When West Field opened three years ago, its boundary map absorbed some former Roy High territory (and a large chunk from Fremont).

Consequently, Friday night’s matchup in Roy pitted friends, and even brothers, against each other.

While they didn’t square off in Year 1, the Longhorns put a 41-23 licking on the Royals in the inaugural contest a year ago and, for most of Game 2, it looked like Roy would even the score.

But West Field overcame an abysmal first half with some potent offensive play over the final two periods to steal a come-from-behind, 30-25 decision in the Region 5 opener.

“Roy is an amazing team,” said West Field running back Caden Judy. “I have friends on this team and I’m so grateful that I got to play against this team today. Absolutely (it’s a rivalry).”

A Longhorn offense that entered the game averaging only nine points per outing continued to look lost over the first 24 minutes.

Not only did West Field (2-2) trail 12-0 at the break, it only had three possessions and less than 100 yards of total offense, including just 13 through the air.

Meanwhile, Roy (1-3) quarterback Gunner Pearson was slicing through the Longhorn defense, accumulating over 200 yards of offensive production. He alone went over the century mark in rushing yards prior to halftime.

Pearson scored on a 2-yard keeper late in the first quarter for the game’s opening points. He then orchestrated an 80-yard drive in the second period that concluded with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Luke Pebley.

Whatever head coach Eric Jones — a Roy alum and former Royals assistant returning to his former field — said in the locker room, the Longhorns emerged as a completely different unit.

“Our grit, our aggressiveness and we wanted it more,” Judy said about the halftime adjustments. “That’s why we came out with the victory today.”

West Field’s offense, which is normally high-tempo, came out at an even faster pace and immediately put Roy on its heels. West Field went 66 yards and recorded its first points when quarterback Easton Eilertson connected with Kolt Abbott on a 10-yard play-action pass.

“The defense couldn’t stop our tempo,” Judy said. “They were confused and we just rammed it down their throats.”

If the touchdown swung the momentum, Pearson and the Royals weren’t convinced. Roy took the ensuing kickoff and went 67 yards down the field with relative ease. Pearson’s 1-yard run extended the lead to 19-6 midway through the period.

The once-stingy Roy defense continued to allow chunk plays as the Longhorns stayed close. Chaz Barker punched it in from the 1, while Judy tacked on the first of his duo of two-point conversions to narrow the deficit to 19-14.

Not to be outdone, Pearson’s 10-yard touchdown scamper at the 9:58 mark of the fourth period put the Royals up 25-14. Roy suffered from kicking woes — a missed field goal and two blocked extra points — that likely would have made a difference in the outcome.

Down the stretch, the Longhorn defense finally recorded a pair of stops, while the once moribund offense continued its revival.

A Judy 1-yard rushing touchdown at the 7:09 mark made it 25-22.

Following a Roy punt, West Field’s offense went 40 yards on six plays, which Eilertson capped with a 1-yard run to improbably give West Field its first lead of the night at 30-25 with just more than 2 minutes to play.

The Royals, who had been throttling the Longhorns on the ground, were forced to go to the air in their comeback bid. But three penalties put Roy in a fourth-and-24 position at its own 14 and Pearson’s desperate heave fell incomplete.

“It feels amazing,” Judy said. “We’re all fighters on this team and it feels great to be a part of it. We’ll come out of this game doing better and I’m excited for the next couple of weeks with our offense.”

Roy next travels to Box Elder (4-0) for a Thursday night game looking to snap a three-game skid, while West Field will host Bonneville (1-3) on Friday.