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KNIGHTS QUARTERBACK Trent Buckley, seen here against Davis, will have his hands full Friday against Bingham, who have allowed a touchdown or less to seven of its 10 opponents this season.
However, in order to get any farther, they’re going to have to win against the defending 5A state champion Bingham Miners.
The Knights (9-2, 6-2 Region 1) have done well to get into the post season, beating a couple of tough teams along the way.
Northridge’s duo of losses came in back to back weeks; first against the Darts for what was then the game of the year in Region 1.
Then they turned around and lost to Fremont the following week, who are in the playoffs as the top team in the region.
The Knights performance since then has been astronomical. In the three games following the Fremont loss, the Knights posted Madden-like numbers in points (63 against Roy, 44 against Clearfield and 41 against Weber).
The offense was given confidence just in time to face the Hawks, who they took care of with just 21 points.
The downside the Knights had heading into the post season was the last three teams they faced; combined they had a record of 4-20.
The Knights passing game this season has been led by Trent Buckley, who threw for 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns with only four interceptions all year.
He’s also been accurate for Northridge this year, completing 57 percent of his passes to his receivers.
The receiving corps this season has seen as many as five different players catch double-digit passes from Buckley.
Leading the charge is Shaymus Bertagnolli, whose 24 catches for 479 yards and five touchdowns leads the team in all categories.
Other receivers with multiple catches includes Brent Wortman, Austin Tate, Jordan Lee and Brock Johnson. Neither of those receivers has more than two touchdown catches on the year.
The running back tandem of Johnson and Lee have done well for the Knights. Combined they have more than 1,500 yards on the ground with 20 touchdowns (10 a piece). Buckley has also carried his share of the load, rushing for 496 yards and six touchdowns.
The defense this season has been led by Tate and Johnson, who each have more than 100 tackles on the year.
Austin Gottschalk has been an eagle eye in the secondary, intercepting six passes for the Knights this season.
Bertagnolli is second on the team with three interceptions.
A number of Knights, including Carmen Price, Marcus Matautia, Kalen Larsen, Blake Freideman and Jaeger Allred each have five sacks and have done so by coming from all directions against their opponents.
The Bingham Miners are a complete football team in the eyes of many across the state of Utah. They have put up some staggering numbers this season on their way to possibly repeating as state 5A champions.
During the regular season they scored no fewer than 48 points; and their 35 points they scored against Hunter came without running back Harvey Langi, who was suspended for last week’s game.
Langi was only 10 yards short of having 1,100 yards rushing this season in just nine games, making him an instant threat now that he’ll be playing on Friday night.
Senior quarterback Stefan Cantwell has also performed well with the ball, throwing for 1,200 yards and 22 touchdowns compared to just two interceptions.
Cantwell’s two favorite targets have been Brady Measom, who has 517 yards and six touchdowns; and Josh Smith, who only had 253 yards during the regular season but caught eight touchdowns.
The defense has a lot of players in the mix this year, with no player having more than 60 tackles.
The Knights will be tested in this contest if they really want to capture the state 5A title for football, as the Miners have been poised ever since they won the title last season over the Davis Darts.
sgillet@davisclipper.com
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