Defending 6A champion Bingham pulls away from 4A champ Orem to open 2018 high school football season

OREM — Bingham’s start to the 2018 season and its first defense of the inaugural Class 6A state football championship wasn’t perfect.

Except on the scoreboard.

Peyton Jones threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns, and Andrew Wimmer ran for 106 yards and two scores to help defending 6A champion Bingham pull away from 4A champ Orem 39-22 Thursday night at Orem High.

“We’ll take it and move on; we weren’t the sharpest team today,” Bingham coach John Lambourne said. “But you know what, that is a very good football team and they do a lot of real good things.”

Bingham (1-0) rolled up its traditionally strong defense with seven sacks, including three for a loss of double-digit yardage, to go along with three interceptions.

“The D-line and the secondary worked together,” said Bingham defensive lineman Simote Pepa, who had two sacks in the first half. “We were all working together as a team. DBs were giving us time to get the sack, and we pass-rushed the QB or made him get the picks.”

Cooper Legas threw for 316 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for Orem, which got 165 yards and two TDs from reigning KSL Class 4A MVP Puka Nacua.

After a scoreless first quarter, Nacua gave the Tigers a 7-6 lead with a toe-tapping, 32-yard touchdown from Legas in the corner of the end zone with 7:51 to play in the half.

But Bingham came right back.

Jones hit Avi Parikh with a 13-yard score on the next possession. After the Tigers gambled and lost with two minutes remaining in the half, the senior signal caller led a last-minute TD drive that ended with an 18-yard strike to Raymond Lewis to give the Miners an 18-7 advantage at halftime.

On a team that normally relied on a strong run game and its defense, Jones threw for 173 yards and three touchdowns for the Miners — in the first half.

“Peyton was really solid the whole way,” Lambourne said. “There were some times when we were going, 'holy crap,' if we don’t get something going, we could let the game get out of hand. But we had a couple of really critical offensive possessions that were awesome.”

The Miners cruised out of the halftime break, rolling to a 25-7 lead on Wimmer’s 5-yard TD dash midway through the third quarter.

But Orem (0-1) wouldn’t give up.

Legas hit Nacua for one-play touchdown driven, and the USC commit took it 80 yards for a touchdown to start a 15-0 run to end the quarter.

Noah Sewell scored via a 4-yard run with time expiring on the third period, and Nacua’s two-point conversion brought the Tigers within three, 25-22, entering the fourth quarter.

But that was as close as they would get, as Bingham — playing without ace running back Braedon Wissler following what appeared to be a blow to the head in the second quarter — locked down the win.

“When that happened, the coaches didn’t need to yell at us,” Pepa said. “We prepared for all of this. All we needed to do was play our game, come out, and win.”

Bingham’s defense shut out Orem in the final period, including interceptions by Jared Greenfield and Porter Hawkins that were each converted for six by Wimmer and Raymond Lewis to cap off the opening-night win.

“That was big-time play,” Lambourne said of his secondary. “Coach Cloward, our defensive coordinator, stepped up with a sore back, and his staff really stepped up. I can’t say enough about our staff — they did a phenomenal job with a bunch of new guys who don’t have a lot of experience.”

Bingham travels to Class 6A rival East next Friday at 7 p.m. MT, while the Tigers will play Century High School (Idaho) in a neutral-site game at Idaho State.

“It was a big thing,” Pepa said. “Orem won their state championship, and we wanted to show everybody that we are the best in the state and what we can showcase here in Utah.”

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