South Jordan » It was a battle of unbeaten region teams but the game was hardly close. Bingham got off to a fast start and never looked back as the Miners coasted in a 35-7 win over Riverton on Friday.
The first step to a state championship is a region championship, and against Riverton, the Miners accomplished their first goal. Bingham won its fifth consecutive region title.
"We don't expect it every year because we know we have to earn it," said quarterback Ty Hannay, who completed 9 of 17 passes for 112 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. "We worked hard and deserved this."
The Miners came out strong and scored on their first drive, which was capped off by a 7-yard pass from Hannay to Baker Pritchard. That set the tone for the rest of the game.
Bingham was balanced offensively. Harvey Langi made the Miners tough to stop on the ground and that opened things up for their passing game.
"I love running behind the line. They deserve the credit because they always have the mentality of pushing forward," said Langi, who finished with 122 yards on 21 carries. "I wouldn't be the running back I am without them."
Defensively, Bingham stymied the Silverwolves. Riverton turned to its running game but couldn't get a rhythm going. In the first half, Riverton had just 47 rushing yards and 68 total yards of offense.
"We came out fast and we played great defensively in the second quarter," Bingham coach Dave Peck said. "The only downside to this game is I would clean up the penalties."
Peck encourages his players to be aggressive but sometimes they're too aggressive. Bingham had nine penalties in the game for 106 yards.
Because of that, the Miners gave Riverton a chance to make a comeback in the third. Bingham hadn't scored and the Silverwolves were starting to see more success in their run game. Riverton's Dillon Draper scored on a 1-yard run with four minutes left in the third quarter, closing the gap to 21-7. But that was the only time Riverton found the end zone, and in almost every Bingham game this season, the fourth quarter has belonged to the Miners.
That was certainly the case on Friday. Bingham scored twice and had an interception in the fourth.
