ROY — Roy High School continued its tradition of honoring its military community and their families on Wednesday night, hosting a Military Appreciation Night before a nonregion football game where the Royals ultimately fell 45-0 to Hurricane.
Ahead of kickoff, each member of the Royal football program took to the field in the east end zone carrying Old Glory. The event recognized two individuals with ties to the school and local military service: Lt. Col. Jesse Branson (U.S. Navy, retired), who is the newly hired Royals head baseball coach, and Justin Wardell (U.S. Air Force Reserves, retired), a secondary teacher at the school.
Roy City provided the flags carried by the players, according to Royals athletic director Monty Vorwaller, who spoke to the Standard-Examiner during the game. Vorwaller, whose father Robert Vorwaller is a U.S. Navy veteran, emphasized the community's sentiment, stating, “We love our veterans and we love our military.” Head coach Chris Solomona echoed this, adding, “Whenever we’re able to honor our military and the troops, it’s always a big deal.” Solomona noted the pride the team and community take in the tradition, which reflects Roy's historical population including active-duty personnel or civilian workers at Hill Air Force Base.
The game itself saw Hurricane, a 4A team entering the contest with a 7-1 overall record, establish a dominant lead early. By the end of the first quarter, the Tigers were up 28-0. Hurricane quarterback Kannon Cowan and running back Titan Borchardt proved challenging for the Royals, snapping Roy’s three-game winning streak.
Borchardt was a standout performer for Hurricane, finding the end zone four times—twice on the ground and twice through the air. Cowan threw two touchdown passes, with his first contributing to Hurricane's commanding 28-0 lead in the first quarter. Roy’s defense managed one early stop, a fourth-down pass breakup by Bryton Ketcham, which briefly gave the Royals some momentum before Hurricane quickly rebounded for a Borchardt scoring drive.
Roy senior quarterback Gunner Pearson, who was awarded an America First Credit Union Scholarship at halftime, threw two interceptions during the game. One of these occurred on a drive where the Royals had advanced into Hurricane's 30-yard line late in the second quarter. Hurricane’s continued scoring led to the 35-point running clock rule going into effect, and they ultimately secured the 45-0 victory.
Following a disappointing 1-4 start to the season, Roy had been on a high, stringing together three consecutive region wins against Bonneville (35-0), Clearfield (27-20 in overtime), and Northridge (20-16). After Wednesday's loss, Roy's record stands at 4-5 overall and 3-2 in Region 5. Coach Solomona acknowledged Hurricane's physicality, stating, “We knew they were physical coming into the game, but we just didn’t respond.” He noted the team would need to go “back to the drawing board” and “figure out how we can be better” after the performance. The midweek matchup was one of several taking place as coaches adjusted schedules ahead of the upcoming fall break.
The Royals are set to host Fremont (5-3, 3-1) in their regular-season finale on Wednesday, October 14.