Prep football: Roy blanks Bonneville to win 10th straight in rivalry
Roy 35, Bonneville 0
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- Roy High’s Lucius Hicks runs for a long touchdown reception ahead of Bonneville’s Landon Olson during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville High’s Ty Lueders. left, is brought down by Roy’s TJ Allen during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Roy High’s Howie Howard passes a flying penalty flag while running for big yardage against Bonneville during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville High’s Wade Wayman, right, joins a teammate in bringing down a Roy ball carrier during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Roy High’s Luke Pebley, center, finds a gap between Bonneville defenders Cache Jensen (18) and Cole Rivera (9) during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville High’s Cache Jensen (18) breaks up a pass intended for Roy’s Juju Teran during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- After bobbling the snap, Bonneville High quarterback Carlos Perez, left, looks to advance the ball under pressure form Roy’s KJ Forte during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- After running for a first down, Roy High’s Howie Howard, right, is forced out of bounds by Bonneville’s Steven Barela III during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Roy High quarterback Gunner Pearson rears back to throw under pressure from Bonneville defenders Chris Redd (91) and Cai Jensen (22) during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville High defenders reach in vain to block an extra point attempt by Roy High during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A host of Roy High defenders swarm Bonneville High ball carrier Trevyn Sears, right, during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville High students toss powder as part of a ‘white out’ fan experience during a football game against Roy on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace.
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- Bonneville High’s Cohen Howell returns a Roy punt during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville High quarterback Carlos Perez throws a pass agains Roy during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Roy High’s Lucius Hicks hauls in what became a long touchdown reception ahead of Bonneville’s Landon Olson during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Roy High’s Lucius Hicks celebrates his touchdown run in front of Bonneville players Landon Olson (31) and Cache Jensen (18) of Bonneville High during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville High’s Kaden Martinez celebrates a touchdown run, later called back for holding, during a Region 5 game against Roy on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Roy High running back Howie Howard (0) takes a handoff from Gunner Pearson against the pressure of Bonneville’s Chris Redd (91) during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville High quarterback Carlos Perez, left, runs the ball past Roy’s Zach Fowers during a Region 5 game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN NICHOLSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
ROY — During the early years of the rivalry, a Bonneville victory over Roy was pretty much a foregone conclusion with the Lakers taking 34 of the first 48 contests.
More recently, the Royals have wrestled control of the long-standing series with nine straight wins since 2011.
Friday night, that streak reached double digits as the Royals cruised to a 35-0 victory.
After giving up at least 28 points in each of its last four games — all losses — the Roy defense settled in and registered its first shutout in two years.
The Royals knocked Bonneville freshman quarterback Luke Loughton out of the game on the first play from scrimmage, and the Laker offense never got into rhythm.
“The defense was huge for us,” Roy quarterback Gunner Pearson said. “They went in against Box Elder (a 28-19 loss last week) and we did pretty good. Then we came in here and just shut ’em out and that was huge. Our defense did really good tonight. They’ve been playing good and they’re going to keep playing good.”
The matchup also pitted first-year Bonneville head coach Connor McGuire — a Roy alum and former Royal offensive coordinator — against his old school.
His close ties to Roy and his former players made the contest a little more meaningful, beyond just its significance in the Region 5 standings.
“This one was big for us, especially with the old Roy coaching staff,” Pearson said. “This one meant a lot to us, especially with the (0-4 skid). It was huge to get back on track. We need to start winning and this is a statement game for us.
“There was a lot of juice there. They were talking a lot. There was a lot of back-and-forth, so everyone was hyped coming out. When we had the (pregame) lightning delay, it juiced everyone up in the locker room. We were all hyped.”
While the Roy offense played well and won the field-position game, it also squandered several opportunities to put the game away even earlier. Despite advancing into Bonneville territory on nine of 10 possessions, the Royals left points on the board four times.
Howie Howard got the first and last Roy touchdowns, scoring on a 7-yard run at the 7:31 mark of the first quarter before bursting 29 yards into the end zone in the fourth quarter. The latter initiated a running clock for the remainder of the evening.
In between, Pearson lobbed a pass to a wide-open Lucius Hicks for an 85-yard touchdown. Then, a desperate heave found its way into Riley Jeppesen’s arms for a 50-yard score to make it 21-0 at the break.
Pearson teamed up with Juju Teran at the end of the third quarter to push the lead to 28-0. He tossed a pass into the flat, which Teran turned into a 6-yard score down the right sideline.
The Lakers (1-5, 0-3 Region 5) next face a matchup at Box Elder (5-1, 2-0 Region 5).
Roy (2-4, 1-2) returns home to host Clearfield (2-4, 0-2).
