High school football: Box Elder beats Northridge, off to best start in 2 decades

With its football field still under renovation, Box Elder (4-0, 1-0) played its fourth consecutive road game Friday night.

Under the lights at Weber High School, the Bees made themselves right at home as they jumped out to a big lead and cruised to a 42-12 victory over Northridge (2-2, 0-1).

“I’m really proud of our guys and the effort and execution they continue to play with this season,” said Box Elder head coach Robbie Gunter.

“On defense, everyone did their job and rallied to the ball. Northridge is a great team and to hold them to 12 points is impressive. Guys were flying around and making plays and it was fun to watch.”

With the win, Box Elder improved to 4-0, something the program hasn’t done since 2003 when the Bees won 10 consecutive games to finish the season 10-1.

“It’s great to be 4-0 and to do something that we haven’t done in a long time, but that’s not our end goal,” said Gunter.

“It’s definitely a big confidence boost for our guys, but we’re just going to keep taking it one game at a time and not look ahead.”

While it wasn’t technically a home game, playing at Weber was special for Box Elder running back Dax Sumko, who grew up in North Ogden.

The senior made the most of it, as he rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bees to the dominating victory.

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“I played my freshman year at Weber on special teams for varsity, so coming back and playing on this field was fun, and a little weird at the same time,” Sumko said laughing. “I had never scored on this field before so to get in the end zone was really special to me.”

Said Gunter about Sumko: “Dax is a terrific player. He’s smart and so humble. He’s always lifting guys up, never takes the credit and is always praising and keeping everyone positive. I know the rest of the team feeds off that and it showed again tonight.”

Sumko got plenty of help from Mason Jeppsen and Damon Rodriguez, as the two combined for 182 yards rushing on just 18 attempts for an average of 9.8 yards per carry.

In total the Bees racked up more than 600 yards of total offense, with 467 coming on the ground.

“All three of those guys are athletic, and being able to rotate them in so they are always rested and ready to go has played a big part in why we’ve been so successful on offense,” said Gunter.

Coming into the game, the Bees were one of the most potent offenses in the state, averaging 42 points per game, a figure they hit exactly Friday tonight.

On defense, the Bees forced three turnovers, including two forced fumbles on kickoffs, giving the Box Elder offense short fields to work with.

For Northridge, quarterback Porter Olsen threw for 135 yards and a touchdown in the loss. The senior’s favorite target was Malu Lumpkins, who hauled in seven receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown.

Next up for Box Elder is a showdown against Roy in what could very well determine the Region 5 title with the way both teams are playing.

For Northridge, the Knights will host Viewmont and will look to get back to their winning ways at home.