Bingham is heavy favorite, but 5A has long list of contenders

With the 5A state football tournament getting under way this week, it's no secret who the team to beat is. It's the team with the scintillating 10-0 record, which includes preseason wins over three of its primary contenders. It's the team that averaged nearly 40 points per game during the regular season and enjoyed an average margin of victory of 25 points.

"Bingham is definitely the team to beat," said Alta coach Les Hamilton. "They're loaded athletically top to bottom."

Hamilton isn't just being politically correct. Many coaches believe Bingham could more than hold its own against some of the best 5A state championship teams of the past decade.

First things first for the Miners — win the 2006 title.

From an expectation standpoint, Bingham was in a very similar spot last year. The undefeated Miners entered the 2005 playoffs as big favorites, only to see their dreams evaporate with a quarterfinal loss to Mike Hague and the Brighton Bengals.

Like last year, there are half a dozen teams like Brighton just waiting to knock off No. 1.

"You've got a lot of 9-1 and 8-2 teams that are in the playoffs this year," said Hamilton. "There's a whole lot of parity."

After undefeated Bingham, there are two one-loss teams in the state tournament and six two-loss teams. Any one of those teams is capable of putting a winning streak together this postseason.

Alta (8-2) seems like the most logical choice. The Hawks enter the season on an eight-game winning streak after opening the year with a 28-12 loss to Bingham and a 30-27 loss to Viewmont. Since the slow start, Alta's average margin of victory the past eight games is 24.8 points.

The 2005 Alta Hawks also started 0-2 but eventually advanced to the semifinals. Hamilton says it's nothing tactical, both seasons just evolved similarly.

"Because of the number of kids who play football at Alta, it takes a little longer for us to put kids in positions where they can be successful," said Hamilton.

A couple of losses made things pretty clear for the Hawks, and now they're anxious to start avenging them. Alta opens the playoffs today against the same Viewmont (8-2) squad that pulled off the early-season upset.

"Sure we've talked about it. We're excited to get another shot at Viewmont," said Hamilton. "We felt we let the game slip away, and we feel we're a much better football team than we were back then."