Brighton Upsets Alta

The weather has started to change ... finally. Temperatures in the 90s are fine, but it's just not right for football season.

Here in mid-September, the first real cold front is coming and, while it was still warm on Friday evening, the rain has hit the mountains. It's just windy in the valley, but it won't be long before the rain hits here, too, and then the cooler weather arrives.

Rain is a sports writer's worst enemy. It means you can't take notes during the game, as long as you're on the football field. I spent the first half in the press box. In the second half, it was just windy. That's a sports writer's second-worst enemy because it blows your notebook pages. But at least it's better than rain.

Snow is OK. It adds to your story. Actually, though, a sports writer's worst enemy is deadline. But I've been in this business a long time, and can handle most deadline pressures.

Tonight's game is Alta at Brighton. The Bengals have a great home field, with the mountain in clear view. It's also homecoming here, and the stadium is packed. Alta brought a nice crowd to its sideline, but Brighton's side is overflowing. And everyone is dressed in orange or dark blue. On a sunny day, it makes for pretty pictures.

Speaking of pictures, I met a good friend on the sidelines. His name is Ted Cordingly. He is a professional photographer, and Brighton has hired him to shoot their games. His photos are great. I used a few of them in last year's Brighton football yearbook. He and I talked briefly during the game. He showed me a few of his shots from this game. As usual, they were great.

My good friend, Marty Renzhofer, was also there. Marty is a sportswriter for the Salt Lake Tribune. He and I go way back, when he was a sports writer in Pocatello, and I worked in Nampa. I used to enjoy covering sports events with Marty. He's an opinionated guy, and often gives too much opinion during games. Still, it's always a pleasure to cover a game with him. Marty's one of the best.

This was also a great game. Brighton won 21-10, handing Alta its first Region 4 loss. It also means Brighton is back. Bengals coach Ryan Bullett needed a "signature" win and he got it. This was probably the biggest victory in his coaching career.

Coach Bullett is a good guy. I don't know if he's a great coach. I'm not a good judge of that. But I'm glad to see him have success. Brighton has a good football tradition, and it's nice to see them win again. I covered last year's Brighton-Alta game at Alta, where the Hawks won 45-0.

Ricky Heimuli had a good game. He's a 6-4, 295-pound lineman and he was all over the field. The Brighton defense was awesome. Alta still moved the ball at times, but Brighton's defense made plays, and forced three turnovers. That was the killer.

On offense, Brighton has a little running back who moved in from Cedar City. His name is Sosake Takai. He rushed for over 100 yards, including along TD run that broke the game open.

QB Derek Newell can run, too. Newell is not a great passer, but when the running game is working, it makes him better. Newell is a junior, and he is only going to get better. He plays basketball, too. He has scholarship potential somewhere.

Alta was all about QB Jordan Brown. He threw it, he ran it. He was a one-man show. Alta also has great receivers, but I felt they were too one-dimensional. Alta needs to find someone who can break a game open ... besides Brown. The Hawks have a RB named Bryant Finnerty. He ran for 28 yards, but he has potential. He just didn't handle the ball enough.

Alta was behind the whole game, so Brown had to throw it. He threw 30 times. Alta lost the game because of turnovers and that it couldn't handle Brighton's physical play.

Overall, this was probably the best game I've seen this season. It was broadcast locally on the radio. I liked it because it was an upset, which doesn't happen much in Utah high school football. I was also glad to see Brighton get that win for coach Bullett.

Now there are four good teams in Region 4. Brighton still has to prove itself some more to make the 5A playoffs. Alta is still a "lock," but the Hawks have to show up to win.

Here are my game statistics:

Alta 0 10 0 0 - 10
Brighton 0 14 7 0 - 21

B - Sosaki Taki 45 run (Anthony Mares kick)
A - FG Vance Bingham 24
B - Stephen Robinson 57 pass from Derek Newell (Mares kick)
A - Zach Liston 35 pass from Jordan Brown (Bingham kick)
B - Andy Jones 8 run (Mares kick)

Team Statistics

First downs - Alta 16, Brighton 16
Rushes-Yards - Alta 26-80, Brighton 40-198
Passing Yards - Alta 317, Brighton 114
Passes - Alta 20-30-1, Brighton 5-13-0
Fumbles-Lost - Alta 2-2, Brighton 0-0
Penalties - Alta 9-95, Brighton 4-25
Punts - Alta 1-41, Brighton 40-30.8

Individual Statistics

RUSHING - Alta, Finnerty 8-28, Brown 12-25, Eyring 3-18, Jefferson 2-2, Liston 1-7. Brighton, Takai 29-160, Newell 10-30, Jones 1-8.

PASSING - Alta, Brown 20-30-1-317. Brighton, Newell 5-12-0-114, Jones 0-1-0.

RECEIVING - Alta, Morris 6-123, Mayne 5-78, Liston 4-58, Finnerty 2-17, Jefferson 1-13, Brady 1-11, Richards 1-4. Brighton, Robinson 1-64, Felix 3-43, Chaus 1-7.