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LEHI — Late Friday night, the Bingham Miners, No. 2 in the state, dominated the Lehi Pioneers 49-0 on the Pioneers' home turf.
The Miners began the game strong and moved the ball forward to the Pioneers’ 26-yard line within the first minute and a half of the game. But the tables turned just minutes later when the Pioneers intercepted the ball on their own 17-yard line. The turnover resulted poorly when they had to punt the ball on 4th and 21.
For a time, the teams went back and forth with little production on either side. Then, at 5:58 in the first quarter, the Miners’ senior quarterback, Brady Lail, hurled the ball into the end zone to junior wide receiver Hayden Welchers for a touchdown. The Miners scored two more times late in the second quarter, making the score 21-0.
The Lehi offense held up well throughout the first quarter. Senior running back Zane Munger was a key in several plays and ran the ball play after play, drive after drive, and big plays were made constantly. At 5:56 in the second quarter, junior quarterback Kinloch Gray completed a long pass to sophomore tight end Derkye Terrell, which landed them on Bingham’s 31-yard line. It appeared Lehi's first touchdown might be near until the drive ended on 4th and 8. When the second half rolled around, the Pioneers couldn’t hold up to the Bingham defense.
Bingham’s junior defensive back Koa Wilson said that before the half, the team was playing sloppy and adjustments needed to be made. The team had a discussion during halftime that Wilson said emphasized unity and preparation. This led to an impregnable defense. “We just needed to have a better team game.”
And it showed. Bingham’s defense held off Lehi on every drive. Lehi’s punt unit ended every drive, and Bingham ended almost every drive in the end zone.
Midway through the third quarter, Bingham recovered a fumble and returned it for another seven points. Seconds later, Wilson intercepted the ball and ran it back for another touchdown, bringing the score to 34-0. Lehi’s defense fell apart when six minutes later Bingham widened the gap to 41-0.
The Bingham defense continued to hold off the Pioneers and at 4:23 in the 4th quarter, Bingham scored its final touchdown, bringing the final score to 49-0.
Throughout the second half, Lehi’s coach Marini Selu could be heard yelling at the Pioneers from the sidelines to “just have fun.” “There are a lot of teams out there who wish they could play (one of) the best in state,” said Selu. “Unfortunately, it was our turn tonight, and we came and tried to fight as best we can against a well-established and well-coached program.”
Lail said that their confidence will help the Miners keep their momentum going. “We came off of that loss to Lone Peak, and all we got to do is have confidence and get ready for everything that is here to come.”
At the end of the night, Selu said the Pioneers still fought hard. “Of course, it may have been 49-0, but the kids fought a lot harder than that. It doesn’t justify how hard they worked all week.”
Kurt Hanson is a communications student at Brigham Young University and comes from a lively family of 10 in Colorado Springs, Colo,
