5A high school football: Title chase full of contenders

His team has gone unbeaten against Utah opponents, been ranked No. 1 in the state since defeating Alta on the strength of a stirring second-half comeback, and hasn't allowed more than a touchdown scored in its last four games.

But Bingham coach Dave Peck doesn't consider his high-powered Miners the team to beat in the 5A state playoffs, which kick off with seven first-round games today. Instead, Peck still sees his team's biggest rival as the 5A favorite.

"I think Alta is always going to be in the mix," Peck said. "Until someone knocks them off in the playoffs — or if someone knocks them in the playoffs — to me they're the team to beat. No one has beat them (in the playoffs) the last two years."

The Hawks are certainly one of a handful of legitimate state title contenders in 5A this season. Alta earned a share of the Region 4 championship and has been at its best at this time of the year the last few seasons. The Hawks have played on the Rice-Eccles turf the last four years, winning two state titles and losing once in the championship game.

But there are plenty of teams that have a realistic shot at winning the 5A championship. Pleasant Grove, when healthy, is as talented as any team in the state. Lone Peak seems to be peaking at the right time.

Region 2 co-champions Hunter and Cottonwood have to be taken seriously, as does Region 1 champion Davis. You can never count Skyline out at this time of the year, while teams such as Syracuse, Viewmont, Riverton and Jordan are dark horses.

"I think the teams that have (gone deep in the playoffs) the last couple of years will be in there, and you have teams that have come on strong like Hunter," said Skyline coach Roger DuPaix. "Some of the regions seem very evenly matched like (Region 4). Those teams had a dogfight just to make the playoffs. It's been a good year for high school football."

It seems like it's been the best year, though, for Bingham.

The Miners were 5A's highest-scoring team during the regular season, averaging 39.1 points per game. Bingham, as usual, is built for playoff football, as it has a punishing running game and is extremely difficult to run on.

"If we go out and play a good game, I do think we can beat anyone on a given day," Peck said. "You've got to have a lot of things fall into place (to have a chance at winning a state title). It's been five or six years now that we've at least had a chance. It would be nice to have another state championship to add to the good years."