Editor's note: Trevor Phibbs is a 2008 graduate of Alta High School, an aspiring journalist and a part-time scoreboard employee at the Deseret News.

However, it's not the typical rivalry that is built around dislike and differences between the schools. This rivalry gets its lust from the respect that has bonded these teams together.

"When we play each other, there's no penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct," said Alta quarterback Ammon Olsen. "It's all respect. Both teams come to play and put it on the line, without the trash."

Both teams follow a strict guideline the coaches put in front of them. They are taught to be respectful, model citizens and to do well in school. This type of mind set leads to clean play on the field.

"Both coaching staffs do a really good job at making sure kids are making good decisions on and off the field," said Alta coach Les Hamilton. "To be honest with you, I think most of our success here at Alta is not because we have the best athletes but it's because our kids make good decisions on and off the field and because of that they have more confidence and when you have a confident player he'll usually outperform a more talented athlete. It goes hand and hand, good decisions off the field reflect on the field"

For fans attending Friday's 5A championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium at 6:30 p.m., one won't see opposing players in the faces of each other or excessive taunting. In fact one will see players helping each other off the turf and patting each other on the back. The teams let the scoreboard do the talking.

"We're all friends. We have two-hand touch football competitions and the friendship just builds from there," said Alta wide receiver Parker Webster. "We see each other on the field and it makes it that much more fun."

However, the appreciation for each other doesn't take away from the play of the game. The two teams could arguably be classified as the top two programs in the state.

"The best part of the rivalry is the quality of play, both teams are going to play good offense, defense and special teams, so anybody who's going to go watch the game is going to see two teams that are very well coached, play hard, good athletes, good execution and generally your going to see a close, exciting game" said Hamilton.

Every game is decided in the fourth quarter, which makes losing even more painful.

"The last three years we've had battles in the semifinals and state games. I respect the players over there, I've worked out with them in the offseason which led to a friendship," said Bingham quarterback Jake Soffe.

The two teams weren't even considered rivals for the majority of the existence of the schools. As the teams continued to deliver exciting contests the rivalry emerged. In the last six meetings Bingham has prevailed four times, but Alta has won the last two.

"I think both programs have a lot of respect for each other, with how competitive and close the games have been, it's always a battle. Both teams want to bring their best game," said Bingham tight end Remington Peck.

The two teams represent their side of the valley and are only separated by six miles. Being this close allows for friendships to be maintained.

"The rivalry is formed out of respect, one things is the proximity of the schools. A lot of these kids played baseball and basketball against each other for years. I'll go watch them play and I'm sure they watch us play. One thing I know for sure is we beat them five straight and now they've beat us two straight. I heard coach Hamilton say this doesn't become a rivalry until we start beating them, (but) they had the edge when they beat us those last two times. We hope to keep this a rivalry, we need to start competing again. You're going to have two teams that both expect to win on Friday" said Bingham coach Dave Peck.

This shows that respect can make a rivalry burn just as deep as dislike does.

Needless to say, the state championship should be a lot of fun, for both players and fans alike.