High school football: Small 'Moose' huge for Hawks

After dominating the competition at center and nose guard during Little League football, Vance "Moose" Bingham got a reality check when he attended his first practice at Alta High.

Bingham, nicknamed Moose by his mother, Pamela, because he was "a really fat baby," did not keep pace with the size he was born with through the years. He realized at Alta that his days of destroying players in the trenches were over.

"The first day I came to Alta I was looking at myself and I'm like, 'Well, you're about 5-8, 140 pounds, I don't think center is going to work out at this level,'" Bingham said. "I'm looking at the guy next to me. His name is Zach Matthews and he's like 210, 6-5 whatever, whatever. So I go up to Coach Ham (Les Hamilton) and go, 'Where do the kickers go, Ham? And he just gave me this little look like, 'What?' He doesn't get that very often here, I'm sure."

He doesn't get kickers like Bingham very often, either.

Bingham has had a near-perfect season so far. He's had just two field goals blocked, and he missed an extra point in Alta's 55-14 win over Viewmont in the first round of the 5A playoffs. Other than that, he's been clutch. As Jordan can attest, a more fitting nickname for Bingham might be "money" as he made a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give the Hawks a 38-36 win over the Beetdiggers in the regular season finale for both teams.

Nah, Moose is the perfect nickname for Bingham.

There might not be a more fun-loving player in the state than Bingham. And there might not be another player who takes as much harassment from his teammates. It's all in fun though, as anyone who saw how he was mobbed by his teammates, fans and cheerleaders following his game-winning kick against Jordan knows how much Bingham is loved on the Alta campus.

"He's been pretty solid for us all year," said Alta defensive end Brady Davies. "It's fun to joke around with him and stuff. With a name like Moose, you have to."

Bingham can joke with the best of them, and often in self-depreciating ways. He gets bored with kicking in practice, so sometimes he'll line up at receiver or defensive back. No matter what the results are against the Hawks' starters, he always has a good time.

"I try to play other positions. I usually get wrecked though," Bingham said. "It's fun for me. Last week I played DB and everyone just wrecked me. But it was the funnest time in my whole life."