Preview: American Fork Cavemen vs. Bingham Miners
American Fork has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against The Bingham Miners at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. American Fork knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past four matches -- so hopefully Bingham likes a good challenge.
American Fork put the finishing touches on their eighth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They took their game at home with ease, bagging a 42-13 victory over Westlake. With American Fork ahead 28-0 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
American Fork got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Jacob Eardley out in front who rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Davis Andrews was another key contributor, picking up 112 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Bingham faced Syracuse in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Bingham came out on top against Syracuse by a score of 29-21 on Friday. The win made it back-to-back wins for Bingham.
Among those leading the charge was Triston Brimhall, who rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.7 yards per carry. Brimhall was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 50 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Chase Swensen, who rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Another reason for the win was Bingham's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Leading the way was Mahonilai Havili and his two sacks.
American Fork's victory was their 11th straight at home (dating back to last season), bumping their overall record up to 10-1. It's not like the team was facing easy opposition over that stretch either, as it included 11-2 Rigby and 9-2 Skyridge (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 59.8% over those games). As for Bingham, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-5 record this season.
Everything came up roses for American Fork against Bingham in their previous meeting back in September as the squad secured a 28-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for American Fork since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
