Golden Spike Game: Box Elder pounds Bear River with 503 rushing yards
Bees take rivalry game from Bears 58-14
-
- Box Elder running back Judd Howells (0) holds back a Bear River tackler during the Golden Spike Game on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Brigham City.
-
- Bear River receiver Eli Braegger hauls in a pass in the Golden Spike Game against Box Elder on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Brigham City.
-
- Box Elder’s Maddox Earnest (3) runs away from Bear River’s Damon Anderson (51) during the Golden Spike Game on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Brigham City.
-
- Bear River’s Cache Miller (4) lines up against Box Elder’s defense during the Golden Spike Game on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Brigham City.
-
- Box Elder football players prepare to take the field in the Golden Spike Game against Bear River on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Brigham City.
Thursday brought one of the week’s TV spotlight games to Brigham City to broadcast the Box Elder Bees hosting rival Bear River Bears in the 105th edition of the Golden Spike Game, the longest uninterrupted series in Utah high school football going back to 1923.
When asked about the keys to the matchup, BE head coach Carson Mund barely said anything more than “be physical” and “run the football.”
Check and check, as the Bees punished the Bears with 503 rushing yards on the way to a 58-14 victory to complete Box Elder’s nonregion slate with a 3-0 record.
Mund credited BE’s offensive line.
“We love that group. That group’s worked so hard in the offseason in the weight room to get stronger,” Mund said in his postgame interview with KJZZ TV. “We can’t appreciate them enough. We have good backs, but it all starts with our O-line.”
It’s Box Elder’s fifth straight win in the county rivalry, which runs the program’s all-time series advantage to 76-27-2.
Junior running back Judd Howells accounted for 231 of those rushing yards in just more than two quarters of work, punching in his fourth rushing touchdown for a 44-14 lead at the 9:50 mark of the third quarter.
Howells ended Box Elder’s first two drives with short TD runs, drives of nine and 12 plays and each at 4:15 of game clock, to dominate possession in the first quarter and go up 14-0. His 69-yard burst up the left sideline put the Bees up 30-0 just 2 1/2 minutes into the second quarter, and the rivalry rout was on.
Bear River knocked off early rust to move the football, with senior quarterback Jaxson Theurer throwing for 333 yards on the night — including an eye-popping nine receptions for 205 yards going to junior receiver Eli Braegger.
Braegger hauled in a 56-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter. Bear River’s other score was Theurer throwing 80 yards to Glaiden Behrens three plays into the second half. Those marked the first scores Box Elder’s defense has allowed this year.
Though the Bears did start to find success throwing the football, the Bees shut down their run game and forced Theurer into three interceptions.
Landon Harding pulled in two of those picks for Box Elder. The senior parlayed his first takeaway into a 38-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter to put his team up 21-0.
Junior quarterback Kadyn Reyes helped Box Elder’s snowballing run game and also threw two touchdown passes.
Though outings of 64 points against lowly Deseret Peak and 58 points against rival Bear River, with a 24-6 win over 6A Layton, may more easily grab the spotlight, Box Elder’s 20 points allowed in three games may be even more of a head-turner as their schedule now turns to Region 5 competition.
“We preached swarm and great tackling, and they did a good job tonight,” Mund said.
Box Elder (3-0) opens Region 5 play by hosting Northridge on Sept. 5.
Bear River (1-2) has also wrapped its nonregion competition and starts an expanded Region 11 schedule Sept. 5 by hosting Sky View.
LINE SCORE
Bear River 0 7 7 0 – 14
Box Elder 14 23 21 0 – 58
SCORING PLAYS
FIRST QUARTER
7:45 — BE touchdown: Howells 2-yard run (BE 7, BR 0)
1:11 — BE touchdown: Howells 4-yard run (14-0)
SECOND QUARTER
10:20 — BE touchdown: Reyes to Harding 38 yards (21-0)
10:04 — BE safety: BR snap into end zone recovered by offense (23-0)
9:31 — BE touchdown: Howells 69-yard run (30-0)
6:16 — BE touchdown: Reyes to Earnest 24 yards (37-0)
4:28 — BR touchdown: Theurer to Braegger 56 yards (37-7)
THIRD QUARTER
11:25 — BR touchdown: Theurer to Behrens 80 yards (37-14)
9:50 — BE touchdown: Howells 2-yard run (44-14)
3:59 — BE touchdown: Richards 25-yard run (51-14)
0:00 — BE touchdown: Jeppsen 90-yard run (58-14)
