Led by second-year coach Carson Mund, Box Elder — winning last year’s meeting 21-10 in Garland — welcomes in Trampis Waite with the full intention of protecting its 2-0 season start, including a 24-6 win over Layton in Week 2.

Bear River (1-1) successfully bounced back from a disappointing start to the season, falling on the road 51-14 to Cedar, with a 77-0 shutout over Cottonwood in its home opener a week ago.

Sophomore Ridgon Vonk led the backfield with five rushing touchdowns on just 67 yards, and senior quarterback Jaxson Theurer completed 10 of 15 attempts for 241 yards and three touchdowns. But the biggest turn came defensively, Waite said, with leading contributions by senior linebacker Brecken Garn and junior defensive lineman Brady Payne.

“Coverage wise we’ve changed quite a bit,” Waite said. “We’ve gotten back to our identity, which is creating a lot of chaos and a lot of pressure in the box. That worked out for us against Cottonwood, and I think it shocked them a little bit early into the game.”

Down the road, Box Elder assembled an impressive second-half finish against Layton after stretching their legs at Deseret Peak in Week 1. Junior defensive end Jaxon Jeppsen came up with a crucial pick-six off Lincoln Wilcox to begin the second half.

A friend of Theurer, Jeppsen said that getting to Bear River’s senior signal caller will be a priority on Thursday night. Despite coming away with just six points, Layton still managed 242 yards of offense, including 182 through the air, against the Bees.

“I know him. We’ll have to keep him in the pocket; he can run,” Jeppsen said. “They got some good playmakers outside, and we’ll have to play good defense like we did tonight.”

To win, Bear River will need to explore both ends of its attack further this week. No Bear has broken 100 rushing yards in either game against Cedar or Cottonwood; the backfield expanded to accommodate four different running backs seeing touches in Week 2.

Waite’s been impressed by his senior quarterback’s ball security and zero interceptions thus far, and the fourth-year head coach hopes to see Theurer expand his targets to include receivers Eli Braegger, Korver Riley and Glaiden Behrens this week on the road.

“We obviously needed to establish the run,” Waite said. “Seeing (Vonk) turn into (five) touchdowns was pretty impressive. He’s a young running back, so last week we wanted to get him a lot of reps. And (Theurer) has continued to protect the football. Last year, we had some turnover issues and things like that, but this year he’s on five touchdowns and zero interceptions, and so that’s been key offensively.”

Waite continued:

“They like to bring a lot of pressure as well, similar to us,” Waite said. “They come downhill and fast, so we’ll have to be at the top of our game. But, really, it doesn’t matter what Box Elder does, or any other team does, it’s how we execute our stuff. If we’re able to execute our stuff, protect the football and get after the quarterback, I like our chances.”

Meanwhile, Box Elder appears to have an established run threat in junior Judd Howells, fresh off a host of touches and one for a touchdown against the Lancers last week. Game stats for Howells, and the Bees overall, are not yet publicly available.

A physical ballclub prevailed in an otherwise disappointing start by Box Elder last week, as Layton took advantage of a special teams folly for the first points of the game. The Golden Spike with Bear River is a chance for the Bees to win as the more-prepared program, Mund said.

“It means a lot to the community,” Mund said. “This is a game a lot of the old timers look forward to every year in and year out. We’re going to get their best game, they always give us their best game and it’s a hard-fought one. We’ve got to come prepared, ready to go and fix some things we weren’t prepared for.”

It’ll be the second meeting between Mund and Waite, who’ve developed a working relationship since beginning their own chapter of the age-old rivalry in 2024. Mund owns the series 1-0 but has kept his eye on the Bears and their football status within Box Elder County.

“Trampis is great, man,” Mund said. “He’s very personable, we talk and have conversations when we see each other. He’s a great guy, we’re both young and trying to figure this head coaching thing out. He’s doing the right things out there and trying to build on what he’s done.”

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Box Elder High School.

Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.