5A high school football playoffs: Jordan at Bingham

Jordan (7-4) at Bingham (9-1)

5A state tournament first round

Saturday, 2 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Bingham by 14 points

All-time series: Jordan leads 21-19-1

Coach vs. Coach: Jordan's Eric Kjar and Bingham's Dave Peck, first meeting

Last meeting: 5A quarterfinals, Nov. 7, 2008 — Bingham 48, Jordan 30

Perhaps no team faces as daunting a task as the Jordan Beetdiggers in the first round of the 2009 state playoffs.

And not just because Jordan is facing top-ranked Bingham.

When the longtime rival Beetdiggers and Miners play each other on Saturday, it will mark Jordan's third game in a span of eight days. Those three games include two wins over Brighton, one of the most physical teams in the state, just to qualify for the state playoffs. The playoff game with Bingham is against what most people believe is the most physical team in the state.

Keep the ice packs and Ibuprofen handy for the Beetdiggers.

"It's going to take a toll on our kids, but the funny thing about high school kids is sometimes they don't know any better," said Jordan coach Eric Kjar. "They just go out and play and compete and work hard and work with what happens."

The Beetdiggers did rise to the occasion in their two victories over the Bengals. They'll have to continue to make clutch plays and play close to perfect to defeat Bingham.

The Miners steamrolled their way through Region 3 with no opponent coming within four touchdowns of them. Bingham hasn't really been challenged since beating Cottonwood 45-29 in Week 5.

"They're really good," Kjar said of the Miners. "Their front seven is amazing. We'll just prepare, work really hard in the four days we got and get ready for them."

Bingham, as usual, is led by a powerful running game. Junior Harvey Langi averaged 7 yards per carry while rushing for 811 yards during the regular season. Quarterback Ty Hannay can also make plays, as he's accounted for 22 touchdowns (18 passing, four rushing) so far this season. The Miners were 5A's highest scoring team during the regular season.