to the pandemic, the two squared off for the first time. Gaines did not play on offense as a freshman for Orange Vista, as he was stationed as a safety. Riley, meanwhile, was already in his running back role at Valley View.
“The first time he matched up (with me), he broke through the line, and I hawked him down,” said a laughing Gaines. “He can say what he wants, but I got the video clip. I got me running him down.”
However, as sophomores, Riley moved to Rancho Verde High School, which is four miles down Evans Road from Gaines’ Orange Vista. The proximity created a natural rivalry between the two schools. The two teams were also coached by brothers: Greg Zomalt coached Gaines at Orange Vista, Eric Zomalt at Rancho Verde. Both played college football at Cal while Eric ascended to the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles after his time in Berkeley. They coached together for more than 20 years before taking over rival programs.
“It was a lot of talk, like a lot of heavy talk. Nobody cared about that whole season, but that game, it was like a college atmosphere,” said Gaines about the Orange Vista-Rancho Verde rivalry.
Gaines’ Orange Vista beat Riley’s Rancho Verde 51-14 in their junior years in 2022. Gaines had five touchdowns, three rushing and two receiving, while Riley was held to a season-low in rushing yards after entering the game averaging over 150 yards entering the night.
In 2023, the “Battle of the Helmet” game was Gaines’ senior night at home. More than 5,000 people were on hand to watch the rivalry renewed.
“Coming into the game, it was Sire Gaines versus Dylan Riley, Dylan Riley versus Sire Gaines,” said Gaines. “That was the whole matchup, the whole week, two weeks before the game. You have my face, my team. His face, his team. They even made a poll of it, who y'all got: Sire Gaines or Dylan Riley? They were voting on who was going to have more rushing yards, touchdowns, all of that.”
Like the games in the past, Gaines and his team took the result against Riley and his squad. Gaines sealed the 35-27 win with a late interception in the fourth quarter.
Despite the lopsided results, it was never personal between the two friends.
“It wasn't like, ‘Oh, I got to beat Dylan every year,’” said Gaines. “It was just one of those things, I know that's my brother (across the field). It was just, ‘Hey, let the best man win. Let the best team win.’”
The two were so close that Gaines was at Riley’s commitment party during their senior year. Riley publicly committed to Boise State in a social media post on Oct. 21, 2023. He was considering offers from the Broncos and this week’s opponent, Eastern Washington. His top-five schools also included Mountain West programs in his home state: Fresno State, San Diego State, and San Jose State.
Gaines, meanwhile, was committed to Arizona State as a linebacker at the time. He first received an offer from Boise State in the summer between his sophomore and junior year when he was 15 years old. The offer was from now head coach Spencer Danielson, who was the Broncos’ defensive coordinator at the time.
But as Gaines saw his friend work his way towards Boise State, he started to second guess his original commitment.
Over the course of five days in early December 2023, Boise State football’s future in the running back room changed forever.
On Dec. 2, 2023, Boise State completed its miraculous pursuit of the Mountain West title with a victory in the championship game under then-interim head coach Danielson. After the contest ended around 4:23 pm MT, Riley reaffirmed his commitment to Boise State with a social media post at 5:24 pm MT. It was a picture of the MW championship hat and a reference to playing on the Blue the next season with the Broncos.
The next day, head coach Spencer Danielson was announced as the 12th head coach in program history around 3:55 pm MT. Then, on Dec. 5 around noon MT, Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty made his now famous post about returning to Boise State. And finally, two days later on Dec. 7 at 10:16 pm MT, Gaines committed to Boise State with a social media post after decommitting from Arizona State four days earlier.
Over the course of 126 hours - from 4:23 pm MT on Dec. 2 to 10:16 pm MT on Dec. 7 - “The Stable” - as Boise State’s running back room is called - was reloaded.
Since then, both Gaines and Riley have made their names known among Bronco Nation. Even though Gaines had his true freshman season cut short due to injury, both picked up Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors at some point in 2024.
The quick burst of success was a result of the two knowing and pushing each other since they arrived in the Treasure Valley. When Riley turned in a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown against Utah State, with Gaines on the sideline due to his injury, the two friends used each other to lift spirits while one of them was at their lowest point.
“I'm like, ‘Hey, once you hit that gas, don't stop,’” said Gaines when reflecting on the kick return by Riley. “My heart was pounding because I’m like, ‘He’s going to go to the crib.’ And once he went, I threw my hands up, and what made me feel good was that I got emotional because I missed being out there. He came and found me while I was on a scooter. He celebrated with me like it was my touchdown. That right there, just showed me everything I need to know. I was proud. He brought that energy back to me.”