NationalHSFootball.com – Dallas Jackson, NationalHSFootball.com
For the next two seasons the best high school football program in Utah is set to take on the best Nevada has to offer.
South Jordan (Utah) Bingham has signed a two-year contract to play Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman in 2014 and 2015 with the first contest being played on Sept. 5 in Las Vegas — the junior varsity teams will play on Thursday — and Bishop Gorman returning the trip the second year.
Bingham has gone up the national rankings.
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“They are a premier program and we are happy to have them on our schedule,” he said. “We signed the contract and got everything ready to go. There is some talk that it may get picked up by Fox Sports so we will see if that happens or not.”
Bingham finished the 2013 season ranked No. 29 in the HSFB100 after winning the Class 5A championship for the fourth time since 2006.
The Miners have been ranked as high as No. 10 in the final 2010 HSFB100 and was also No. 30 in 2009.
Bishop Gorman was ranked No. 19 to close this season after winning its fifth straight state championship under head coach Tony Sanchez.
The Gaels were ranked No. 20 in 2012, No. 7 in 2011, No. 27 in 2010, and No. 46 in 2009.
Both programs have been active in out-of-state competition as the flag bearing programs for their state.
Bingham has defeated nationally-ranked Highlands Ranch (Colo.) Valor Christian each of the last two seasons. It also has wins over Kahuku (Hawaii) High and Idaho Falls (Idaho) Bonneville with setbacks against Orange (Cali.) Lutheran as well as Euless (Texas) Trinity.
Bishop Gorman has taken on as many as five out-of-state games in one season.
It is undefeated in three contests against Anaheim (Cali.) Servite with wins in singular games versus Rancho Santa Margarita (Cali.) Santa Margarita, Encino (Cali.) Crespi, Olney (Md.) Good Counsel, Honolulu (Hawaii) St. Louis, Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral, Loomis (Cali.) Del Oro, and Upland (Cali.) High, among others.
It split games against Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic the last two seasons and was defeated by Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe, Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington, Chandler (Wash.) Hamilton, Concord (Cali.) De La Salle, Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy, Seffner (Fla.) Armwood and Bothell (Wash.) High.
Bingham is likely to enter the first contest as the favorite.
It will return three in its secondary as well as three linebackers on defense.
The Miners will have back their quarterback back on offense but will need to replace all five on the offensive line as well as its tight end.
Peck said that he trusts his young players enough to take on Bishop Gorman.
Sanchez has Bishop Gorman at new heights.
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Peck said that he was expecting to get two transfers in the trenches from Euless (Texas) Trinity as well as running back Cameron Smith from Aurora (Colo.) Cherokee Trail.
He said that the way Utah allows for Open Enrollment has kept his program nationally relevant.
“When kids first get to high school they can pick where they go and I would say that every year we end up getting four or so kids that aren’t in our district enrolled,” Peck said. “I don’t think we would be in the national picture as much as we are if we had to do it with 100-percent of the kids being in our district.
“We have been ranked pretty high in the national polls and in Utah it would probably be impossible if we were truly limited by our boundaries.”
Bishop Gorman is a traditional private school and attracts players from all over the region.
It will return the No. 1 tight end in the country for the Class of 2015, Alize Jones as well as two defensive backs, and three defensive lineman.
The Gaels will be replacing Randall Cunningham at quarterback and three of its offensive lineman.
Peck said that he knows what he is getting into and that even with its losses Bishop Gorman will be a formidable opponent.
“You don’t win as much as they have and against the teams they have won against if you don’t have a good program,” he said. “We will have to be ready and I think we will be.”
