Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — After falling short to Lone Peak in the semifinals last season, the Bingham Miners had the singular goal of making it back to the 5A championship game.
On Thursday, the Miners made their goal a reality by shutting down a normally high-scoring Fremont team in a 35-12 win.
“Credit them for doing a lot of good things, despite only scoring 12,” Bingham head coach John Lambourne said. “They did a lot of good things and they have tremendous football players.
The Miners took some time to get going, but eventually found a rhythm with a rush-heavy attack. Bingham used a 10-play, 98-yard drive to close out the first half with a touchdown to give the team momentum coming into the second half and a 14-6 lead.
“It gave us the momentum that we needed and we executed in the second half,” senior running back Daniel Loua said.
Bingham continued with the rushing in the second half and found success with the three-headed monster of seniors Daniel Loua and Tate Peterson, and junior Amoni Kaili. The three combined for 345 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the win. Loua led the team with 132 rushing yards and two touchdowns, averaging 12.0 yards per carry.
“We knew that we needed to come out and finish some drives, and we were able to do that,” Lambourne said. “It was a good second half.
“It’s pretty impressive when you have three running backs that ran the ball the way that they did,” he added. “I like it; it’s good for us.”
The Silver Wolves moved the ball well, but couldn’t convert until the fourth quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Saxton Morby to senior Haze Hadley. Hadley did everything for Fremont on offense and finished with 156 all-purpose yards and one touchdown.
Fremont was driving the ball in the third quarter before senior Austin Freeman was stripped of the ball by Bingham junior Cole Moody. Loua recovered the ball for Bingham, setting up an eventual 30-yard rushing touchdown by Loua to give the Miners a 28-6 lead.
Following the game, Bingham immediately turned its attention to Lone Peak. The Miners beat Lone Peak in the third week of the season in a 42-21 win, but recognize the Knights have improved since the last meeting.
“Naturally, a good ball program like them is going to improve and they have improved since we played them,” Lambourne said. “Have we improved? That will be a question I think we’ll have. I think it will be a barn burner, so get your tickets.”
“I’m excited. I’m excited to see what they’ve got,” Loua added. “They’re a better team, we’re a better team. We’ll see who is better.”
Bingham and Lone Peak will meet up in the 5A championship game on Friday, Nov. 18 at 2:30 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
