When Box Elder traveled to Springville to take on the undefeated Red Devils in 4A football playoff action on Saturday, the Bees knew they would have to play a nearly perfect game to upset the Red Devils.
They nearly did, but in the end fell 28-20 to close out a season of frustration.
Springville (10-0, 6-0), the Region 8 champion, used a balanced attack in the first half to take the lead early. Aided by a Springville pass interference penalty, Box Elder matched that score with a Jarom Mecham to Dylan Rodriguez pass and run through heavy traffic with 1:04 to go in the first.
The Red Devils came back and grounded out another score, with 5:53 to go in the half. But the Bees weren’t done. Bryant Tingey raced 82 yards for a potential game tying score just over 1:45 into the third quarter. After the PAT failed, it was 14-13 Springville.
If anybody thought the undefeated Red Devils would panic, they were wrong. They changed the focus of their offense to more of a wildcat style and pounded the Bees with run after run. Another Red Devil score at the 11:09 mark of the fourth seemed to put the game out of reach. Amazingly, the Bees had the Devils held on two occasions but three off sides and a personal foul extended the drive.
The Bees came marching back, but a tipped Mecham pass was intercepted in the end zone, killing a prime scoring pass. Tingey added a late 2-yard TD run with 3:46 to go, but the Devils killed the clock to advance.
Box Elder coaches praised their players after the game for their never say die attitude. They finished the year at 5-8 (1-4 in region), including two play-in wins to get to the Springville game.