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Fremont Silverwolves (11-1) vs. Bingham Miners (12-0), 2:30 p.m.
State Titles
- Fremont 0
- Bingham 6
Last Meeting: September 5th, 2008
Bingham won 49-21
The 2010 Bingham Miners are making a strong case that they are the best high school football team ever assembled in the state of Utah.
They are ranked 4th nationally by USA Today. They have won 23 consecutive games and feature, at last count, 13 players with FBS scholarship offers. They average 50 points a game and give up just 9 points a game on defense.
The Miners have dominated 5A football this season and nothing short of a state championship is acceptable to the program.
"If we don't win a state championship it will be a disappointment," says Bingham head coach Dave Peck. "Not taking away from any other team, this is the best group of athletes that's been assembled on a football field in the state of Utah."
The offense is led by quarterback Stefan Cantwell. He has passed for 1,758 yards, 27 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions this season. He has a talented group of receivers led by Brady Measom and Josh Smith who have combined for 18 of those touchdowns. Cantwell can also run the ball with 7 touchdowns this season behind a dominant offensive line led by BYU bound guard Kesni Tausinga. If you can contain Cantwell then you have to figure out a way to slow down running back Harvey Langi. He's one of the most highly recruited backs in the western United States for a reason. In three years as a starter, he has rushed for 4,236 yards and scored 55 touchdowns. This season alone he has rushed for 1,346 yards and 17 touchdowns.
As good as the offense has been, the defense may be the strength of the team. BYU-bound players Baker Pritchard and Manoa Pikula lead this unit which has allowed just 9 points per contest.
"They're a great group of kids and I'm proud to be the coach at Bingham" says Peck.
Fremont is a big underdog in this game but that suits them just fine. Just two years ago they suffered through a 1-9 season. The Silverwolves weren't even the favorites to win region 1 before the season. They not only won the region title outright but have won 11 straight games to reach a state championship game for the first time since a classic overtime battle with Skyline back in 1995. Unlike Bingham they don't' have any four star recruits or any scholarship offers for that matter.
"We're kind of a no-name team," says head coach Kory Bosgieter. "The whole offseason we talked about how our success is going to lie with how close we come together and how we mature, and then how important it is to us off the field. So far we're right on all three."
The Silverwolves are assignment sound and play disciplined football. They are battle tested having won several close games including two overtime games. They believe in each other and call each other family, which has helped them prove all the doubters wrong this season. They are a very young team with just 12 seniors on their roster and might be the favorite to win it all in 2011 but they say why not now.
"A lot of teams, I don't think, have thought we could make it this far," says running back Nick Vigil. "Since the summer we've been working our butts off and the coaches have been telling us we have a shot so we're just going to keep on trying to go."
Vigil leads the way on offense with 1,697 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns. Quarterback Aaron Van Woerkom has a big target in Tate Lewis to throw the ball to as well as Rowdy Stucki who has 5 touchdown receptions. Defensively the Silverwolves held their opponents to just 13 points per game. Bryan Thompson led the team in tackles and interceptions.13
Final Analysis and prediction: If Bingham buys into everything everyone has been saying about them and they take Fremont lightly, the Silverwolves are good enough to make them pay. If Bingham play the way they did against Jordan then it will be very difficult for the Silverwolves to hang with the Miners. Fremont is very similar to the Davis team that took an early lead against Bingham in last year's 5A championship. I expect Fremont to make this game interesting but in the end, just like last year's game, the Miners just have too much talent.
Prediction: Bingham 35 Fremont 21
