Was another huge victory by a Utah team in Cowboys Stadium too much to ask for when Bingham met Trinity of Euless, Texas, Monday in the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series?
With BYU’s monumental upset of Oklahoma still the talk of the state and the nation, the Miners’ opportunity to bring Utah high school football to the limelight had taken a backseat to talk of Max Hall maybe winning the Heisman and the Cougars joining the Utah Utes in BCS busting.
The needed upset or near-miss never materialized as Trinity posted a 42-21 victory Monday morning behind 210 yards and three touchdowns from Tevin Williams. The statement that came out of Monday’s game was Texas’ advantage in speed on both sides of the ball: Williams scored on the fourth play from scrimmage and Trinity’s defensive speed limited Bingham star running back Harvey Langi, to 52 yards.
"I think we had to lose a one-point game, a six-point game, one where we had a chance going down to the wire, for people to say, 'Wow. Look at what Utah is capable of doing,' " Bingham coach David Peck told the Salt Lake Tribune. "I was hoping we could showcase ourselves a little better than we did.''
Cade Zarbock, American Fork
File photo by Dave Argyle
Bingham dispatched top-ranked Alta and faced one of Texas’ national powerhouses in two consecutive weeks and now has to deal with upstart American Fork, who is off to a surprising 3-0 start.
The Cavemen's start has been keyed by a running game led by Cade Zarbock, who posted three touchdowns in a 36-20 victory over Timpanogos last Friday. That gave him nine touchdowns for the season – one more than his 2008 season total of eight.
"So far this season, I think I've proven myself,'' said Zarbock, who finished with 118 yards.
BRIGHTON MEMOIRS
The state’s best defense currently belongs to Brighton, which hasn’t been scored on yet after the first three weeks of the season.
The Bengals, a disappointing 2-8 last season, are a senior-laden squad and have already surpassed last year’s win total. The defense held Hunter to 50 total yards is giving the offense a chance to play relaxed.
After Friday’s game with Lone Peak, things get a lot more challenging for Brighton with a match-up against Alta Sept. 18 and Pleasant Grove Oct. 2.
MURRAY MATTERS
Murray ended its 19-game losing streak last week with a 24-9 victory over Taylorsville, but the true cause of celebration was the success of sophomore Rayce Bryan’s brain surgery the day of the game.
His teammates wore a number 16 patch to honor Bryan, who will miss the rest of the season.
BOUNCE BACK
Alta showed its bounce back capabilities last week when the defending 5A champion easily downed defending 4A champion Timpview 31-15.
A week after losing to Bingham, the Hawks scored 24 points on four consecutive first half possessions and controlled the rest of the game.
TOP SIX
1. Bingham (2-1). A Utah team will need to beat the Miners for them to lose top spot.
2. Alta (2-1). Bingham and Timpview back to back. Come on.
3. Bountiful (3-0). Great defense. Efficient offense. Not the most exciting to watch, but good enough to make deep 4A run.
4. Pleasant Grove (2-0). Off last week. Region 3 play begins this week.
5. Syracuse (3-0). Handled Viewmont last week.
6. Juan Diego (3-0). 3A team has won 16 in a row. Show some love, people.
On the move: Ogden and Springville are 3-0 and starting to get noticed.
GAMES TO WATCH
1. American Fork (3-0) at Bingham (2-1): This has trap game written all over it for Bingham. AF could spring a surprise here.
2. Brighton (3-0) at Lone Peak (2-1): The Knights looked bad in their season opening loss to Bountiful. Beating Brighton could even things out.
3. Davis (2-1) at Syracuse (2-1): Big Region 1 match-up.
4. Alta (2-1) at Jordan (2-1): Can Hawks defense stop Jordan phenom QB Alex Hart?
MOVE-IN QUICK OBSERVATION
First-year school Westlake has gold helmets and blue numbers. What are Utah teams doing wearing Notre Dame colors?
