Box Elder wins first-ever state championship in football

For the first time in schools history, the Box Elder Bears can call themselves state champions in football. 

Saturday in Bridger, the Bears clobbered the Bridger Scouts in the Class C Six-Man state championship game, 84-56.

Box Elder went from 3-5 a season ago to state champions in just over a year's time. The Bears had previously only played for a state title once before, a loss to DGS in 2015.

"I think four months ago, there were only a handful of people in the state that thought this was possible and they were all sitting in the locker room together," Box Elder head coach Thomas Dilworth told 406 Sports after the win.

"We only had one goal, and the amount of work that these kids put in and the belief that they had and the trust, it's phenomenal. They're great kids, they worked their tails off."

The Bears were tied with Bridger 22-22 at the end of one quarter and actually trailed 38-36 at halftime. However, the Bears erupted for 48 points in the second half and went on to win the crown on the road.

Box Elder senior quarterback Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette threw 11 touchdowns in the victory, six of them to senior wide receiver Dreyden Anderson. The Bears piled up over 600 yards of total offense in the historic victory, a victory that comes not long after Box Elder had won the Class C state championship in boys basketball last spring.

"This is amazing. It still doesn't feel real, this is the best experience of my life. It just feels so good," Stiffarm-Rosette said to 406 Sports.

Box Elder also became the first area team to win a state championship in football since the Big Sandy Pioneers won the 2022 Six-Man state championship.

"It just proves you're the best team in the state. Leave no doubt, that's what our motto was. There's no doubt at all," Stiffarm-Rosette said.