While BYU is a private religious institution and Boise State is a state school, the role of faith in their two football programs is strikingly similar. “We blessed BYU and just prayed that they would continue to have a great season, and that we would continue to have a great season, as well.” “We prayed for the guys who got hurt on both sides of the field, just for a quick recovery for them,” Thornton said. Boise State dropped out of the top 25 but is 2-1 and still in control of its destiny in the Mountain West Conference championship race. Both teams have had their schedules upended by the pandemic. Thornton said he gave thanks for the opportunity to play the game. You’re enemies, rivals during the game, but afterward it’s like, “Hey, you know what? I’m going to see you at Christmastime,’ or ‘I’m going to see in the summertime.’ So, it’s neat to have them bring it back all together after competition.” “We have Utah and California guys whose friends play at BYU. Thornton loved that aspect of praying with the teams. It was a really cool experience and something I’ll never forget,” said Rex, a tight end who caught two touchdown passes in the game and is now tied for 10th in the nation with six touchdown catches. “I was kneeling next to him after the game and we prayed together with the whole team. While they are rivals, many of the players know each other, which added another layer of meaning to the experience.īoise State linebacker and co-captain Riley Wimpey and BYU’s Rex are friends who attended the same Latter-day Saint ward and the same high school growing up together in San Clemente, California. “The fact that it’s such a big rivalry and we can be really physical with each other, compete really hard with each other and then drop our pride, drop our egos, drop what just happened for two to three hours and give thanks to God, that says something about both schools,” added Boise State’s Williams, a speed demon who is the reigning Mountain West Conference special teams player of the year with six career touchdowns on kick and punt returns. You gotta love them up a little bit,” said BYU’s Romney, a junior ranked 10th in the nation in receiving yards with 648. There might be hard feelings on the field but once you get off the field, they’re your brothers. “Football’s a competitive game, so you’re competing, you’re talking trash, you’re fighting people on the field, but at the end of the day it’s, you know, it’s just a sport. The schools have played each other for nine straight years and have games scheduled in 13 of the next 14 seasons.Ī couple of players said praying with their opponents was grounding. I was really impressed with them the entire game, just a great program with wonderful sportsmanship and you know, hopefully we can be able to have that type of impact on other programs as well when we play them.”įriday’s prayer had additional meaning because it happened in a budding regional rivalry. “We’re not going to turn that down, when a team invites our team to kneel down and praise God for the opportunity we had to play,” he said. “I don’t know if an entire whole team has joined us before in the years that I’ve been here. We play against other teams who didn’t let their players stay and pray, even though the players from the other team wanted to join us in prayer.”īoise State co-captain Avery Williams was stunned when virtually the entire BYU team joined the prayer circle. “We play against some teams who don’t have a chaplain. “I am appreciative for BYU’s coaches,” Thornton said this week. Then he called his players back to the 50-yard line. “Hey, we’re getting ready to pray,” he said. Then Thornton found BYU head coach Kalani Sitake. That’s why BYU’s players began filing off the blue turf on Friday night after the Cougars, then ranked ninth in the country, battered 21st-ranked Boise State, 51-17. He usually reaches out to the other school’s team chaplain before a game to invite the opponents to join the Broncos for prayer at midfield afterward, but he didn’t know BYU had a team chaplain. “We’re kind of like this: We started with prayer, we’re going to end with prayer, and we’re going to give the glory to God,” said Thornton, who is the team’s chaplain. BYU’s postgame prayer usually happens in the locker room and Boise State holds one at midfield each week. Prayer is a major part of both programs, according to interviews with BYU players Gunner Romney and Isaac Rex, and Boise State’s Avery Williams. 9 BYU got a rare opportunity to make a statement against No. BYU: The top 10 football team spreading a message of healing in 2020.Undefeated BYU aced its biggest test of the season by waxing Boise State.
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