This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Roy • As fans charged onto the field and fireworks exploded overhead, Roy's football team and its large cadre of supporters had much to celebrate.
The Royals, dominated much of the night by Sky View, used a trick play, an on sides kick and some magic to erase a 10-point lead in the final seven minutes to take a memorable 36-32 victory.
The come-from-behind win gave Roy its first outright league title since 1976 and the number one seed from Region 5 when next week's state tournament begins and preserved a rare unbeaten regular season.
Royal coach Fred Fernandes, a 1979 graduate of the school and one of the finest athletes Weber County has ever produced, knew this year's team would be special. And the Royals proved it with an unlikely fourth-quarter rally.
"We were getting our butts kicked," said Fernandes, whose team trailed 25-14 late in the third quarter.
"They owned the line of scrimmage."
Roy quarterback Tyler Skidmore had rallied his team to within five points on his second short touchdown run of the game. scoring pass to Bryce Mortensen with 9:02 left to play.
That might have deflated a lesser team than the Royals. But, on this beautiful fall evening with a huge crowd cheering them on, the Royals refused to quit.
Skidmore went to work quickly, finding Cody Hobbs for a 32-yard scoring pass with 6:45 to play.
Fernandes gambled on the on sides kick and Roy's Kyden Degroot rewarded that faith by recovering the ball on the Sky View 40-yard line.
On the next play, Skidmore flipped the ball to wide receiver Jaden Brown who found a well-covered Tyler Eteuati streaking down the sideline for what would turn out to be the winning touchdown.
"We have been practicing that play for about three weeks," said Brown, adding that it was his first touchdown pass. "I expected it to be called…Tyler made a great play."
At that point, there would be no stopping Roy. Sky View, a fine team whose only loss came to top-ranked and defending state 4A champion Timpview in the first game of the season, was finally stopped by the inspired Roy defense that had struggled much of the night, especially with fine Bobcat running back Isaac Herrmann who scored two touchdowns chewing up big yardage.
As the seconds counted down and the fireworks exploded, a generation of football frustration seemed to evaporate as players clutched the Region 5 championship trophy and beaming fans hugged each other on a night to be remembered.