Prep football: Bingham set for test in Texas

With Brigham Young University's stunning win over Oklahoma on Saturday night, the Cougars have been the talk of the country for 48 hours because they went into Texas, defeated one of the top teams in the country and let the nation know that Utah teams do indeed play good football on the collegiate level.

Today at 9:30 a.m. MDT, Bingham gets the chance to do the same thing on the high school level when the Miners face nationally known Trinity of Euless, Texas, on the same Cowboys Stadium turf where BYU pulled the upset over the Sooners.

With this long being billed as the biggest high school game in the history of Utah, do the Miners have a chance against a Trinity team that sent players from last year's team to places

like Texas and Nebraska? Is Bingham ready to carry the flag of the Beehive State? Do the miners have enough to come out on top like the Cougars did?

"We certainly think so," Bingham coach Dave Peck said. "We're all really excited for the opportunity. This is great for the community and the state of Utah. Ninety-nine percent of the people won't give us a chance, but there won't be a guy on our sideline who won't expect to win the game."

The Miners do have some advantages heading into the Kirk Herbstreit Classic. They've played twice already, including pulling out a classic comeback win over Alta a week ago. Trinity is heading into its first game of the season.

Bingham has seen top-end speed in the form of the Hawks.

Trinity has two starters returning from last season and virtually no experience to speak of. Bingham looks at this game as the most important in the history of the program. Trinity, according to coach Steve Lineweaver, looks at this as just another preseason matchup.

"We wanted to get a game in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium," Lineweaver said. "It doesn't feel good to know that they look at this as such an important game. We do know from looking at film that we're playing a quality opponent that's going to be well prepared. We're very impressed with them, and we know that we're going to have our hands full."

Lineweaver acknowledged that special attention would have to be paid in shutting down Miners running back Harvey Langi, the best back in the state and one who figures to get a lot of touches against Trinity.

Langi, just a junior, is already looked at as a potentially national recruit. But with a great performance this morning, he could significantly raise his stock among the scouting services.

"A key for us is our turnover margin," Peck said. "We want Harvey to touch the ball a lot. If we can control the clock and the ball, I like our chances of winning this game."

Ifi Cocker, a lineman, and tailback Tevin Williams, fast and elusive, are the lone returning starters for Trinity.

While that doesn't sound like much, Lineweaver knows that his depth chart runs deep. He knows that his team will be talented on a yearly basis and other than the lack of experience, he has little doubts as to how good his roster is.

"This team comes from a tradition of winning," Lineweaver said. "We have lost a bunch from last year, but we're hoping that our tradition helps. These kids have been around success, and that's something that I hope carries into our game against Bingham."