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Roy • On a chilly football night of pageantry and pedigree, Jim McMahon stole the show, but Box Elder poached the win.
The Bees defense forced six Roy turnovers and ground out a 17-0 win Friday with the Royals' most famous alumnus watching from the press box on the night his No. 9 jersey was retired.
"I think everyone was amped," Box Elder defensive tackle Rylee Reeves said, "because their crowd was big and they made a lot of noise."
Box Elder quarterback Britton Gunter said he didn't know before Friday that McMahon, the two-time Super Bowl champion and former BYU star, even went to Roy.
"He's a stud," Gunter said.
Regardless, the night's celebration — halftime included fireworks and a speech by former BYU coach LaVell Edwards — didn't distract the Bees. After the halftime ceremony, Box Elder promptly forced a turnover on the kickoff, which set up a field goal. Three plays later, Bracken Gunter stripped Roy's Jace Weaver and sprinted in from 42 yards for the touchdown.
"We focused on turnovers all week," Reeves said.
The game marked the start of Region 5 play, and Box Elder improved to 4-1 while Roy, in its first year in 4A, dropped to 3-2. The Royals are improved in their first year under Fred Fernandes, who played with McMahon at Roy in 1977. The Royals won just three games in the past three seasons before he took the reins.
But on a night dedicated to the past, the Royals reverted back to their losing ways.
"Our defensive coaches did an excellent job of putting our game together," Box Elder coach Robbie Gunter said.
It's a good thing, Britton Gunter said, because the Bees' offense showed it could still get better, which it will need to in a region led by 4A No. 1 Logan.
"We made a lot of mistakes," Gunter said. "We have a lot of room to improve."