The nail in the coffin was an interception in the end zone by Box Elder’s Cole Mortensen on fourth down, his second pick of the night.

Friday’s game was featured in the Great American Rivalry Series, a national happening that seeks to spotlight high school football rivalries across the country. Box Elder was presented with a trophy and black-and-green hats after the win.

Mortensen’s hat and purple jersey were spotted with blue paint.

“It just makes it great, I don’t even know what to say right now,” Mortensen said.

Bear River (0-4) looked the better team at first, engineering a slow drive into Box Elder (1-3) territory that burned almost 6 minutes off the first-quarter clock until Cole Mortensen picked off Ryker Jeppsen’s deep pass and returned it into Bears territory.

The ensuing Bees drive stalled.

Then Jeppsen hit Kaeson Burn for a quick pass shortly after and Burn ran the rest of the way for a 74-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead for Bear River.

The Bears, leaning on Jeppsen and utility senior Alec Callister, continued to pick and poke at Box Elder’s run defense that had been gashed for 908 yards and 9.1 yards per carry in the first three games.

Patrick Carr, Standard-Examiner

The Bees got a good drive of their own to cross midfield, helped by a long pass from quarterback Cooper Stevenson to Jeremy Nelson.

That set up an 8-yard TD run by sophomore running back Dax Sumko that put Box Elder ahead 7-6. Bear River had another deep drive that stalled after three straight incomplete passes.

Two plays later, the Bees went up 14-6 when Easton White ran for a 74-yard score. Box Elder had first down in the red zone with 14 seconds left in the half after benefitting from two BR personal foul penalties, but Callister intercepted a pass in the end zone to keep the Bees lead at 14-6.

The teams tussled in the second half, but Box Elder got enough fourth-down stops to keep Bear River from potentially tying the game.

Earlier in the week, Box Elder’s team Facebook page put out a call to start a new tradition for the Golden Spike Games, a large one logistically.

The request was for anyone, coach or athlete, who has participated in a competition against Bear River to stand on the Box Elder sideline before the national anthem while a history of the rivalry is read over the loudspeaker.

It’s a rivalry that, as many know, has a very long history spanning several wars, presidents and is currently bookended by two pandemics (Box Elder played just two total games in 1918 due to the flu pandemic, both games contested against Malad, Idaho).

The two teams began what has earned the distinction as the longest current uninterrupted rivalry in Utah by playing in 1923, and have met a few times in the playoffs.

Many schools along the Wasatch Front have had great rivalries against each other, but new schools over the years have split allegiances all over the place.

Not in Box Elder County. In the 1910s, there were two high schools in the county. Though current growth patterns in and near Brigham City may change the landscape, there are still two high schools in the county in 2021.

It’s very much a big event in the district office. Earlier this week, Box Elder superintendent Steve Carlsen was pictured wearing a sweater that had been sewn together with equal parts Bear River red and Box Elder purple.

Box Elder’s principal is a Bear River graduate and Bear River’s principal is a Box Elder graduate.

The two teams played for the 100th time last year in what would’ve been a much larger occasion had it not been for COVID-19 restrictions. Bear River, long the little sibling in the rivalry that Box Elder owns, came back in the second half to win last year’s game.

This year, the stands were full at kickoff, plenty more fans stood against the fence that rings around the stadium and the air smelled of barbecued food.