By Kaleb Loftus

 A game that could have been the win of the year for Bingham quickly turned into the learning experience of the year as the Miners battled the Bishop Gorman Gaels of Las Vegas in South Jordan on Sept. 4.   

A full stadium and students lining the gates at 2:30 waiting to enter the game preached a “big-game” atmosphere, as the much-anticipated contest started with the wind blowing the ball over on the Miner’s opening kick off, and ended with the Gaels blowing the Miners away.

“The game was one of excitement and frustration,” John Lambourne, Bingham head coach, said.

Despite the Gaels fumbling just two yards from scoring on their first drive of the game, the Miners couldn’t stop the Texas A&M recruit quarterback Tate Martell who threw for 233 yards in the game, 137 of those yards were to Tyjon Lindsey who also caught a touchdown.

The No. 1 ranked Gaels had the seventh ranked Miners chasing them up and down the field during the first half of the game. As the talent of the Gaels shined leading them to a 17-0 halftime lead. Mistakes and poor passing by the Miners kept them from scaling a first-half comeback.

“We learned that you have to limit mistakes against a high caliber opponent,” Lambourne said.

But the Miners, known for their resiliency, continued to fight.

In the third quarter, a quarterback change was made to try and heal the struggling passing game. It ended up being the right call as the backup Matt Degn entered the field and threw to sophomore Brayden Cosper for a touchdown. 

It seemed the Miners might have some magic in them when down 17-6 in the third quarter forced the Gales to a third down and a stop could change the flow of the game. But just as Bingham lit their spark of hope, the Gales extinguished it.

Scoring practically back to back off of a 72-yard rush by Biaggio Ali Walsh and then a pick-six by Damuzhea Bolden for a 75-yard return, the Gaels never let the Miners make up any ground that they gave up in the first half. 

The Miners finally settled down and began playing with the Gales in the second half, almost equalizing them in points with two more touchdowns by Degn and Cosper. A single missed extra point kick caused the Miners to be outscored in the second half.

It was a positive to be taken for the Miners knowing that if they could have had that consistent play the entire game the final score possibly could have been more favorable. But accurate chants of “this is our house” rang from the Gaels’ fans as the final scored ended 38-20 in favor of Bishop Gorman.

Tears were visible on the faces of some Miners as the battle ended revealing the passions and heartache coming from the loss.

“It was exciting to play on that stage against a tremendous opponent. It was frustrating to not play the way we would have liked,” Lambourne said. 

The still ranked No. 1 in the state Miners will have work to do the remainder of the season, as they will try to bounce back. The Miner’s student section’s cheers, “Bingham, you can do it,” will be proven as a fact or opinion later on as the boys in blue still have a strong chance of taking their share of the state championship.

“We see lots of potential in this team. I was proud of the fact that we never quit,” Lambourne said.