American Fork Upsets Bingham In Overtime To Advance To 6A Championship
Nov 8, 2018, 3:05 PM | Updated: 4:26 pm
American Fork celebrates their win against Bingham in overtime on Thursday, November 8 in the 6A semifinal of the high school football state tournament at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The American Fork Cavemen beat the defending champion Bingham Miners in an overtime thriller to punch their ticket to the 6A Championship game.
Cavemen quarterback Boone Abbott threw two touchdown passes for 346 yards. He added 57 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Wide receiver Devin Downing finished with 11 receptions for 163 yards and one touchdown.
Bingham suffered their second loss of the season. The last time the Miners lost to two in-state schools in the same season was 2012.
Bingham quarterback Peyton Jones threw for 101 yards and three touchdowns on just six completed passes. Running back Andrew Wimmer had 103 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Overtime Upset
American Fork held a 21-14 lead and was in the red zone looking to seal the win. Abbott’s pass was intercepted on a tipped ball and returned all the way to the American Fork 34-yard line.
Bingham scored the game-tying touchdown on the drive as Jones hit wide receiver Briasen Harward from 19-yards out with 5:20 left in the game. American Fork’s Kyle Thompson missed 49-yard field goal attempt to win the game in regulation.
The Cavemen scored on their first possession in overtime as Abbott’s beautiful back-shoulder throw hit Downing on a 11-yard touchdown.
Devin Downing talked about the importance of the catch and making a play on the big stage.
“Boone (Abbott) is a great quarterback. He put the ball where I can go get it and I am just happy that I could help our team win,” he said.
On fourth down for Bingham, wide receiver Avi Parikh threw an interception to Jeremiah Shipley, on a double-pass that gave the Cavemen the win.
Abbott couldn’t find many words to express how he felt advancing to the championship game.
“I don’t know what to say, I am about to cry right now.”
Bingham With First Half Advantage
The Miners jumped out to a 7-0 lead as Jones connected with receiver Josh Woolf on a 29-yard score with 7:21 left in the second quarter.
American Fork’s defense had two interceptions in the first half by defensive back Connor Gibb. The Cavemen capitalized on one of those turnovers as Abbott scrambled out of the pocket and avoided four tackles for a 4-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7.
Devin Downing put the Cavemen in scoring position on a 42-yard catch that set up the touchdown.
Bingham countered with a 31-yard score from Jones to Parikh, sending the Miners to a 14-7 halftime lead.
American Fork will face the winner of Pleasant Grove and Lone Peak in the 6A Championship game. The game will be played on Friday, November 16 at Rice Eccles Stadium.
