PLAIN CITY -- No one was talking about it, but in the minds of the Fremont High football team, Friday must have been a measure of sweet revenge.
Facing a Bingham Miners team that beat them last year in the state 5-A championship game, the Silver Wolves put together one of their best efforts of the season in dispatching the Miners 27-20 at Moyes Field.
The victory over Bingham puts Fremont into the state 5-A semifinals where they will face Region 1 rival Syracuse on Friday at 11 a.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The bulk of the Miners' demise came at the hands of senior running back Nick Vigil. Vigil carried the ball 20 times for 256 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning 78-yard touchdown run with just under two minutes left to seal the win. That effort was not lost on coach Kory Bosgieter.
"All I know is, it's 27-20, so something must've worked," Bosgieter said of the game. "That O-line is experienced, they're strong, they're big, and they're a very close group and obviously when you hand it to No. 5 (Vigil), you've got some guys back there that are pretty good. We've got some special players."
Things didn't start quite the way the Fremont coaches and players thought it would. After receiving the opening kickoff, Vigil fumbled on the first play from scrimmage which was recovered by Bingham. After converting a fourth-down-and-6 with a 16-yard pass from quarterback Brady Lail to Kalen Cantwell, Lail took the shotgun snap and raced around the right side from eight yards out for a quick 7-0 lead.
That lead didn't last too long though as Vigil put his positive stamp on the game on the next possession. Vigil took a handoff to the left side of the line and found himself in a race to the end zone, a 47-yard run that tied the game at 7-7.
Both defenses played well throughout the game, but it was a critical turnover by Fremont that Bingham converted into points to head into the locker room with a lead. Tyler Otteson intercepted a Cooper Kelley pass and returned it 19 yards to the house for the 13-7 lead. The Silver Wolves' Jaz Johnston blocked the extra point, which proved to be a huge factor.
The Fremont defense did its job and forced a three-and-out from Bingham and took the lead on its next drive. Vigil punched in from five yards out to give the lead to the Silver Wolves. The drive was kept alive by a 51-yard pass from Jordan Preator to Seth Jones to get in scoring position.
Bingham took the lead back behind the running of Daniel Palepoi and long completion from Lail to Hayden Weichers. Palepoi went in untouched from one yard out to keep the pendulum swinging in favor of the visiting Miners.
On the next drive, Kelley connected with Rowdy Stucki and Travis Stringham on 20-yard plus receptions and then found Brock Smith for an eight-yard touchdown pass. However, the Silver Wolves missed the extra point and left the game tied at 20-20.
After a big stop gave the ball back to Fremont, Vigil ripped off the game-winning touchdown run to virtually end the game. Bingham did have one last chance to tie the game, but Preator's interception at the two-yard line and a Vigil 74-yard run to the Miners' 19-yard line ended the chances that the Miners had to repeat as state champions.
"I'm real excited to get back to Rice-Eccles and make another good run and hopefully get back to the state championship game," Vigil said. "We all know they're (Bingham) a powerhouse and they have been for a long time. That makes it good, but it's just another win."
Even after knocking off a great team in Bingham, Bosgieter was anxious to look at the film and get ready for their next big challenge.
"We'll enjoy this for about 10 minutes and go to work on next week," Bosgieter said. "We've still got work to do. You look back too long and you get your butt kicked."
Preator picked off two passes on defense while Kelley was 10-of-15 passing for 108 yards and touchdown.
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