5A high school football championship: Hawks' defense gives the team a chance

On several occasions during the second half of the 5A state championship game, Bingham nearly landed the knockout punch that would've left the Alta Hawks for dead.

But whenever Bingham tried to land the blow, Alta's phenomenal defense responded.

To be fair, the Hawks benefited from a pair of personal-foul penalties on Bingham during a particularly important series midway through the third quarter. But for all the discussion that will probably take place about those two calls, this much shouldn't be forgotten: Alta's defense left everything on the field Friday evening inside Rice-Eccles Stadium and did everything it possibly could to give its team a chance.

That proved to be enough.

Alta's defense helped its team maintain a pulse, and the Hawks came to life offensively in the fourth quarter en route to a stunning 21-17 come-from-behind win.

"We knew at the start of the season that we had one of the best defenses in the state,' said Alta receiver Parker Webster. "And we know no matter what our defense is gonna keep us in the game, and they did. All 11 of them are just amazing. They work so well as a unit, and they came out and played their guts out.

"They kept us in the ballgame."

As Alta celebrated back-to-back 5A titles on the turf afterward, that much seemed clear. Midway through the third quarter, however, it was a whole lot foggier.

Trailing 17-6 at the time, Alta lost linebacker A'i Ho-Ching, who was outstanding in both his postseason appearances at Rice-Eccles, to a possible meniscus tear, and things looked very dicey for the Hawks. But their defense kept its composure, kept Bingham off the scoreboard and gave the Hawks a chance to come back later on.

"They're phenomenal," Alta coach Les Hamilton said of his defense. "When A'i Ho-Ching went down, we thought, 'Oh no, we're in trouble.' We put in a sophomore, Nick Wolford, and we also got in Devin Ellis. They did a fantastic job, but I'm telling you, our two nose guards — Beaver Ho-Ching and Skyler Taylor — were wrecking machines out there tonight."

Those two helped slow Bingham's running game during the second half, paving the way for the Hawks' late offensive heroics.

Defensive end Brady Davies pointed out that the Hawks' D has had something to prove all year, and they certainly proved it on Friday.

"It's something we've wanted to prove all year — that if the offense wasn't doing as well, we'd pick up the slack,' said Davies.

Job done.

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E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com