2nd half turnovers help Bingham advance in 29-21 playoff win over Syracuse

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SOUTH JORDAN — Bingham led by just 1 point after a back-and-forth first half but outscored Syracuse 15-0 in the third quarter and got a game-sealing goal-line interception to win 29-21 and advance to the 6A state quarterfinals.

"That was a good high school football game," Bingham head coach Eric Jones said. "Two good teams that battled it out. We were expecting a dogfight and we got it."

The home team Miners struck first on a 23-yard run from Chase Swensen late in the first quarter but allowed Syracuse to find its footing and take a 10-7 lead with 3:44 left in the first half. It took the Miners just 69 seconds to march back down the field, however, to take the lead for good, 14-10.

A field goal made it a 1-point deficit for the Titans at the break, but a fumble recovery and two extended drives capped off by Triston Brimhall touchdown runs helped the Miners go on a 15-0 run in the third quarter.

Syracuse made the Miners sweat a bit with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter followed by a drive all the way to the goal line, but Charger Doty picked off Titans quarterback Jake Hopkins with just under three minutes remaining, and Bingham was able to run out the clock to secure the win.

Syracuse goes for it on 4th and long to try and tie the game late, but Charger Doty gets the goal-line pick to give Bingham the ball back with just under 3 minutes remaining pic.twitter.com/K9cKvh7uG5
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) October 28, 2023

"I don't know that you could ever count on turnovers, but you definitely hope for them, you want them and you need them," Jones said. "They always turn the momentum in the game, and that fumble we had in the second half really flipped it for us. I thought it gave us a spark that we needed to finish off the game."

Bingham will face No. 1-seeded American Fork on the road for its quarterfinal game, an opponent it lost to 28-0 on Sept. 8.