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BOUNTIFUL — For a second straight week, Box Elder found itself in the position of needing a late touchdown to win. And for the second straight week, the visiting Bees got what they needed.
Seven days ago, it was Nate Wheatley’s 70-yard touchdown reception that gave the Bees a 31-27 victory over Green Canyon. But on this night, it was senior running back Bernard Pena who played hero, as his 19-yard touchdown run provided the play of the game and allowed for Keaton Lamb’s game-winning extra point — which, after two overtimes, sealed Box Elder’s 21-20 victory over hosting Bountiful.
“That’s a knock-down dragout — a brawl I’d guess is what you’d say,” Box Elder head coach Robbie Gunter said of the game while standing on the field at Larry Wall Stadium, watching his team celebrate nearby. “I thought both teams competed, did some good things. But that was fun.”
Six-foot-five quarterback Parker Buchanan accounted for two touchdowns — one through the air to running back Michael Davis in the first quarter, and the other on the ground to the dismay of a host of Bountiful defenders, who gave chase as he sprinted into the endzone for a late go-ahead touchdown.
Buchanan, however, was also responsible for some of Box Elder’s worst moments. For most of the night, the sophomore quarterback played like one. All told, he threw two interceptions, including one in the redzone, and also botched the hold on a 25-yard field goal attempt.
For Gunter, though, overcoming those uneven moments is what makes the victory all the sweeter.
“They did a good job getting some takeaways from us,” Gunter said.
But, he added: “Our theme this week was mental toughness. Like rubber, we have to be able to take anything and adjust and be resilient. … We made a lot of mistakes but just kept playing and they (his players) did a great job. It was a true team win.”
Led by a pair of 300-pound defensive-linemen in Tyson Madson and Ethyn Butler, Box Elder wreaked havoc on Bountiful’s quarterbacks throughout. On the night, the Bees generated six sacks, leading to defensive back Brig Willard’s replacement of starting quarterback Zach Riordan, who left the game in the third quarter following a bone-rattling hit from Madson. Prior to the hit, Willard was on the receiving end of a touchdown pass from Riordan that tied the game at seven.
In the dying moments of the game, Willard—whose do-it-all night also saw him record a key interception early on—led two critical scoring drives for the Braves. The first came with the Braves down 14-7 in the fourth quarter, with the senior engineering a multi-play drive that ended with the first of his two touchdowns, this one to Hudson Gallagher from 25 yards out.
The other came in the second overtime, following a pair of potential game-killers—an interception in the fourth quarter and a fumble in overtime. Fortunately for Willard, he was given one more chance. And so after a 19-yard strike to Gallagher brought his team to the one-yard line on fourth-and-goal, he redeemed himself by sneaking into the endzone for the go-ahead score. The only problem was sophomore placekicker Micah Pettit missed the ensuing extra point.
What followed—four plays later—was Pena’s touchdown. Then, Lamb’s extra point and the last laugh.
“We were in this situation last week with Green Canyon, I knew that this team had it in us,” Davis said. “We’re all fighters, none of us give up.” Dillon Anderson is studying literary journalism as a student at the University of Utah. You can follow him on Twitter @DillonDanderson.
