His offense had been stuck in neutral for almost the entire contest, so Alta quarterback Ammon Olsen pulled his teammates together on the sideline with about 14 minutes remaining in Friday's 5A championship game.
"Fourteen minutes and we're done forever," Olsen told the group. "No more high school football. Do we want to regret it or do we want to win?"
The Hawks' actions showed what they chose.
Alta rallied from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to stun Bingham 21-17 in the 5A title game on the Rice-Eccles Stadium turf. The win clinched the Hawks' second consecutive state title, and their rally was the second biggest fourth quarter comeback in state championship game history.
You had to see it to realize how much command of the game the Miners had, and how the Hawks took it from them in the last possible moments.
Down 17-6, Olsen became a different player following his sideline speech. The next time he got the ball in his hands, he directed an eight-play, 80-yard drive to get the Hawks on the scoreboard for the first time since their opening possession. He completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Seth Becerra, and a two-point conversion throw to Parker Webster to get the Hawks within a field goal with 7:29 left.
Alta traded punts with Bingham before Olsen directed another scoring drive. He lobbed a 41-yard pass to Webster to get the Hawks to Bingham's 2, and then scored on a 2-yard run to give the Hawks a 21-17 lead with 34 seconds remaining.
"This kid (Olsen) is the real deal," said Alta coach Les Hamilton. "In my opinion, he's the best football player in the state of Utah. He's determined, he's focused, he's tough. He took over the game tonight."
The Miners had one last series to try and score, but it was almost impossible after they had executed an extremely conservative game plan on offense. Bingham ran the ball 48 times, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry. The Miners only threw the ball 14 times, which isn't completely out of character for them, but it didn't set them up well for their final drive. The game ended with an incompletion on their own 40.
"We came in and ran our game plan, both sides of the ball, and they just came out and made some plays," said Bingham coach Dave Peck. "We get a pick, get a sack or something right there at the end, and the game is the other way. They just came down and made a great play, and we didn't."
Little went right for the Hawks after they scored on their first possession to take a 6-0 lead. They went eight consecutive possessions without scoring, and they seemed to have little hope of overcoming a 17-6 deficit.
That's how it seemed to outsiders anyway. Alta's comeback victories over Jordan and Davis in the last month built a solid foundation for the team's win in Friday's state championship game. The Hawks never panicked, and just kept believing that they would pull it out.
"We believed the entire time," said Alta defensive back Trey Phillips, one of just four returning Hawks who got extensive playing time during their 2007 championship season. "There was no doubt in our mind we were going to win."
It was a fitting end to the season for the Hawks, who have felt doubted and slighted by the state's high school football fans throughout the season. They lost 18 starters from last year's state championship team, and almost no one expected them to repeat as champions.
But there they were, hoisting another state title trophy, posing for pictures, and smiling after a win in the latest Alta-Bingham classic.
"We've been out to prove something since Day 1," said Alta defensive end Brady Davies. "In the summer we ran extra sprints. We just wanted to be the best. We wanted to exceed our coaches expectations and our own, and I think we proved tonight that this is a team that'll never give up. This is a program that will never stop trying hard. I'm just proud as heck right now."
E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com