High school football: Staying focused, Miners whip the Wolverines

SOUTH JORDAN — In the midst of Senior Night, the continuing celebration of the Bingham Centennial Anniversary and a short week of preparation, all Miners coach Dave Peck wanted was for his team to focus.

Mission accomplished. With a businesslike demeanor and very few mistakes, the Miners dispatched an overmatched Hunter Wolverines squad 41-7, in what Peck suggested was the team's most complete game of the season.

"Our goal for the kids is to get better and better every week," he said after the game. "I think this was our best game of the year. There weren't many penalties, guys weren't talking. They just went out and played hard. I like where we're at right now."

After being honored before the game, the Miners' seniors put together quite an effort. Quarterback Jake Soffe completed 13-of-18 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to tight end Mike Edmunds (four catches for 124 yards.)

On defense, seniors Remington Peck, Keith Sasine and LT Filiaga led a defensive unit that never allowed the Wolverines' offense to consistently run the football. Hunter collected just 183 yards of total offense compared to 374 for Bingham.

"The Hunter-Bingham rivalry is one of the most physical games you'll ever play," Remington Peck said. "They're going to come out and pop you; you just have to pop them right back."

The Miners reeled off 24 consecutive points to open the game, relying on the legs of Filiaga and Harvey Langi to open up space for the Bingham receivers. Soffe found Matt Green and Edmunds open on short tosses near the end zone for scores, and Filiaga punctuated another drive with a seven-yard blast off tackle.

With a 31-yard Braeden Loveless field goal thrown in for good measure, the score was 24-0 midway through the second quarter. Quarterback Brett Lunceford and a bevy of Wolverine runners were unable to find any room, garnering only one first down until finally finding momentum as the first half wound down.

But Lunceford's pass into the end zone on second-and-goal floated into the hands of Bingham defensive back Braden Anderson to end the threat.

The second half brought more of the same, as Bingham continued to control the clock and the pace of the game. Loveless hit a 32-yard field goal and Edmunds leapt over two Hunter defenders to snag a pass in the corner of the end zone to expand the lead to 34-0.

"Our goal is to just get better every week," Edmunds said. "I credit the offensive line and our quarterback. I was able to find some holes in the defense and have a good game."

Bingham sat their starters the rest of the night, and Hunter finally got on the scoreboard after Lunceford hit a wide-open Fine Feinga in the end zone to cap a lengthy drive. Bingham sophomore Inoke Taufalele would cap the night by returning the ensuing squib kick 86-yards for a touchdown.

Hunter will battle Riverton in a must-win for the Wolverines next Thursday, while Copper Hills will visit Bingham to close out the regular season.