BRIGHAM CITY -- It was homecoming for the Box Elder Bees Friday night and while celebrations were happening all over the place, the home team and home crowd saved the best one for last.
Trailing 17-13 with under a minute remaining in the game, Box Elder quarterback Brtton Gunter found a wide open McKay Parrish in the corner of the end zone to cap a thrilling
20-17 come from behind victory over the Bonneville Lakers in the second to last region game for both teams.
"It was one of the strangest games that I have been a part of in a while," Box Elder coach Robbie Gunter said. "The kids weren't about to be denied after the past couple of weeks that we've had. We made plays at the end when we needed to and this is something that we can build on for the final game next week (against Logan)."
Both teams struggled early on to move the ball in the falling rain, which fell pretty consistently for the better part of the first half. After Bonneville pinned Box Elder deep in their own territory, the defense picked up a safety after the Bees were tackled in the end zone for a 2-0 lead.
The Bees were able to get the ball back and march down the field, capping their late second quarter drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Gunter to Dallin Stewart to make the score 6-2 after the failed two-point conversion.
The second half was all fireworks as Bonneville scored just seconds in the third quarter with an 88-yard run from Beck Nelson to give the lead back to the Lakers. Gunter then answered that drive with a 49-yard jaunt down the sideline to give the lead back to the Bees at 13-8.
Bonneville's Caden Wilson recovered a fumble near the end of the third quarter and Brock Kap broke into the end zone from three yards out to make the score 14-13. The key moment of the game came when it looked like the Lakers fumbled a punt into the end zone which was recovered by the Bees for the apparent touchdown.
However, after a lengthy discussion, the officials on the field ruled it was a touchback that gave the ball back to Bonneville.
Carson Fackrell booted a 29-yard field goal to round out the scoring for the visiting side. The last gasp came from Box Elder as they returned the kickoff back to the Lakers'
30-yard line. Bonneville's defense looked like they came through with a key fourth down stop, but a roughing the passer call kept the drive alive and allowed for the heart-stopping finish.
"You have to give coach Johnson and his staff credit,"
Gunter said. "They made things difficult for us to produce anything on a consistent basis. We just need to keep things going in a positive direction."
Bonneville finishes the season next week with a home game against Sky View while Box Elder hits the road to face league-leading Logan.
* SKY VIEW 30, ROY 6: At Smithfield, the Bobcats got two rushing touchdowns from Alex Watts and Mitchell Larson connected with Garth Jolley on a 24-yard pass to lead Sky View to a region victory.
Roy trailed just 7-6 at the half, getting a 1-yard rushing score from Marcus Matuatia, but they went scoreless while the Bobcats reeled off 23 points in the second period.
Braxton Godderidge also reached the end zone for the home team.
* LOGAN 34, MOUNTAIN CREST 6: At Hyrum, the Mustangs clinched a share of the region title on the back of quarterback D.J. Nelson, who scored three times on short scrambles and found John Schmidt on a 43-yard scoring strike.
Eddy Hall connected with Famafili Laulu Pututau for Mountain Crest's lone touchdown tally in the third quarter.
Region 6
* WOODS CROSS 39, CLEARFIELD 0: At Woods Cross, quarterback Skyler Farnes carved up the Falcons' defense, finishing with 266 yards passing and two scores. Sean Barton complemented the passing attack with a rushing TD.
Pele Lokeni also returned a block kick 30 yards to paydirt.
* EAST 27, BOUNTIFUL 0: At Salt Lake City, East took advantage of the Lakers' mistakes, scoring on an 84-yard fumble recovery return and a 5-yard interception return to hand Bountiful an ugly result.
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