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BINGHAM MINERS

THE HURRY-UP

Bingham finished 13-1 overall, 5-0 in league play, and beat American Fork, 20-3, to win the Class 5A championship in 2014.

OFFENSE

Bingham does nothing fancy and nothing trendy on offense. All it does is score points and rack up yards behind an always powerful offense line, downhill runners, and effective quarterbacks. Nothing will change with the departure of Dave Peck and the hiring of John Lambourne, who coached with Peck for 21 years. Lambourne obviously won't be changing his own offense.

The Miners have always had talent at quarterback, but not necessarily in the traditional pass-first expectation. Keaton Torre fits that mold. The highly-recruited transfer from Oklahoma has a cannon of an arm, which could correlate to more emphasis in the passing game this year.

"I think they would all like to be pass-first quarterbacks, and all of our quarterbacks, I think, would be capable that way," Lambourne said. "We make choices based upon a lot of things, but probably the bigger question people might want to ask is, can [Torre] run? Yeah, [he can]. So there you go."

Tavian Myers, Soni Ofahengaue and Cole Clemens — a mountain of a human being — return in the trenches after helping Bingham establish one of the top rushing attacks in the classification last season.

Running back will be by committee, which Lambourne described as a "three-headed monster," with Jahvontay Smith, Elvis Vakapuna and Brady Atkin sharing time at tailback, and Porter Richards at fullback.

Seniors Schyler Shoemaker and Tyler Topham and sophomores Dax Milne and Brayden Cosper are sure-handed targets for Torre on the hashes.

DEFENSE

Bingham is a bad, bad team on defense. Yes, the Miners lost several key contributors to graduation, but this program has shown it simply regenerates talent.

"If they replace some of the really special kids from last year, then we'll be special," Lambourne said. "That's a big task."

The defensive line is a nightmare for any opposing offense. Langi Tuifua, committed to Oregon, and Brigham Tuatagaloa are the rush ends, while Jay Tufele, who some say has the potential to be the best defensive player in Bingham history — hold up.

Let that sink in for a moment.

OK. We're back. Tufele, who like Tuifua is considered one of the top prospects in his graduating class, will demand double-teams at nose guard. The scary part of this equation: All three linemen are only juniors.

Parker Workman captains the defense at linebacker. The senior is one of the most underrated player in the state, and one of the most punishing hitters you'll see at the high school level. Workman is forced to sit out parts of practice for fear of hurting his teammates. Seriously. How he has such few collegiate offers is baffling.

"Parker is a passion kid, and he plays that way — enough so that sometimes we have to pull him back a little bit," Lambourne said. "That's his strength, and kids gravitate toward that. He's not only an awfully good football player — he's a passionate leader, and that's been really important to us."

His counterpart, Simian Matagi, is another returning, big-bodied linebacker. Simote Lokotui, Ethan Erickson return in the secondary, with Chad Wilson and Tongi Langi joining the group. The Miners were the best defensive team in the state last season, and could actually be better this year.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Bingham is measured by championships. The program has reached that level of elite status. It's win or bust. The Miners are talented enough to win their third consecutive state title.

"Once you've tasted it, of course you want it. That's what we want, and that's what all of our kids and coaches and fans want, but we also realize how hard that is," Lambourne said. "We've had five state titles in 15 years. There were 10 years that we didn't get it, but I think most of those years we thought we were contenders. There was a little disappointment when we didn't get it."

BIG SHOES

Kade Cloward and Dominieke Jones were staples in the defensive secondary the past two seasons. Chad Wilson and Tongi Langi are slotted to fill their vacancies.

PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH IN REGION: 1

RETURNING LEADERS

Passing: Keaton Torre (Sr.), 97-193-1,527-7, 10 TDs

Rushing: Elvis Vakapuna (Jr.), 38 att., 207 yds., 1 TD

Receiving: Schyler Shoemaker (Sr.), 10 rec., 174 yds., 3 TDs

Tackles: Parker Workman (Sr.), 85

Sacks: Parker Workman, 15

Interceptions: Ethan Erickson (Sr.), 4

2014 RANKINGS

OFFENSE AVERAGE REGION (of 7) CLASS (of 28)

Scoring: 38.6ppg 3 3

Rushing: 190.6ypg 4 8

Passing:  145.6ypg 4 16

Total: 336.2ypg 4 10

DEFENSE

Scoring: 7.8ppg 1 1

Rushing: 99.2ypg 1 3

Passing: 119.1ypg 3 3

Total: 218.3ypg 1 1

COACHING BIO

Name: John Lambourne

Years with school: First year head coach (21 as an assistant)

PROJECTED STARTERS

OFFENSE

QB: Keaton Torre (6-4, 205, Sr.)

RB: Jahvontay Smith (5-11, 210, Jr.)

FB: Porter Richards (5-10, 185, Sr.)

WR: Schyler Shoemaker (6-4, 195, Sr.)

WR: Tyler Topham (5-9, 150, Sr.)

TE: Kentero Yoshikawa (6-3, 185, Jr.)

LT: Bailey Brown (Sr.)

LG: Tavian Myers (6-3, 300, Jr.)

C: Brigham Tuatagaloa (6-1, 225, Jr.)

RG: Soni Ofahengaue (6-0, 260, Sr.)

RT: Cole Clemens (6-6, 300, Jr.)

DEFENSE

DE: Langi Tuifua (6-3, 210, Jr.)

DT: Jay Tufele (6-3, 275, Jr.)

DE: Brigham Tuatagaloa (6-1, 225, Jr.)

LB: Parker Workman (6-3, 224, Sr.)

LB: Simian Matagi (6-2, 210, Sr.)

DB: Simote Lokotui (6-2, 170, Sr.)

DB: Ethan Erickson (6-2, 190, Sr.)

DB: Chad Wilson (Jr.)

DB: Tongi Langi (5-8, 165, Jr.)

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: Undetermined

P: Undetermined

R: Elvis Vakapuna (5-8, 170, Jr.)

R: Brady Atkin (6-0, 165, Sr.)

2015 SCHEDULE

Date, opponent, time (2014 result)

Aug. 21, Westlake, 7 p.m.

Aug. 28, at Herriman, 7 p.m. (Won, 31-7/Won, 36-6)

Sept. 4, Bishop Gorman (Nev.), 7 p.m. (Lost, 23-20 OT)

Sept. 11, at West Jordan, 7 p.m. (Won, 56-6)

Sept. 18, Copper Hills, 7 p.m. (Won, 65-3)

Sept. 25, at Hunter, 7 p.m. (Won, 42-0)

Oct. 2, at Cottonwood, 7 p.m.

Oct. 8, Taylorsville, 7 p.m.

Oct. 14, at Jordan, 7 p.m. (Won, 58-41)

Oct. 22, Brighton, 7 p.m. (Won, 24-0)