High school football: Bingham is prepared to represent Utah football

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ARLINGTON, Texas — The Bingham High football team didn't really attend Saturday's BYU/Oklahoma football game at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in search of motivation or a lesson.

The group of more than 100 players, coaches and parents who filled an entire arena section high above the BYU bench — most wearing white shirts — were mainly there to make their trip to Texas more memorable and to witness history.

They certainly got that by watching first-hand as the Cougars upset the No. 3 Sooners 14-13 in the first-ever college game played at Jerry Jones' gigantic $1.2 billion facility.

"It's an amazing place and it was an amazing experience," Miners coach Dave Peck said. "And (former Bingham player) Jordan Pendleton played a fantastic game in his first start at outside linebacker and it was great to be there to see that."

As an added bonus by watching BYU's historic win, the Miners now feel a little extra motivation and confidence heading into their game today at Cowboys Stadium against Texas high school powerhouse Trinity — the top program in a state where prep football is king. Today's game, which is being televised nationally on Fox Sports, is the first-ever high school game played in the new domed stadium.

"The way we felt coming down here, and everything that we experienced Saturday night, all of that just leads us to believe more that we can play with anybody," Peck said. "This is our opportunity to show people that we can play some pretty good football in Utah."

Comparatively, the Miners enter today's game in a similar role as the Cougars had entering Saturday's college game — both with the underdog label and both seeking national respect for the caliber of football they play.

"We know what Oklahoma's reputation is, and we saw how BYU handled that. That does give us a little more assurance that we can play with anybody. I know how the kids feel, and I'm telling you, we expect to win this game," Peck said.

The Miners will have 98 players in uniform for today's game, which begins at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time, and which is also the first game of a Texas prep quadruple header at the stadium. The Miners are ranked No. 1 in Utah after their come-from-behind win over Alta last week. Trinity was ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of last season before losing in the state championship game, and today's game is the Trojan's first of the 2009 season.