If Thursday night was any indicator, the Bingham and Alta rivalry is back, and it’s here to stay.
Thursday night’s game went down to the final minutes, and plenty of smack was talked on both sides. In the end, it was the Hawks who defended home turf 13-12 and sent the Miners packing.
Alta also beat Bingham 23-13 last year.
“We really don’t like this team, so we appreciate coming out there and mopping them all over the field,” said Alta quarterback Xavier Cocci.
“This is definitely a rivalry that’s back to stay.”
While Alta eventually took the win, Bingham was in control for the majority of Thursday’s game, and it all started defensively.
The Miners’ defense dominated, especially in the first half. Alta struggled to get any movement offensively, compiling multiple three-and-outs to open the game.
Even when Alta finally had its first good drive of the game, which didn’t come until late in the second quarter, Cocci was picked off by Bingham’s Tali Lautaha.
Luckily for the Hawks, their defense and Bingham’s struggling special teams kept them in the game. The Miners kept failing to capitalize on their dominating defense and only took a 12-0 lead in the third quarter as two missed PATs and two failed field goal attempts kept Alta in it.
Still, the Hawks had to break through the stout Bingham defense to catch up. Cocci was down on himself after throwing the interception, but support from his teammates lifted his spirits.
Cocci is a transfer from Skyline. As a junior in 2025, he threw for 3,803 yards with a 69% completion percentage and added 919 on the ground. He knew he had the talent to break through, and it’s just a matter of getting comfortable with the new offense.
“I’m still new to this offense,” Cocci said. “These guys know that, so they’re coming over like, ‘Hey buddy, you got it.’ I knew those picks were 100% on me.
“My teammates (Lisiate Fevaleaki) and (Breck Warren) both really lifted my head up, and they said, ‘Hey man, you had 4,700 yards last year. You gotta lock it in.’ I realized, you know what? I did do that.”
Alta’s offense got a big break from the defense as safety Lucas Pagel picked Bingham off, which allowed the offense to build some momentum by starting its drive on the Miners’ own 12-yard line.
Treven Cooke found the end zone, but a blocked PAT caused the Hawks to still trail 12-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bingham had a chance to pull ahead as it marched downfield, but a missed field goal gave Alta an opening, which Cocci took full advantage of.
On a late drive, Cocci found some receivers and open lanes, keeping the drive alive multiple times before finally finding the end zone with just 2:10 remaining.
The first successful PAT of the game gave Alta a 13-12 lead.
“Offensively, it was just that we just got to settle down and just play by play,” said Alta head coach Blake Burdette. “We’ll just try to get better. We came out really flat, but we’ve got to get better.”
Bingham had just two minutes to make something happen, and it started its march down the field. However, it yet again underestimated Pagel as he reached out to grab his second interception of the night to seal the game.
“Our defense staff called a great game,” Burdette said. “I was proud of the way the boys stepped up. It was a bend-but-not-break defense. We did just enough today.”
After the back-to-back close wins over Bingham, Burdette hopes the two programs can keep the rivalry alive and keep it a consistently scheduled game.
“They’ve been good games these last two years,” Burdette said. “I have a lot of respect for that team, and they got some dudes. I’m going to try to play them every year.
“I think it’s important because before all the other schools were out here, it was Alta-Bingham. We’d love to keep that alive.”
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