This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Earlier in the week, an assistant coach on Bingham's staff tweeted out an image of the Joker from the Batman movie "The Dark Knight." As the background burns to smithereens, a caption reads: "It's not about winning, it's about sending a message."
Bingham has played angry this season following last year's unexpected elimination in the state semis, and after dispatching Fremont, 35-12, in this year's Class 5A semifinals at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Thursday, the Miners will have an opportunity to put their final stamp on the "Revenge Tour."
The Miners (13-0) will face Lone Peak (12-1), which routed American Fork in the other semifinal, at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18. The Knights beat Bingham in the semifinals last season, ending the program's 36-game in-state winning streak.
"I haven't seen them since Week 3," said Bingham coach John Lambourne, whose team beat Lone Peak 42-21 earlier in the season. "I think they've improved since we played them, so have we improved? I think we have. I think it'll be a barnburner, so get your tickets."
Bingham delivered its customary long, slow death to Fremont on Thursday. The Miners, physically superior to nearly every opponent, gradually wear down teams until the game evolves into a yawner. Fremont kept it close in the first 24 minutes, but simply couldn't muster enough firepower in the second half.
"We came on the sideline and said we had to get this done," said Bingham defensive back Jaylon Vickers. "We got our jitters out and, from then, we just played like we know how to play."
The changing point occurred on the final sequence in the first half when the Silver Wolves played like riverboat gamblers.
After throwing to the middle of the field without a timeout, then spiking the ball with 1 second remaining, the Wolves opted against kicking a 24-yard field goal, and instead called a throwback on the final play, but Bingham didn't bite, leading to an incompletion and the Miners maintaining a 14-6 advantage at the break.
The Silver Wolves took the opening drive of the game 80 yards on 11 plays for an early 6-0 lead on a 16-yard scamper by Austin Freeman, but the decision appeared to illuminate a mindset that they felt it would be difficult to consistently stop Bingham on defense, especially after the Miners strung together a 10-play, 98-yard drive in four minutes in the second quarter.
And that attitude proved accurate when the Miners opened a 28-6 lead on two consecutive scoring drives to start the third quarter, with junior Amoni Kaili and Daniel Loua each finding the end zone for their second touchdown of the afternoon.
"We just go with what we were doing good," Loua said. "We were pounding the ball, and we just [did] it over and over again."
Loua's 15-yard touchdown reception from Matt Degn with 6:22 remaining gave the Miners a 35-12 advantage after Fremont closed the gap with a 20-yard Saxton Morby-Haze Hadley connection.
Bingham has relied on Jahvontay Smith, Tate Peterson and Loua to handle responsibility in the backfield, but Kaili has emerged as an threat late in the season after Smith suffered a high-ankle sprain. The Miners rushed for 391 yards on 55 carries, a 7.1-yard per-rush average.
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
R Bingham rushes for 391 yards to set up a championship showdown against Lone Peak.
• Daniel Loua finishes with three total touchdowns, while junior Amoni Kaili rushes for two.
• Bingham scores 28 consecutive points after falling behind 6-0 on the first drive.
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