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SOUTH JORDAN — Outside of the 256 miles between the two schools, nothing was stopping the support from Crimson Cliffs supporters. The Bingham visiting bleachers were filled up to see Steele Barben's offensive showcase with his Mustangs offense.
But that wasn't enough, thanks to Bingham sophomore quarterback Arona Ka'ili, who led the Miners to score 13 unanswered points in the first half, which he then doubled in the second half, including a 66-yard touchdown bomb of a throw in the third quarter that saw the Miners secure a 26-23 win in the team's first home game of the season.
Crimson Cliffs opened up the game with a quick 10-0 lead that it controlled through the first quarter.
But the Miners' grittiness on defense held Crimson Cliffs scoreless to closeout the half, which was ignited when Bingham got its first stop and forced Crimson Cliffs to punt. On a windy summer night, the punt didn't go far, which gave the Miners good field position on the Mustangs' 42-yard line.
On the ensuing possession for Bingham, Ka'ili threw a 6-yard touchdown pass that was followed by a successful point-after attempt to tie the game up 10-10 with 3:14 remaining in the half.
Crimson Cliffs went four-and-out on its last drive of the half, and then Bingham went nearly the length of the field with no timeouts left, rushed its kicker onto the field, and made a field goal to give the Miners a 3-point lead going into the break.
But Crimson Cliffs still had some fight and opened up the second half with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Barben to fellow senior Tyler West to take a 17-13 lead.
That fight was short lived when Bingham's Triston Brimhall escaped on a 42-yard run that place the Miners on Crimson Cliffs' 28-yard line. Bingham continued to wear down the defense with several more rushing attempts before eventually finding the end zone to reclaim the lead.
Minutes later, Ka'ili threw a 66-yard touchdown pass with 4:04 remaining in the third quarter to add to the score, though Bingham missed the PAT.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs closed the gap and found the end zone again thanks to a successful fourth-down conversion to keep the drive alive. But Crimson Cliffs couldn't hold Bingham on a late fourth down, and the Miners ran out the clock and escaped with the home win.
Both teams moved to 1-1 through the second week of action.
