Brighton football dominates, advances to state semifinals with 4814 win
Nov 23, 2024
BROCKPORT, N.Y. (WROC) — The dream season for Brighton is going to continue a little bit longer.
Five different Bruins found the end zone on Saturday in the Class A regionals, propelling Brighton to a dominant 48-14 win over Sweet Home.
The undefeated Bruins won their first-ever sectional title last week and are now onto the state semifinals for the first time in program history.
Brighton put up 28 points in the first half and scored the first 34 points of the game. The Bruins' first drive featured 55 yards on the ground from Gavin Parks, ending with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Grady Hopkin to Miller Burrows for a 7-0 Brighton lead.
To start the second quarter, Brighton put Matthew Heininger in to take a Wildcat snap. That usually means a run for Heininger, who most often stars on defense as a linebacker. But this time, he heaved it deep down the field and found Wesley Sturrup for a 56-yard touchdown pass to put the Bruins out front 14-0.
With six minutes left in the quarter, Zachary Rossignol found the end zone on an impressive 57-yard carry to extend the lead to 21-0. To close out the half, Hopkin found Heininger in the air for a 51-yard score and a 28-point lead. Heininger used a powerful stiff arm to break free from a defender.
The Bruins received the second-half kickoff and got right back to work. Clarence Bell returned the kick for 73 yards to put Brighton in prime scoring position. Parks capped off the drive with a rush good for six yards to lead 34-0.
Sweet Home got one back in the third on an 8-yard touchdown pass, but Brighton responded as Heininger punched in a score on the ground for one yard and a 41-7 lead. The touchdown was his third of the day with one rushing, one passing, and one receiving.
The Bruins ended their scoring in the fourth quarter with a 100-yard pick-six from Noah Wagner. Sweet Home added on one more with a kickoff return from Da'Mari Yancey to bring the final score to 48-14.
Parks led the Bruins on the ground with 161 yards, giving him over 2,000 yards on the season. Heininger totaled 57 yards on two receptions with a touchdown in addition to his passing and rushing touchdowns. He also had 10 tackles.
Hopkin completed three passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, Kaleb Matthews totaled 11 tackles followed by Luca DeSantis with 10. Sturrup had seven tackles and Wagner had two tackles and an interception. Titus Nebbia, AJ Rossignol, and Zahmar Tookes each had a sack.
Brighton (12-0) will face Whitesboro of Section III on Friday, November 29th at Vestal High School.