SOUTH OGDEN — The Box Elder Bees stung the Bonneville Lakers in the Region 4 opener Friday night, spoiling the Lakers' homecoming with a 40-7 win.

The Bees drew first blood in the game on their second possession when quarterback Armando Portillo connected with Cam Greene on a 16 yard- run. The Bees failed to make their first kick for an extra point.

The Lakers responded when they recovered a Box Elder fumble and put together a five-play, 56-yard drive that culminated with a quarterback sneak by Colby Quigley, giving the Lakers a 7-6 edge at the end of the first quarter.

"I didn't know what team would show up tonight," said Box Elder coach Wes Roesler of his team that played tough against Bear River and Lone Peak but made several mistakes.

"At the end of the first quarter we had some quick mistakes and I thought oh no, there's two quick turnovers but all of a sudden we started playing football."

The Bees overcame their errors that included a dropped fumble and a snap that went over the punter's head and completely dismantled the Lakers' defense in the second quarter. After holding the Lakers' deep in their own territory, Jordan Anderson blocked a punt attempt and the Bees recovered the ball on the 4 yard line.

On the ensuing play Chris Bowcutt scored his team's third TD of the game. After sacking Quigley on the Lakers' following possession, Portillo ran into the end zone giving the Bees a healthy lead.

With a 27-7 lead at halftime, the Bees cruised through the second half picking up two additional touchdowns. On their second possession of the second half the Bees needed only five plays to complete a 73-yard drive.

Broc Lindauer ran the ball in for the touchdown. Box Elder capped their scoring when Portillo connected with Alex Nelson on a long pass.

"Our defensive line surprised me the most," Roesler said.

The Box Elder defenders came up with four sacks and an interception, while forcing several turnovers.

"One kid that did really good was Jordan Curtis our linebacker; he had three tackles, five assists, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery."

In all Roesler said he felt that his team covered the Bonneville receivers better than they have in the past while holding the Lakers to 28 rushing yards.